The Federal grazing fee for 2019 will drop to $1.35 per animal unit month (AUM) for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and $1.35 per head month (HM) for lands managed by the USDA Forest Service. This represents a decrease from the 2018 Federal grazing fee of $1.41 per AUM.

An AUM or HM—treated as equivalent measures for fee purposes—is the use of public lands by one cow and
her calf, one horse, or five sheep or goats for a month. The newly calculated grazing fee was determined by a
congressional formula and takes effect March 1, 2019. The fee will apply to nearly 18,000 grazing permits and
leases administered by the BLM and nearly 6,500 permits administered by the Forest Service.

The formula used for calculating the grazing fee was established by Congress in the 1978 Public Rangelands
Improvement Act and has 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 annually determined grazing fee is established using a 1966 base value of $1.23 per AUM/HM for livestock
grazing on public lands in Western states. The figure is then calculated according to three factors—current
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 grazing fees deposited
into the U.S. 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 the fees were
generated.”

The grazing fee applies in 16 Western states on public lands administered by the BLM and the Forest Service.
The states are: 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.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 Western states, including
Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The
agency’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and
enjoyment of present and future generations. Diverse activities authorized on these lands generated $96 billion
in sales of goods and services throughout the American economy in fiscal year 2017. These activities supported
more than 468,000 jobs