In this Dec. 18, 2017, file photo, Sen. John Thune, left, R-S.D., heads to a meeting at the Capitol in Washington. Congressional committees and farm groups have crafted language to fix a provision in the federal tax overhaul that gave an unintended tax advantage to farmers who sell their crops to cooperatives instead of other buyers. Thune and other senators are trying to get it included in a massive spending bill that needs to pass by March 23.

U.S. Sen. John Thune has introduced legislation to bolster grazing rights for permittees on national grasslands, which are managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

Under current Federal Land Policy and Management Act rules, ranchers with permits on national grasslands do not have the same rights as those who have grazing permits on Bureau of Land Management and national forest land.

The legislation would reconcile that disparity and ensure that ranchers who have grazing agreements on national grasslands are treated the same as permittees on other federal lands.

“South Dakota is home to three national grasslands, and ranchers who choose to graze livestock on them deserve the same rights as permit holders on other federal lands,” Thune, R-S.D., said in introducing the bill.

“This common-sense legislation would streamline permittee rights at Buffalo Gap, Fort Pierre and Grand River (S.D.), along with other national grasslands and federal lands across the country,” he said.

There are 20 publicly owned national grasslands totaling almost 4 million acres, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Flowing east of the Rocky Mountains — from the Badlands of North Dakota to north-central Texas, spilling into the Great Plains — are 17 national grasslands. Three more are west of the Rockies in the Great Basin states of Oregon, California and Idaho.

“Unfortunately, national grasslands permittees do not have the same due process rights that Bureau of Land Management and national forest permittees currently enjoy,” said Ross Nielson, president of the Association of National Grasslands.

The association appreciates Thune’s efforts to address this longstanding inequity for national grasslands permit holders, he said.

The Public Lands Council and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association also appreciate Thune’s efforts to expand access for national grasslands permittees.

“Livestock producers who graze on national grasslands have long dealt with regulatory uncertainty due to the difference in grazing permits on grasslands and national forests,” said Kaitlynn Glover, PLC and NCBA natural resources director. 

“As a result, they lack the same access to management and permitting flexibility,” she said.

Thune’s legislation would allow national grassland permittees:

• The right to 10-year permits.

• First priority for receipt of a new permit.

• Entitlement to written notice of any permit violations and an opportunity to achieve compliance before cancellation or suspension proceedings related to the permit.

• Except in cases of emergency, no permit cancellation without a two-year notification.

The bill is also supported by the Association of National Grasslands, South Dakota Stockgrowers Association and South Dakota Sheep Growers Association.

Little Missouri, N.D. – 1,028,784 acres

Buffalo Gap, S.D. – 595,715 acres

Thunder Basin, Wyo. – 547,499 acres

Comanche, Colo. – 443.081 acres

Pawnee, Colo. – 193,060 acres

Grand River, S.D. – 154,783 acres

Kiowa, N.M. – 137,131 acres

Fort Pierre, S.D. – 115,890 acres

Crooked River, Ore. – 112,357 acres

Cimarron, Kan. – 108,176 acres

Oglala, Neb. – 94,510 acres

Rita Blanca, Texas-Okla. – 92,989 acres

Sheyenne, N.D. – 70,446 acres

Curlew, Idaho – 47,790 acres

Black Kettle, Okla.-Texas – 31,286 acres

Lyndon B. Johnson, Texas – 20,309 acres

Butte Valley, Calif. – 18,425 acres

Caddo, Texas – 17,873 acres

Cedar River, N.D. – 6,717 acres

McClellan Creek, Texas  – 1,449 acres

SOURCE: National Forest Service and USGS data compiled by Wikipedia