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U.S. Forest Service
Caring for the land and serving people

United States Department of Agriculture

Proposed Rangeland Management Directives Updates


This page is intended to describe the current effort related to updating the rangeland management directives. The content on this webpage describes and/or provides:

  • What purpose the directives serve and why they are being updated.
  • Review companion documents that are intended to aid individuals in their review to facilitate substantive comments on the proposed rangeland management directives updates.
  • A schedule of webinars. The webinars are intended to provide opportunities for the public to seek additional information and clarification on the proposed directives updates.
  • A digital comment form to make it easy to provide your input on the proposed directives documents.

We look forward to your comments and appreciate you taking the time to help us improve our rangeland management directives!


COMMENT PERIOD HAS BEEN EXTENDED BY 60 DAYS
Comments Must Now be Submitted by No Later Than April 17, 2021

You can provide comments:

  • Through our digital comment form by clicking on the following link: Rangeland Management Directives Comment Form
  • By Mail or Hand Delivery/Courier: U.S. Forest Service, Director, Forest Management, Range Management and Vegetation Ecology, 201 14th Street SW, Suite 3SE, Washington, DC 20250-1124
All comments, including names and addresses when provided, are placed in the record and are available for public inspection and copying. The public may inspect comments received online via an online public reading room, or at U.S. Forest Service, Office of Management and Regulatory Services, 201 14th St. SW, 2 Central, Washington, DC 20024. Visitors are encouraged to call ahead to (202) 205–1475 to facilitate entry to the building.

What are the Rangeland Management Directives?

A cow standing in a section of sage brush with pine and pinyon trees in the background.The Forest Service rangeland management directives are comprised of Forest Service Manual (FSM) 2200, Forest Service Handbook (FSH) 2209.13 and FSH 2209.16.

The rangeland management directives serve as the primary basis for the internal management and control of the rangeland management program. They are the primary source of administrative direction to Forest Service employees relative to the rangeland management program.

Why Are They Being Updated?

The Rangeland Management Directives have been in place for approximately 30 years. The focus of this effort is on updating outdated manuals and handbooks. The updates make them more usable, modern and conform to recent legislation. The updates provide greater management flexibility and improve the clarity of policies and procedures to guide responsible and consistent management of NFS lands. The updates involve 17 chapters with most of the updates being made to Forest Service Handbook 2209.13.

The dominant themes relative to the updates along with some tangible update examples include:

  • Succession Planning/Recognized Entities
    • Grandchildren as well as children can run up to 50% of the older generation’s term permitted numbers. After the permit is waived to children or grandchildren, the other generation can continue to run up to 50% of that generation’s numbers as they phase out of the family operation. This is intended to help in succession planning and transitions in family operations.
    • Expanded discussion on entities eligible to hold permits with such examples as limited liability companies, family limited partnerships, etc. aimed at enhancing available options for estate planning.
  • Conservation Oriented Flexibilities
    • Adds a Section on Conservation Easements and Agricultural Land Trusts. These allow ranches to remain in agricultural production (and tax base) in perpetuity. They did not exist or were very seldom used 30 years ago.
    • More discussion on allowing Non-Use for Resource Protection and increasing the flexibility to build back numbers after destocking herds. Explains that droughts and other severe acts of nature are different and require flexibility in management responses.
  • Updates to Respond to New Laws, Audits, etc. and to Provide Needed Clarity
    • Updates the list of Laws, Regulations, and Executive Orders, and adds to the list, especially to include many more applicable to the National Grasslands after they were transferred to the Forest Service.
    • Updates the policy on excess and unauthorized use very similar to the Bureau of Land Management’s policy.
  • Expanded Discussions/Modernizations
    • Inserts a new section called “Informal Dispute Resolution”. Provides a detailed description of the process created in Section 8 of PRIA to allow opportunities to informally resolve allotment management concerns and disputes.
    • Expands the discussion on Tribal Treaty Grazing Rights and how those rights are exercised and administered.

Review Companion Documents

A horse and rider on rangeland.The following documents are intended to aid individuals in their review of the rangeland management directives. The information contained within the documents summarize what updates are being proposed and/or what benefits are expected to be derived from making the respective changes. It is our hope that these documents will allow for a more efficient review of the directives and aid the public in providing valuable feedback on the proposed updates.


 

Proposed Rangeland Management Directives

Please use the following links to access and review the text of proposed Forest Service rangeland management directives which have been updated and are available for public review and comment:

FSM 2200 – RANGELAND MANAGEMENT MANUAL
Chapter Zero Code (.pdf, 728 KB)
Chapter 2210 – Rangeland Management Planning (.pdf, 75 KB)
Chapter 2220 – Management of Ranges (Reserved) (.pdf, 50 KB)
Chapter 2230 – Grazing Permit System (.pdf, 125 KB)
Chapter 2240 – Rangeland Improvements (.pdf, 292 KB)
Chapter 2250 – Rangeland Management Cooperation (.pdf, 283 KB)
Chapter 2270 – Information Management and Reports (.pdf, 157 KB)

FSH 2209.13 – GRAZING PERMIT ADMINISTRATION HANDBOOK
Chapter 10 – Term Grazing Permits (.pdf, 1.49 MB)
Chapter 20 – Grazing Agreements (.pdf, 1.09 MB)
Chapter 30 – Temporary Grazing and Livestock Use Permits (.pdf, 267 KB)
Chapter 40 – Livestock Use Permits (Reserved) (.pdf, 65 KB)
Chapter 50 – Tribal Treaty Authorizations and Special Use Permits (.pdf, 411 KB)
Chapter 60 – Records (.pdf, 329 KB)
Chapter 70 – Compensation for Permittee Interest in Range Improvements (.pdf, 179 KB)
Chapter 80 – Grazing Fees (.pdf, 625 KB)
Chapter 90 – Rangeland Management Decision Making (.pdf, 535 KB)

FSH 2209.16 – ALLOTMENT MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK (.pdf, 626 KB)


INFORMATIONAL WEBINAR SCHEDULE, LINKS AND RECORDINGS

Please consider attending one of the following webinars to gain additional information and clarification on the directives updates and ask any questions you may have about the proposed directives. If you are unable to make a webinar at the scheduled time, check back here to access recordings of past webinars. The following is a link to a PDF copy of the PowerPoint presentation used in the webinars: Proposed Rangeland Management Directives Webinar PowerPoint.

Webinar #1

Date: January 06, 2021
Time: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Eastern Time)

January 06 Webinar Attendee Link

Webinar #2

Date: January 12, 2021
Time: 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Eastern Time)

January 12 Webinar Attendee Link

Webinar #3

Date: February 03, 2021
Time: 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Eastern Time)

February 03 Webinar Attendee Link



https://www.fs.usda.gov/rangeland-management/directives.shtml