The Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service announced this year’s grazing fees won’t be increasing despite inflation. Those in fighting for higher environmental standards say it is a failure in stewardship.
Marking this the fifth year in a row, the federal fee is set to remain at $1.35 per cow and calf pair per month for grazing on public and US Forest Service lands. The established grazing fee determined by congressional mandates affects nearly 25,000 grazing permits held by the BLM and forest service.
Josh Osher, Public Policy Director for Western Watersheds Project, who is against large-scale grazing, says, “After a year where Americans experienced particularly heavy inflation, the inflation-adjusted cost of running livestock on public lands did the exact opposite and called on the Biden Administration to do better for the environment. While executive director of the Public Lands Council, a ranching industry trade group, says, “For generations, grazing permittees have guarded vast Western landscapes against development, encroachment, and destruction.”
The fee for the year begins March 1; permit holders and lessees can contact the BLM or Forest Service office for more information.
