§315m Lease of isolated or disconnected tracts for grazing; preferences

Summary

The Secretary of the Interior may lease isolated public land for grazing when the land is empty, not reserved, and too far away to join a grazing district. If the Secretary leases such land, people who own or lawfully use neighboring land (owners, homesteaders, lessees, or other lawful occupants) must be given first chance to use it so they can properly use their own land. If an isolated tract is 760 acres or less, those neighboring people have a 90-day right to lease the whole tract on the Secretary’s terms after it is offered. If public land is reopened after a prior withdrawal, the Secretary may give a similar priority to people who used the land for grazing under the agency that managed it before the withdrawal.