Federal grazing fees reduced

Nearly 18,000 grazing permits and leases administered by the BLM, and almost 6,500 additional permits administered by the Forest Service, will be included.

AUMs and HMs (treated as equivalent measures for fee purposes) represent the use of public lands by one cow and her calf, one horse, or five sheep or goats for a month.

The method of grazing fee calculation was established by Congress in the 1978 Public Rangelands Improvement Act, and remained in use under a 1986 presidential executive order. Under that order, the grazing fee cannot fall below $1.35 per AUM/HM, and any increase or decrease cannot exceed 25 percent of the previous year’s level.

The formula uses a 1966 base value of $1.23 per AUM/HM for grazing on public land in Western states. A new fee is then calculated according to three factors—private grazing land lease rates, beef cattle prices, and the cost of livestock production. In effect, the fee rises, falls, or stays the same based on market conditions.

“The BLM and Forest Service are committed to strong relationships with the ranching community and work closely with permittees to ensure public rangelands remain healthy, productive working landscapes,” said Brian Steed, BLM Deputy Director for Programs and Policy. “Fifty percent of the collected fees as deposited in the US Treasury are returned to the Range Betterment Fund for on-the-ground range improvement projects.”

Portions of collected fees are also returned to the states for use in the counties where they were generated, Steed said.

The grazing fee applies in 16 Western states on public lands administered by the BLM and the Forest Service: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Permit holders and lessees may contact their local BLM or Forest Service office for additional information.