Wyoming Moves to Modernize Grazing Subleases

The original story by Marie Hamilton  for Oil City News.

The Wyoming House Agriculture Committee gave a unanimous nod Thursday to a bill that updates how ranchers can sublease state grazing land and adds rules when animals someone else owns are put on those leases.

Senate File 0016 sailed through earlier in the Legislature – it passed the Senate on Feb. 12 by 29–1 after clearing initial votes – and the House committee approved it 7–0 Thursday (Reps. Karlee Provenza and Mike Schmid were excused). Sen. Charles Scott twice sat out votes because of a conflict, and Sen. Bob Ide cast the lone no in the Senate.

The short version of SF0016: it clarifies when subleasing is allowed, forces leaseholders to notify the Office of State Lands and Investments if they put livestock on leased state land that they don’t own, and sets a fee cap for that non-owned livestock – no more than 50% of the annual animal unit month rental rate. The bill also cleans up old, out-of-date language in Wyoming’s grazing laws.

Stacia Berry, director of the Office of State Lands and Investments, told the committee the agency worked with ranching groups to find practical answers.

“We were fortunate enough to work with both the Farm Bureau Federation and the Wyoming Stock Growers Association during the interim to try and find solutions that meet needs for producers,” she said.

Industry leaders backed a key piece of the bill that avoids forcing subleases for family or closely held operations. Under subsection (k), if the leaseholder and the livestock owner share at least 80% common ownership, the arrangement won’t trigger a formal sublease requirement. Rep. Justin Fornstrom asked why 80% was chosen instead of 75% or another threshold; Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, said the number came from industry discussions and was meant to be pragmatic – not magic. Magagna, who joined the meeting from Cheyenne, noted modern ranches often operate across families and related business entities, which the old rules didn’t handle well.

Supporters say the bill preserves the right to sublease while giving ranchers a clearer, simpler path when they temporarily put non-owned livestock on state leases. Opponents have been sparse so far – the measure racked up strong bipartisan support through the Senate and the House panel.

Next stop: the full House. If SF0016 keeps its momentum, Wyoming’s grazing lease rules will get a long-overdue modernization that aims to match how ranches actually operate today.