Changes Coming to Forest Service & BLM Grazing Priorities

~Norman Kincaide

With the advent of the second Trump administration, priorities within the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management will be shifting to a less restrictive approach to how the lands they currently occupy will benefit the American people. At the R-CALF convention on June 18, 2026, Attorney Hayden Ballard, gave a presentation: A Primer & Update on Federal Land Grazing. Ballard is a 6^th generation rancher in southern Utah and founder of Great Western Resources, which advocates for proper land use policy on federal, state and private land in the western United States. His family has been ranching the same allotment for 5 generations, pre-dating the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Ballard received a J.D. from Washburn University School of Law (2019) and LL.M., University of Arkansas School of Law (2020) and practices in Utah, Arizona, Kansas, Tenth Circuit and United States Supreme Court.

Hayden Ballard, R-CALF Convention, Rapid City, SD, June 18, 2026;

In Utah, the grazing breaks down thus: “the responsible use of the public land for livestock grazing is an integral part of Utah’s agricultural economy. With urbanization continually swallowing available agricultural land within the state, livestock grazing on federally administered land becomes even more important . . . Of the 45 million acres of grazing lands within the State of Utah, 78 percent is federally owned, 9 percent is state owned, and 18 percent is privately owned.”

In the last sixty years Utah has lost 20 percent of its total private farm land to development (2.7 million acres). Grazing districts through the BLM were established in 1934 through the Taylor Grazing Act. “In order to promote the highest use of the public lands, pending its final disposal, the Secretary of the Interior . . . is authorized to establish grazing districts . . . not exceeding in the aggregate an area of eighty million acres of vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved lands from any part of the public domain of the United States . . . which are not in national forests, national parks and monuments, Indian reservations . . . and which in his opinion are chiefly valuable for grazing and raising forage crops.” 43 USC Section 315.

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) repealed most prior homestead acts. From 1788 until 1976 the United States government implemented a federal land disposal policy. From 1976 to the present, it is engaged in federal retention and reacquisition policy.

Under the Organic Act of 1897 the President may withdraw from the public domain “forest reservations” for two main purposes, water and timber, later renamed National Forests. The Weeks Act of 1911 authorized the reacquisition of private lands for inclusion in National Forests. The Bankhead Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937 granted authority of the USDA to reacquire homesteaded lands as “Land Utilization Projects.” The Granger-Thye Act of 1950 created the permit system. In June 1960 the Secretary of Agriculture renamed LUPs as National Grasslands. In 1976 the National Forest Management Act established statutory foundations along with Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to govern federal lands.

On Utah BLM lands Animal Units per Month (AUMs) declined from 2,749,000 in 1940 to less than 675,000 AUMs in 2009. Nearly 1 Million AUMs have been lost on all Forest Service lands between 1966 and 2022. Every AUM permitted on federal land in southern Utah, generates approximately $100 in economic activity in the surrounding communities. The USDA reports over 5 million acres of vacant allotments.

The decline in AUMs and closed vacant allotments can be traced to federal government Resource Management Plans (RMPs) and Land Designations. Federal law dictates that the Department of Interior (BLM & Park Service) and USDA (Forest Service) develop RMPs that direct management decisions for years. This is currently being undertaken in the Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands Revised Management Plan process in Colorado and Kansas, initiated in October 2023. Land Management Plans and RMPs establish broad management directives, covering grazing allotment availability and AUM allocation. “RMPs may also cover issues such as de facto travel management, access, water development, range improvements, recreational shooting, wood cutting, stubble height, utilization standards, special planning designations (Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) and Lands with Wilderness Characteristics (LWC). The FLPMA requires that RMPs be consistent with State and local RMPs and be coordinated with state and local governments.”

The Taylor Grazing Act allotments pre-date land use designations. Designations are: National Monuments through Presidential Proclamation; Wilderness Areas, Congress approved; Wilderness Study Area, agency approved; wild horses and burros, congress & agency declared; Extensive Recreation Management Areas, Special Recreation Management Areas, agency approved, requires RMP; Visual Resource Inventories (viewsheds), agency approved. Each designation influences management decisions and incrementally restricts grazing. There are also National Historic Trails, Natural Areas, Wild & Scenic Rivers, National Heritage Areas, National Conservation Areas, Corridors and Critical Habitat Units. Every land designation diminishes local sovereignty and allows an unelected management entity or federal agency to influence land management, diluting the power of county commissioners and local planning boards.

The Roadless Rule (USFS) 2001 restricted more than 50 million acres of National Forest land from new road construction, road reconstruction, and most timber harvesting. President Trump through Secretary of Agriculture, Brook Rollins, intends to rescind the “Roadless Rule” to remove the national prohibitions on roads and timber harvesting for nearly 45 million acres currently under the Rule. The “Roadless Rule” is viewed as outdated and overly restrictive, conflicting with congressional intent and the Forest Service’s multiple use mandate. It hinders active forest wildfire management prevention, responsible timber production, economic development, and local decision making. A proposed rule and draft Environmental Impact Statement are expected in 2026.

Since 2017 the United States has lost 17 percent of cattle ranches. The national herd is at a 75-year low, while consumer demand for beef has grown. The Forest Service and BLM together administer approximately 240 million acres of range lands across 28 states, supporting over 23,000 permittees and lessees. There are roughly 29,000 grazing allotments nationwide, with 10 percent (24 million acres) being vacant.

President Trump and Secretary Rollins launched a plan to fortify the American beef industry, via a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed March 31, 2026 by Secretary Brook Rollins and Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum. This MOU outlined “cooperation between the two agencies for continued and effective coordination and cooperation in issuing a Grazing Action Plan, which will bring federal land grazing to the forefront and address the critical needs of grazing permittees.”

The agencies agreed on fourteen points to bring about more effective use of grazing allotments, including a goal of no net loss of AUMs within allotments and the auditing of vacant allotments to assess resource needs and to solicit interest from the ranching community. The agencies also agreed to host and participate in learning roundtables with the agencies and ranchers.

The BLM’s Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, 2021, finalized by the Biden administration on May 9, 2024, was repealed by the Trump administration on May 12, 2026. This rule elevated conservation as a core use of public lands on par with multiple uses such as energy development, grazing, mining, recreation and timber harvesting. The Trump administration argued that the rule created unnecessary regulatory burdens, violated the Federal Land Policy and Management Act’s multiple use and sustained yield mandate and restricted productive uses of public lands.

The BLM launched a new web tool to expand grazing opportunities. The Forest Service issued a directive, June 12, 2026, which seeks to expand access to prioritize permitting vacant and closed allotments, maximize grazing flexibilities to keep working lands working, eliminate delays by streamlining permitting and allotment authorizations, elevate rural Americans by giving ranchers a better voice and improve service by setting expectations for positive engagement with ranchers.

The Forest Service also launched the USDA.gov/Lawfare website for individuals to file complaints with the Forest Service. From the Lawfare Advisory Council: “If excessive regulations, unfair penalties, or abuse of eminent domain are putting your operation at risk, we want to hear from you.”

Utah v. United States, 2024, may come before the Supreme Court, which challenges the federal government’s retention of approximately 18.5 million acres of unappropriated public lands, primarily managed by the BLM within Utah. Utah filed a bill of complaint, arguing that the federal government’s policy of perpetual retention of these lands violates the US Constitution under the Property Clause and state sovereignty. Utah contends that the Constitution authorized the federal government to hold land only temporarily for disposal, not to retain vast areas indefinitely.

Shad Sullivan, who ranches in Crowley County, CO and Archer County, TX, Rose Garden, White House, Washington, D.C. June 26, 2026, , photo used with permission and taken by Shad Sullivan

There are Colorado ranchers, including Forest Service grazing permit holders, circulating among high policy individuals of the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Land Management, and Forest Service in Washington, D.C., with actual access to President Donald J. Trump. They seek expanded access to livestock grazing on federal lands to grow the depleted American cattle population. Shad Sullivan ranches in Crowley County, Colorado and Archer County, Texas. Last week Sullivan was master of ceremonies at the R-CALF National Convention in Rapid City, South Dakota, this week he dined with Secretary of Agriculture Brook Rollins in the White House Rose Garden and met President Donald J. Trump. Changes are coming to the Forest Service and the BLM to enhance multiple use as opposed to sequestration and non-use.

Sources

R-CALF Convention 2026 Program

Hayden Ballard: A Primer & Update on Federal Land Grazing

Grok summary of Roadless Rule 2001 issue.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed March 31, 2026 by Secretary Brook Rollins and Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, Title: Advancing Grazing on Forest Service and BLM Lands.

Directive signed June 12, 2026 by Secretary Brook Rollins: Line Officer Implementation of the Advancing Grazing on Forest Service and BLM Lands Memorandum of Understanding and the USDA-DOI Grazing Action Plan.

Grok summary of Repeal of BLM Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, 2021

Grok summary of Utah v. United States 2024.