WYOMING – U.S. Sen/ John Barrasso (R-Wyo) announced Friday that he reintroduced the Resiliency for Ranching and Natural Conservation Health (RANCH) Act. This legislation will promote resilient and healthy rangelands and effective grazing management across the West.

“Livestock grazing plays a critical role in Wyoming to maintain rangeland health and supporting ranchers’ livelihoods,” said Barrasso. “The RANCH Act promotes robust rangeland for Wyoming’s livestock and creates healthy habitats for Wyoming’s wildlife. This bill will provide critical assistance to ranchers during natural disasters, so they can continue working. It also gives our ranching communities the certainty and stability they need by extending permits and preserving grazing rights.”

Cosponsors include U.S. Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho). The RANCH Act is supported by The Wyoming Stock Growers Association and the Public Lands Council and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

The RANCH Act will

• Allow temporary utilization of vacant grazing allotments during extreme events/disasters;
• Allocate funding for rangeland health and resiliency projects and public access agreements to land-locked public lands for co-benefits to hunting and recreation;
• Extend the period of grazing permits/leases for up to 20-years, when certain conditions are met and
• Provide responsive and nimble management through the use of a categorical exclusion for renewal of certain grazing permits/leases and for certain actions during extreme events/disasters.