Comment on FR Doc # 2026-09387

Re: Revision of Regulations for Grazing Administration, Exclusive of Alaska Docket No. BLM-2026-0001; RIN 1004-AE82 To the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of the Interior: I oppose the proposed grazing regulations: they would weaken land-health protections, reduce public participation, and prioritize production-oriented livestock over the broader public interest. BLM-managed lands belong to all Americans and must be managed under the multiple-use mandate to protect clean water, wildlife, Tribal interests, cultural resources, recreation, ecological restoration, and future generations - not solely livestock production. Maintain strong land and water protections. Water quality must remain an explicit Fundamental of Land Health. Although states establish water-quality standards, BLM retains responsibility for managing federal lands to protect streams, wetlands, groundwater, riparian areas, and watersheds. The agency must retain the authority to modify, suspend, or reduce grazing when monitoring shows that grazing contributes to a failure to meet land-health standards. Landscape-scale assessments should supplement, not replace, allotment-level and site-specific monitoring. Preserve public participation and transparency. I oppose narrowing the definition of the "interested public" or reducing opportunities for notice, comment, protest, appeal, and administrative review. The American public - people concerned with wildlife, recreation, hunting, fishing, water quality, cultural resources, Tribal treaty rights, scientific research, and conservation - have legitimate interests in public-land management. Monitoring data, land-health evaluations, environmental reviews, and final decisions must remain publicly available. Uphold multiple use. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act requires balancing multiple uses, not maximizing livestock production. Conservation, restoration, Tribal cultural uses, wildlife habitat, watershed protection, recreation, research, and climate resilience must remain equal components of public-land management. Reject the "production-oriented livestock" definition. Grazing authorizations must be based on land health and consistency with land-use plans, not whether animals produce commercial commodities. This proposal would disadvantage conservation grazing, Tribal buffalo restoration, research, habitat management, and other beneficial uses. BLM must adopt an inclusive definition that allows cattle, sheep, goats, horses, bison, and other managed grazing animals. Base decisions on science. Grazing decisions must rely on credible monitoring, best available science, Tribal knowledge, and the expertise of hydrologists, wildlife biologists, ecologists, soil scientists, archaeologists, fisheries specialists, range conservationists, and other qualified professionals. Local knowledge is valuable but must not replace scientific evidence. Where uncertainty exists, BLM must apply precautionary management. Retain opportunities for conservation. Regulations must continue to support voluntary rest, habitat restoration, invasive-species management, ecological recovery, Tribal restoration initiatives, research, and recreation. Grazing must not be promoted as a universal wildfire solution. I respectfully demand that BLM: •Retain water quality as an explicit Fundamental of Land Health. •Preserve site-specific and allotment-level monitoring. •Maintain broad public notice, participation, protest, appeal, and transparency. •Reject a narrow definition of the "interested public." •Remove the proposed "production-oriented livestock" definition. •Ensure Tribal buffalo restoration, conservation grazing, and ecological restoration remain eligible for grazing authorizations. •Retain conservation as an equal component of multiple-use management. •Base decisions on science, Tribal knowledge, and qualified professional expertise. •Require timely corrective action when grazing contributes to land-health failures. •Conduct meaningful Tribal consultation and fully evaluate impacts on Tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, cultural resources, and buffalo restoration. •Complete a thorough environmental analysis before issuing a final rule. Public lands are shared national resources, not private production facilities. The final rule must strengthen, rather than weaken, environmental protections, public accountability, and the multiple-use mission established by Congress. A member of the American Public, Washington