43 U.S.C. § 316f — Terms and conditions of lease

This section sets four basic rules every grazing lease must follow. (a) Period of lease. The Secretary decides how long a lease lasts. It can run for up to fifty-five years. The Secretary must consider every factor relevant to how the grazing privileges will be used. (b) Size of leasehold. Normally a lease covers a specific, defined area of land. But if local conditions make it more practical, the lease can instead be based on the number of livestock allowed to graze, rather than a fixed area. (c) Terms for surrender of lease. Every lease must let the lessee give it up early. To do this, the lessee sends the Secretary written notice. If the lessee has followed the lease's terms up to that point, giving up the lease also ends the lessee's duty to pay future fees. Each lease must state how much advance notice is needed, but that notice period can never be longer than one year. (d) Terms for renewal of lease. Every lease must let the lessee try to renew it. The lessee can start negotiating a renewal at any point during the last five years of the lease term. Any renewal still has to follow the other rules in this subchapter.