(a) Applications for grazing permits or leases (active use and nonuse), free-use grazing permits and other grazing authorizations shall be filed with the authorized officer at the local Bureau of Land Management office having jurisdiction over the public lands involved.

(b) The authorized officer will determine whether applicants for the renewal of permits and leases or issuance of permits and leases that authorize use of new or transferred preference, and any affiliates, have a satisfactory record of performance. The authorized officer will not renew or issue a permit or lease unless the applicant and all affiliates have a satisfactory record of performance.

(1) Renewal of permit or lease. (i) The authorized officer will deem the applicant for renewal of a grazing permit or lease, and any affiliate, to have a satisfactory record of performance if the authorized officer determines the applicant and affiliates to be in substantial compliance with the terms and conditions of the existing Federal grazing permit or lease for which renewal is sought, and with the rules and regulations applicable to the permit or lease.

(ii) The authorized officer may take into consideration circumstances beyond the control of the applicant or affiliate in determining whether the applicant and affiliates are in substantial compliance with permit or lease terms and conditions and applicable rules and regulations.

(2) New permit or lease or transfer of grazing preference. The authorized officer will deem applicants for new permits or leases or transfer of grazing preference, including permits or leases that arise from transfer of preference, and any affiliates, to have a record of satisfactory performance when—

(i) The applicant or affiliate has not had any Federal grazing permit or lease canceled, in whole or in part, for violation of the permit or lease within the 36 calendar months immediately preceding the date of application; and

(ii) The applicant or affiliate has not had any state grazing permit or lease, for lands within the grazing allotment for which a Federal permit or lease is sought, canceled, in whole or in part, for violation of the permit or lease within the 36 calendar months immediately preceding the date of application; and

(iii) A court of competent jurisdiction has not barred the applicant or affiliate from holding a Federal grazing permit or lease.

(c) In determining whether affiliation exists, the authorized officer will consider all appropriate factors, including, but not limited to, common ownership, common management, identity of interests among family members, and contractual relationships.

When more than one qualified applicant applies for livestock grazing use of the same public lands and/or where additional forage for livestock or additional acreage becomes available, the authorized officer may authorize grazing use of such land or forage on the basis of § 4110.3-1 of this title or on the basis of any of the following factors:

(a) Historical use of the public lands (see § 4130.2(e));

(b) Proper use of rangeland resources;

(c) General needs of the applicant's livestock operations;

(d) Public ingress or egress across privately owned or controlled land to public lands;

(e) Topography;

(f) Other land use requirements unique to the situation.

(g) Demonstrated stewardship by the applicant to improve or maintain and protect the rangeland ecosystem; and

(h) The applicant's and affiliate's history of compliance with the terms and conditions of grazing permits and leases of the Bureau of Land Management and any other Federal or State agency, including any record of suspensions or cancellations of grazing use for violations of terms and conditions of agency grazing rules.

(a) Grazing permits and leases authorize use on the public lands and other BLM-administered lands that are designated in land use plans as available for livestock grazing. Permits and leases will specify the grazing preference, including active and suspended use. These grazing permits and leases will also specify terms and conditions pursuant to §§ 4130.3, 4130.3-1, and 4130.3-2.

(b) The authorized officer will consult, cooperate, and coordinate with affected permittees and lessees, and the state having lands or responsibility for managing resources within the area, before issuing or renewing grazing permits and leases.

(c) Grazing permits or leases convey no right, title, or interest held by the United States in any lands or resources.

(d) The term of grazing permits or leases authorizing livestock grazing on the public lands and other lands under the administration of the Bureau of Land Management shall be 10 years unless—

(1) The land is being considered for disposal;

(2) The land will be devoted to a public purpose which precludes grazing prior to the end of 10 years;

(3) The term of the base property lease is less than 10 years, in which case the term of the Federal permit or lease shall coincide with the term of the base property lease; or

(4) The authorized officer determines that a permit or lease for less than 10 years is in the best interest of sound land management.

(e) Permittees or lessees holding expiring grazing permits or leases shall be given first priority for new permits or leases if:

(1) The lands for which the permit or lease is issued remain available for domestic livestock grazing;

(2) The permittee or lessee is in compliance with the rules and regulations and the terms and conditions in the permit or lease; and

(3) The permittee or lessee accepts the terms and conditions to be included by the authorized officer in the new permit or lease.

(f) A permit or lease is not valid unless both BLM and the permittee or lessee have signed it.

(g) Permits or leases may incorporate the percentage of public land livestock use (see § 4130.3-2(g)) or may include private land offered under exchange-of-use grazing agreements (see § 4130.6-1).

(h) Provisions explaining how grazing permits or authorizations may be granted for grazing use on state, county or private land leased by the Bureau of Land Management under “The Pierce Act” and located within grazing districts are explained in 43 CFR part 4600.

(a) Livestock grazing permits and leases shall contain terms and conditions determined by the authorized officer to be appropriate to achieve management and resource condition objectives for the public lands and other lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, and to ensure conformance with the provisions of subpart 4180 of this part.

(b) Upon a BLM offer of a permit or lease, the permit or lease terms and conditions may be protested and appealed under part 4 and subpart 4160 of this part.

(c) If any term or condition of a BLM-offered permit or lease is stayed pending appeal, BLM will authorize grazing use as provided in § 4160.4 with respect to the stayed term or condition.

(a) The authorized officer shall specify the kind and number of livestock, the period(s) of use, the allotment(s) to be used, and the amount of use, in animal unit months, for every grazing permit or lease. The authorized livestock grazing use shall not exceed the livestock carrying capacity of the allotment.

(b) All permits and leases shall be made subject to cancellation, suspension, or modification for any violation of these regulations or of any term or condition of the permit or lease.

(c) Permits and leases shall incorporate terms and conditions that ensure conformance with subpart 4180 of this part.

The authorized officer may specify in grazing permits or leases other terms and conditions which will assist in achieving management objectives, provide for proper range management or assist in the orderly administration of the public rangelands. These may include but are not limited to:

(a) The class of livestock that will graze on an allotment;

(b) The breed of livestock in allotments within which two or more permittees or lessees are authorized to graze;

(c) Authorization to use, and directions for placement of supplemental feed, including salt, for improved livestock and rangeland management on the public lands;

(d) A requirement that permittees or lessees operating under a grazing permit or lease submit within 15 days after completing their annual grazing use, or as otherwise specified in the permit or lease, the actual use made;

(e) The kinds of indigenous animals authorized to graze under specific terms and conditions;

(f) Provision for livestock grazing temporarily to be delayed, discontinued or modified to allow for the reproduction, establishment, or restoration of vigor of plants, provide for the improvement of riparian areas to achieve proper functioning condition or for the protection of other rangeland resources and values consistent with objectives of applicable land use plans, or to prevent compaction of wet soils, such as where delay of spring turnout is required because of weather conditions or lack of plant growth;

(g) The percentage of public land use determined by the proportion of livestock forage available on public lands within the allotment compared to the total amount available from both public lands and those owned or controlled by the permittee or lessee; and

(h) A statement disclosing the requirement that permittees or lessees shall provide reasonable administrative access across private and leased lands to the Bureau of Land Management for the orderly management and protection of the public lands.

(a) Following consultation, cooperation, and coordination with the affected lessees or permittees and the state having lands or responsibility for managing resources within the area, the authorized officer may modify terms and conditions of the permit or lease when the active use or related management practices:

(1) Do not meet management objectives specified in:

(i) The land use plan;

(ii) The pertinent allotment management plan or other activity plan; or

(iii) An applicable decision issued under § 4160.3; or

(2) Do not conform to the provisions of subpart 4180 of this part.

(b) To the extent practical, during the preparation of reports that evaluate monitoring and other data that the authorized officer uses as a basis for making decisions to increase or decrease grazing use, or otherwise to change the terms and conditions of a permit or lease, the authorized officer will provide the following with an opportunity to review and offer input:

(1) Affected permittees or lessees;

(2) States having lands or responsibility for managing resources within the affected area; and

(3) The interested public.

(a) The authorized officer may authorize temporary changes in grazing use within the terms and conditions of the permit or lease.

(b) For the purposes of this subpart, “temporary changes in grazing use within the terms and conditions of the permit or lease” means temporary changes in livestock number, period of use, or both, that would:

(1) Result in temporary nonuse; or

(2) Result in forage removal that—

(i) Does not exceed the amount of active use specified in the permit or lease; and

(ii) Occurs either not earlier than 14 days before the begin date specified on the permit or lease, and not later than 14 days after the end date specified on the permit or lease, unless otherwise specified in the appropriate allotment management plan under § 4120.2(a)(3); or

(3) Result in both temporary nonuse under paragraph (b)(1) of this section and forage removal under paragraph (b)(2) of this section.

(c) The authorized officer will consult, cooperate, and coordinate with the permittees or lessees regarding their applications for changes within the terms and conditions of their permit or lease.

(d) Permittees and lessees must apply if they wish—

(1) Not to use all or a part of their active use by applying for temporary nonuse under paragraph (e) of this section;

(2) To use forage previously authorized as temporary nonuse; or

(3) To use forage that is temporarily available on designated ephemeral or annual ranges.

(e)(1) Temporary nonuse is authorized—

(i) Only if the authorized officer approves in advance; and

(ii) For no longer than one year at a time.

(2) Permittees or lessees applying for temporary nonuse use must state on their application the reasons supporting nonuse. The authorized officer may authorize nonuse to provide for:

(i) Natural resource conservation, enhancement, or protection, including more rapid progress toward meeting resource condition objectives or attainment of rangeland health standards; or

(ii) The business or personal needs of the permittee or lessee.

(f) Under § 4130.6-2, the authorized officer may authorize qualified applicants to graze forage made available as a result of temporary nonuse approved for the reasons described in paragraph (e)(2)(ii) of this section. The authorized officer will not authorize anyone to graze forage made available as a result of temporary nonuse approved under paragraph (e)(2)(i) of this section.

(g) Permittees or lessees who wish to obtain temporary changes in grazing use within the terms and conditions of their permit or lease must file an application in writing with BLM on or before the date they wish the change in grazing use to begin. The authorized officer will assess a service charge under § 4130.8-3 to process applications for changes in grazing use that require the issuance of a replacement or supplemental billing notice.

(a) A free-use grazing permit shall be issued to any applicant whose residence is adjacent to public lands within grazing districts and who needs these public lands to support those domestic livestock owned by the applicant whose products or work are used directly and exclusively by the applicant and his family. The issuance of free-use grazing permits is subject to § 4130.1-2. These permits shall be issued on an annual basis. These permits cannot be transferred or assigned.

(b) The authorized officer may also authorize free use under the following circumstances:

(1) The primary objective of grazing use is the management of vegetation to meet resource objectives other than the production of livestock forage and such use is in conformance with the requirements of this part;

(2) The primary purpose of grazing use is for scientific research or administrative studies; or

(3) The primary purpose of grazing use is the control of noxious weeds.

Exchange-of-use grazing agreements, nonrenewable grazing permits or leases, crossing permits, and special grazing permits or leases have no priority for renewal and cannot be transferred or assigned.

(a) An exchange-of-use grazing agreement may be issued to an applicant who owns or controls lands that are unfenced and intermingled with public lands in the same allotment when use under such an agreement will be in harmony with the management objectives for the allotment and will be compatible with the existing livestock operations. The agreements shall contain appropriate terms and conditions required under § 4130.3 that ensure the orderly administration of the range, including fair and equitable sharing of the operation and maintenance of range improvements. The term of an exchange-of-use agreement may not exceed the length of the term for any leased lands that are offered in exchange-of-use.

(b) An exchange-of-use grazing agreement may be issued to authorize use of public lands to the extent of the livestock carrying capacity of the lands offered in exchange-of-use. No fee shall be charged for this grazing use.

(a) Nonrenewable grazing permits or leases may be issued on an annual basis, as provided in § 4110.3-1(a), to qualified applicants when forage is temporarily available, provided this use is consistent with multiple-use objectives and does not interfere with existing livestock operations on the public lands. The authorized officer shall consult, cooperate, and coordinate with affected permittees or lessees, and the state having lands or responsibility for managing resources within the area, before issuing nonrenewable grazing permits and leases.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 4.21(a)(1) of this title, when BLM determines that it is necessary for orderly administration of the public lands, the authorized officer may make a decision that issues a nonrenewable grazing permit or lease, or that affects an application for grazing use on annual or designated ephemeral rangelands, effective immediately or on a date established in the decision.

A crossing permit may be issued by the authorized officer to any applicant showing a need to cross the public land or other land under Bureau of Land Management control, or both, with livestock for proper and lawful purposes. A temporary use authorization for trailing livestock shall contain terms and conditions for the temporary grazing use that will occur as deemed necessary by the authorized officer to achieve the objectives of this part.

Special grazing permits or leases authorizing grazing use by privately owned or controlled indigenous animals may be issued at the discretion of the authorized officer. This use shall be consistent with multiple-use objectives. These permits or leases shall be issued for a term deemed appropriate by the authorized officer not to exceed 10 years.

(a) The permittee or lessee shall own or control and be responsible for the management of the livestock which graze the public land under a grazing permit or lease.

(b) Authorized users shall comply with the requirements of the State in which the public lands are located relating to branding of livestock, breed, grade, and number of bulls, health and sanitation.

(c) The authorized officer may require counting and/or additional special marking or tagging of the authorized livestock in order to promote the orderly administration of the public lands.

(d) Except as provided in paragraph (f) of this section, where a permittee or lessee controls but does not own the livestock which graze the public lands, the agreement that gives the permittee or lessee control of the livestock by the permittee or lessee shall be filed with the authorized officer and approval received prior to any grazing use. The document shall describe the livestock and livestock numbers, identify the owner of the livestock, contain the terms for the care and management of the livestock, specify the duration of the agreement, and shall be signed by the parties to the agreement.

(e) The brand and other identifying marks on livestock controlled, but not owned, by the permittee or lessee shall be filed with the authorized officer.

(f) Livestock owned by sons and daughters of grazing permittees and lessees may graze public lands included within the permit or lease of their parents when all the following conditions exist:

(1) The sons and daughters are participating in educational or youth programs related to animal husbandry, agribusiness or rangeland management, or are actively involved in the family ranching operation and are establishing a livestock herd with the intent of assuming part or all of the family ranch operation.

(2) The livestock owned by the sons and daughters to be grazed on public lands do not comprise greater than 50 percent of the total number authorized to occupy public lands under their parent's permit or lease.

(3) The brands or other markings of livestock that are owned by sons and daughters are recorded on the parent's permit, lease, or grazing application.

(4) Use by livestock owned by sons and daughters, when considered in addition to use by livestock owned or controlled by the permittee or lessee, does not exceed authorized livestock use and is consistent with other terms and conditions of the permit or lease.

(a) Grazing fees shall be established annually by the Secretary.

(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(3) of this section, the calculated fee or grazing fee shall be equal to the $1.23 base established by the 1966 Western Livestock Grazing Survey multiplied by the result of the Forage Value Index (computed annually from data supplied by the National Agricultural Statistics Service) added to the Combined Index (Beef Cattle Price Index minus the Prices Paid Index) and divided by 100; as follows:

(2) Any annual increase or decrease in the grazing fee for any given year shall be limited to not more than plus or minus 25 percent of the previous year's fee.

(3) The grazing fee for any year shall not be less than $1.35 per animal unit month.

(b) Fees shall be charged for livestock grazing upon or crossing the public lands and other lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management at a specified rate per animal unit month.

(c) Except as provided in § 4130.5, the full fee will be charged for each animal unit month of grazing use. For the purposes of calculating the fee, an animal unit month is defined as a month's use and occupancy of range by 1 cow, bull, steer, heifer, horse, burro, mule, 5 sheep, or 5 goats:

(1) Over the age of 6 months at the time of entering the public lands or other lands administered by BLM;

(2) Weaned regardless of age; or

(3) Becoming 12 months of age during the authorized period of use.

(d) BLM will not charge grazing fees for animals that are less than 6 months of age at the time of entering BLM-administered lands, provided that they are the progeny of animals upon which fees are paid, and they will not become 12 months of age during the authorized period of use.

(e) In calculating the billing, the authorized officer will prorate the grazing fee on a daily basis and will round charges to reflect the nearest whole number of animal unit months.

(f) A surcharge shall be added to the grazing fee billings for authorized grazing of livestock owned by persons other than the permittee or lessee except where such use is made by livestock owned by sons and daughters of permittees and lessees as provided in § 4130.7(f). The surcharge shall be over and above any other fees that may be charged for using public land forage. Surcharges shall be paid prior to grazing use. The surcharge for authorized pasturing of livestock owned by persons other than the permittee or lessee will be equal to 35 percent of the difference between the current year's Federal grazing fee and the prior year's private grazing land lease rate per animal unit month for the appropriate State as determined by the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

(g) Fees are due on due date specified on the grazing fee bill. Payment will be made prior to grazing use. Grazing use that occurs prior to payment of a bill, except where specified in an allotment management plan, is unauthorized and may be dealt with under subparts 4150 and 4170 of this part. If allotment management plans provide for billing after the grazing season, fees will be based on actual grazing use and will be due upon issuance. Repeated delays in payment of actual use billings or noncompliance with the terms and conditions of the allotment management plan and permit or lease shall be cause to revoke provisions for after-the-grazing-season billing.

(h) Failure to pay the grazing bill within 15 days of the due date specified in the bill shall result in a late fee assessment of $25.00 or 10 percent of the grazing bill, whichever is greater, but not to exceed $250.00. Payment made later than 15 days after the due date, shall include the appropriate late fee assessment. Failure to make payment within 30 days after the due date is a violation of § 4140.1(b)(1) and may result in action by the authorized officer under § 4150.1 and subpart 4160 of this part.

(a) Grazing fees may be refunded where applications for change in grazing use and related refund are filed prior to the period of use for which the refund is requested.

(b) No refunds shall be made for failure to make grazing use, except during periods of range depletion due to drought, fire, or other natural causes, or in case of a general spread of disease among the livestock that occurs during the term of a permit or lease. During these periods of range depletion the authorized officer may credit or refund fees in whole or in part, or postpone fee payment for as long as the emergency exists.

(a) Under section 304(a) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, BLM may establish reasonable charges for various services such as application processing. BLM may adjust these charges periodically to account for cost changes. BLM will inform the public of any changes by publishing a notice in the Federal Register.

(b) The following table of service charges is applicable until changed through a Federal Register notice as provided in paragraph (a) of this section. Except when the action is initiated by BLM, the authorized officer will assess the following service charges:

Grazing permits or leases that have been pledged as security for loans from lending agencies shall be renewed by the authorized officer under the provisions of these regulations for a period of not to exceed 10 years if the loan is for the purpose of furthering the permittee's or lessee's livestock operation, Provided, That the permittee or lessee has complied with the rules and regulations of this part and that such renewal will be in accordance with other applicable laws and regulations. While grazing permits or leases may be pledged as security for loans from lending agencies, this does not exempt these permits or leases from the provisions of these regulations.