Taylor Grazing Act Law and Legal Definition
The Taylor Grazing Act (“Act”) is a U.S. federal legislation enacted in 1934. This Act was the first federal effort to regulate grazing on federal public lands. The Act establishes grazing districts and uses a permitting system to manage livestock grazing in the districts in order to improve rangeland conditions and regulate their use.
The Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to establish grazing districts of vacant, unappropriated and unreserved land from any parts of the public domain, excluding Alaska, which are not national forests, parks and monuments, Indian reservations, railroad grant lands, or revested Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands, and which are valuable chiefly for grazing and raising forage crops. The Secretary is responsible for protecting, administering, regulating, and improving of the grazing districts. S/he can adopt regulations and enter into cooperative agreements necessary to accomplish the purposes of the Act.
Additionally, the Secretary is responsible to preserve the land and resources from destruction or unnecessary injury, and provide for orderly improvement and development of the range. The Secretary can study on erosion and flood control, and perform work to protect and rehabilitate areas subject to the Act. Any willful violations of the provisions of the Act or its rules and regulations, are punishable by fine.
Pursuant to the Act, the Secretary is authorized to issue permits to graze livestock in grazing districts to settlers, residents and other stock owners upon the annual payment of reasonable fees. Generally, the permits are valid for a period of ten years. Upon expiry, the permits may be renewed, subject to the discretion of the Secretary.
