Interior Order 3454 Directs Agencies to Find More Grazing Land and Clear Permit Backlog for Ranchers
ANALYSIS · October 27, 2026
Slug: burgum-secretarial-order-3454-grazing-ranchers
Package note: This Analysis covers Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum’s Secretary’s Order No. 3454, “Supporting America’s Ranchers through Resilient Rangelands,” signed October 27, 2026, and the Interior Department press release announcing it. The order implements Executive Order 14425, “Supporting America’s Ranchers” (September 4, 2026; 91 FR 57765). It is an internal management order: it sets deadlines for reports and plans, creates no enforceable rights, defers to existing laws and regulations, and is “subject to the availability of appropriations.” It does not itself open specific lands or change grazing fees.
Primary sources
- Department of the Interior press release (October 27, 2026): https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-burgum-signs-order-support-american-ranchers-expand-grazing-and-cut-red-0
- Secretary’s Order No. 3454 (signed PDF): https://www.doi.gov/sites/default/files/document_secretarys_orders/so-3454-supporting-americas-ranchers-through-resilient-rangeland-2026-10-27-signed_508.pdf
- Executive Order 14425, Supporting America’s Ranchers: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/09/supporting-americas-ranchers/
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed an order on October 27, 2026, directing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation and other Interior agencies to identify more land for livestock grazing, renew grazing permits for full 10-year terms, and produce a plan to eliminate BLM’s permit-renewal backlog. The order creates a Department-wide Rangeland Health Initiative led by BLM and calls for a public map of lands available for grazing. It cites a national cattle herd at a 75-year low, a finding first stated in Executive Order 14425.
Core Tension
The press release says the order “takes aggressive steps to increase domestic meat production and lower costs for consumers.” The order’s own text is mostly a schedule of reviews, reports and plans, with deadlines from 5 to 180 days; actual new grazing would come later through permits and, in some cases, land-use or regulatory changes. It sets a policy goal of “no net loss” of Animal Unit Months (AUMs, the standard measure of grazing capacity) and says actions should lower meat prices “to the maximum extent possible,” but it contains no price or herd-size targets. It also says it “shall be implemented subject to the availability of appropriations” and that existing laws and regulations control where they conflict.
What the order does
| Section / element | Text / effect |
|---|---|
| Purpose (Sec. 1) | Advances EO 14425 by directing bureaus to “identify and open additional grazing opportunities and improve rangeland conditions” |
| Rangeland Health Initiative (Sec. 5(a)) | Establishes the initiative, led by BLM; BLM Director names an Initiative Lead within 5 days; other bureaus name contacts within 10 days |
| Land identification (Sec. 5(b)) | Within 30 days, BLM, Reclamation, FWS and NPS each report whether they manage lands that could be opened for long-term or emergency grazing, with maps |
| Grazing map (Sec. 5(d)) | Within 150 days, a Department-wide map of lands available for grazing, integrated into BLM’s vacant allotment web map |
| Initiative report (Sec. 5(e)) | Within 180 days, a comprehensive framework to improve rangeland health and identify unused grazing lands |
| Permit backlog (Sec. 6) | Within 60 days, BLM submits a plan to eliminate the backlog of permits and leases pending renewal, quantified by state and field office |
| Technology (Secs. 1(c), 5(g)) | Directs use of “super intelligence (SI)” to expedite permit renewals and reduce the backlog |
| 10-year permits | Prefers renewal for the full 10-year term for permittees meeting permit terms |
| Predators | FWS reviews bird-predation rules within 90 days and the Colorado gray wolf 10(j) rule and agreement within 15 days; the Secretary will consider changes to wolf-depredation rules |
| Wild horses and burros | BLM to reduce rangeland impacts and plan to reach appropriate management levels |
| Effect (Sec. 8) | Internal management only; creates no enforceable rights; laws and regulations control; subject to appropriations |
Claims check
| Claim | Assessment | Receipt |
|---|---|---|
| Burgum signed an order to expand grazing and support ranchers | Verified | Secretary’s Order No. 3454, dated Oct. 27, 2026 |
| The national cattle herd is at a 75-year low | Stated by Interior; not independently checked here | Release and order Sec. 3, citing EO 14425; USDA herd inventory data not reviewed in this draft |
| The order sets a 30-day deadline to identify new grazing lands and a 60-day deadline for a BLM backlog plan | Verified | Order Secs. 5(b) and 6 |
| The order requires renewal of grazing permits for the full 10-year term | Partly accurate | The order states a policy preference for 10-year renewals for permittees meeting permit terms, “consistent with” FLPMA; it does not override the statute |
| The order will “increase domestic meat production and lower costs for consumers” | Stated goal; not verifiable yet | Release language; the order says actions “should” lower meat prices “to the maximum extent possible” but sets no targets |
| “This order cuts through bureaucratic red tape” | Statement by Secretary Burgum; quote accurately reproduced | Press release |
Context / what to watch
- Late November 2026: The 30-day land-identification reports.
- Late December 2026: BLM’s 60-day plan to eliminate the permit-renewal backlog.
- Spring 2027: The 150-day grazing map and 180-day Rangeland Health Initiative report.
- Wolves: The 15-day FWS review of the Colorado gray wolf rule and agreement.
Reviewed and checked against the official Interior release and Secretary’s Order No. 3454 · Kelvic Report · 2026-10-28 · for /analysis/burgum-secretarial-order-3454-grazing-ranchers