An original bill to provide for uniform management of livestock grazing on Federal land, and for other purposes.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Management of Grazing on Federal Land Subtitle A: General Provisions Subtitle B: Qualifications and Grazing Preferences Subtitle C: Grazing Management Subtitle D: Authorization of Grazing : Subtitle E: Unauthorized Grazing Use Subtitle F: Procedure Subtitle G: Advisory Committees Subtitle H: Reports Title II: Management of National Grasslands Public Rangelands Management Act of 1996 - Title I: Management of Grazing on Federal Land - Subtitle A: General Provisions - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary): (1) to establish standards and guidelines for addressing resource conditions and trends on a State or regional level in consultation with the Resource Advisory Councils (established in section 171 of this Act), State departments of agriculture and other appropriate State agencies, and academic institutions in each interested State; and (2) where appropriate, to authorize and encourage the use of coordinated resource management practices. Authorizes and directs the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture (Secretaries), as appropriate, to enter into cooperative agreements to coordinate the associated activities of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Forest Service, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service where coordinated resource management involves private land, State land, and Federal land managed by BLM or the Forest Service. (Sec. 106) Requires an authorized officer to manage livestock grazing on Federal land under the principles of multiple use and sustained yield and in accordance with applicable land use plans. Requires a land use plan, with respect to grazing administration, to: (1) consider the impacts of all multiple uses, including livestock and wildlife grazing, on the environment and condition of public rangelands and the contributions of these uses to the management, maintenance, and improvement of such rangelands; (2) establish available animal unit months for grazing use, related levels of allowable grazing use, resource condition goals, and management objectives for the Federal land covered by the plan; and (3) set forth programs and general management practices needed to achieve the purposes of this title. Requires land use plans and amendments thereto to continue to be developed in conformance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Specifies that livestock grazing activities, management actions, and decisions approved by the authorized officer, including the issuance, renewal, or transfer of grazing permits or leases (permits), shall not constitute major Federal actions requiring consideration under NEPA in addition to that which is necessary to support the land use plan and amendments thereto. (Sec. 107) Requires the Secretary, upon the issuance, renewal, or transfer of a grazing permit, and at least once every six years, to review all available monitoring data for the affected allotment and to make necessary modifications to management activities or permit terms and conditions in order to meet management objectives. Requires the Secretary to make copies of such review available to all interested parties and to allow an opportunity for comment. Outlines procedures to be taken when available monitoring data are insufficient to make appropriate recommendations. Subtitle B: Qualifications and Grazing Preferences - Requires a grazing permit to specify: (1) a historical grazing preference; (2) active use, based on the amount of forage available for livestock grazing established in the land use plan; (3) suspended use; and (4) voluntary and temporary nonuse. Specifies that: (1) a grazing preference identified in a grazing permit shall attach to the base property supporting the grazing permit; and (2) the animal unit months of a grazing preference shall attach to the acreage of land base property on a pro rata basis, or water base property on the basis of livestock forage production within the service area of the water. Subtitle C: Grazing Management - Directs the Secretary, if he or she elects to develop an allotment management plan for a given area, to do so in consultation, cooperation, and coordination with the lessees, permittees, and landowners involved, the grazing advisory councils, and any States having lands within the area to be covered by such plan. Requires public participation in the development or revision of such a plan. (Sec. 122) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with a permittee or lessee (permittee) for the construction, installation, modification, removal, or use of a permanent range improvement or development of a rangeland to achieve a management or resource condition objective. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) cost-sharing; (2) title; (3) nonstructural range improvements; (4) incentives for investing in range improvements; (5) range improvement permits; and (5) assignment of range improvements. (Sec. 123) Requires that: (1) monitoring of resource conditions and trends of Federal land on an allotment be performed by persons approved by the Secretary; (2) inspection of a grazing allotment be performed by qualified Federal, State, or local agency personnel or U.S. consultants; (3) rangeland monitoring be conducted according to regional or State criteria and protocols that are scientifically based; and (4) criteria and protocols be developed by the Secretary in consultation with the Resource Advisory Councils, State departments of agriculture, and other appropriate State agencies and academic institutions in each interested State. Requires: (1) monitoring oversight by the authorized officer; and (2) reasonable notice of monitoring activities by the Secretary. (Sec. 124) Prohibits any water rights on Federal land from being acquired, perfected, owned, controlled, maintained, administered, or transferred in connection with livestock grazing management other than in accordance with State law concerning the use and appropriation of water. Directs the Secretary, in managing livestock grazing on Federal land, to follow State law regarding water rights ownership and appropriation. Prohibits the Secretary from requiring any permittee or licensee to relinquish all or a portion of his or her water rights to another party as a condition to granting a grazing permit range improvement cooperative agreement or range improvement permit. Subtitle D: Authorization of Grazing Use - Requires a grazing permit to be issued for a 12-year term unless: (1) the land disposal is pending; (2) the land will be devoted to a public purpose that precludes grazing prior to the end of 12 years; or (3) the Secretary determines that it would be in the best interest of sound land management to specify a shorter term, if the decision to specify a shorter term is supported by appropriate and accepted resource analysis and evaluation, and a shorter term is determined to be necessary, based upon monitoring information, to achieve land management goals and objectives. Directs that a permittee holding a grazing permit be given first priority at the end of the term for renewal of the grazing permit if: (1) the land for which the grazing permit is issued remains available for domestic livestock grazing; (2) the permittee is in compliance with this title and the terms and conditions of the grazing permit; and (3) the permittee accepts the terms and conditions included by the authorized officer in the new grazing permit. (Sec. 132) Allows the Secretary to authorize subleasing of a Federal grazing permit, in whole or in part, only if the permittee is unable to make full grazing use due to ill health or death or under a cooperative agreement with a grazing permittee. (Sec. 133) Specifies that a permittee shall own or control and be responsible for the management of the livestock that graze the Federal land under a grazing permit. Prohibits an authorized officer from imposing any marking or tagging requirement beyond State law requirements. (Sec. 134) Subjects a grazing permit to such reasonable terms or conditions as may be required by this Act or as contained in an approved allotment management plan, including the kind and number of livestock, the period of use, the allotment to be used, and the amount of use in a grazing permit. Specifies that no term or condition of a grazing permit shall be imposed pertaining to past practice or present willingness of an applicant or permittee to relinquish control of public access to Federal land across private land. Directs an authorized officer to modify the terms and conditions of a grazing permit if: (1) monitoring data show that the grazing use is not meeting the land use plan or allotment management plan; and (2) such modification is necessary to meet specified management objectives. (Sec. 135) Sets the fee for each animal unit month in a grazing fee year to be determined by the Secretary at an amount equal to the three-year average of the total gross value of production for beef cattle for the three years preceding the grazing fee year, multiplied by the ten-year average of the United States Treasury Securities six-month bill "new issue" rate, divided by 12. Specifies that the gross value of production for beef cattle shall be determined by the Economic Research Service of the Department of Agriculture (ERS). Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the definition of "animal unit month"; (2) livestock not counted as an animal unit month; and (3) other fees and charges. Directs ERS to continue to compile and report the gross value of production of beef cattle on a dollars-per-bred-cow basis for the United States. (Sec. 136) Amends the Taylor Grazing Act to: (1) require States to expend their portion of moneys received as grazing fees in a manner that will result in direct benefit to, improved access to, or more effective management of, the rangeland resources in such State; and (2) prohibit any such funds from being expended for litigation purposes. Subtitle E: Unauthorized Grazing Use - Allows an authorized officer to approve a nonmonetary settlement of a case of a violation upon determining that: (1) evidence shows that the unauthorized use occurred through no fault of the livestock operator; (2) the forage use is insignificant; (3) Federal land has not been damaged; and (4) nonmonetary settlement is in the best interests of the United States. (Sec. 142) Directs that any impoundment and sale of unauthorized livestock on Federal land be conducted in accordance with State law. Subtitle F: Procedure - Requires the authorized officer to: (1) serve a proposed decision on any applicant, permittee, lienholder, or agent thereof that is affected by a proposed action on an application for, or relating to a term or condition of, a grazing permit or range improvement permit; and (2) send copies of a proposed decision to affected interests. (Sec. 152) Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) protests of proposed decisions; (2) final decisions; and (3) appeals. (Sec. 155) Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide for public participation in land use plans and the development of standards and guidelines for Federal land managers in the performance of their duties; and (2) notify affected interests at least 30 days prior to a final decision, and provide a reasonable opportunity for comment and informal consultation regarding such decision, with respect to various aspects of grazing permits or range improvement permits. Subtitle G: Advisory Committees - Directs the Secretaries, in consultation with the governors of affected States, to establish and operate joint Resource Advisory Councils on a State or regional level to provide advice on management issues for all lands administered by BLM and the Forest Service within such area, with an exception. Sets forth provisions regarding Council duties, disregard of advice, membership, subgroups, terms, applicability of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, and other advisory councils under the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA). (Sec. 162) Requires the Secretary, in consultation with the governor of the affected State and with affected counties, to appoint between five and nine persons to serve on a Grazing Advisory Council for each district and each national forest within the 16 contiguous western states having jurisdiction over more than 500,000 acres of public lands subject to commercial livestock grazing. Allows the Secretaries to establish joint Grazing Advisory Councils wherever practicable. Sets forth provisions regarding the duties of the Grazing Advisory Councils, disregard of advice, membership, and applicability of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Requires both Resource Advisory Councils and Grazing Advisory Councils to coordinate and cooperate with State Grazing Districts established pursuant to State law. (Sec. 163) Defines "district" for purposes of this subtitle as a grazing district administered, or other lands within a State boundary which are eligible for grazing, under specified provisions of the Taylor Grazing Act. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) termination of service of an advisory committee member; and (2) compensation and expense reimbursement. (Sec. 164) Repeals FLPMA provisions regarding grazing advisory boards. Subtitle H: Reports - Directs the Secretaries to submit annual reports that contain: (1) an itemization of revenues received and costs incurred directly in connection with the management of grazing on Federal land; and (2) recommendations for reducing administrative costs and improving the overall efficiency of Federal rangeland management. Title II: Management of National Grasslands - National Grasslands Management Act of 1996 - Amends the Forest Rangeland Renewable Resource Planning Act of 1974 to remove the National Grasslands from the National Forest System. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) manage the National Grasslands as a separate entity; (2) provide timely opportunities for consultation and cooperation with interested entities and individuals in the development and implementation of land use policies and plans and land conservation programs for the National Grasslands; (3) administer grazing permits and implement grazing management decisions in consultation, cooperation, and coordination with local grazing associations and other grazing permit holders; and (4) promulgate regulations to manage and protect the National Grasslands. Makes conforming amendments to the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) sportsmen's hunting, fishing, and recreational activities on National Grasslands; (2) valid existing rights; and (3) grazing fees and charges.