S. 1981 would require the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior, in coordination with interested parties on the state, tribal, and local level, to develop a strategy for using livestock grazing on federal lands to reduce wildfire risk. The strategy would be due within 18 months of enactment and would be posted on the departments’ websites.
The departments currently maintain several initiatives to encourage grazing to reduce wildfire risk. Using information from the departments about the costs of similar efforts, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost less than $500,000 over the 2026-2031 period. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Emma Uebelhor. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
