Bundy Aids Grazing Reform: Spotlight on Federal Grazing Fees

Cliven Bundy's protest over his unpaid grazing fees has achieved one significant outcome—more people are now aware of the low fees ranchers pay for grazing livestock on public lands.

Credo, a liberal telephone services company, sends letters in its customers' names each month to their members of Congress. In July, Credo sent out letters urging increases in grazing fees. Customers simply had to check a box on their phone bills to participate.

Studies indicate that federal grazing fees are well below competitive market prices. This is because Congress, rather than executive agencies, sets the fee level, which does not cover the cost of land damage. Ranchers argue that they make improvements to the land that increase its value.

With ranchers pushing to remove wild horses from “their” range, American Wild Horse Conservation (formerly American Wild Horse Preservation) director Suzanne Roy stated, “The hyper-focus on mustang numbers is a concerted effort to scapegoat wild horses and distract attention away from the massive level of livestock grazing occurring on our public lands at great expense to the environment, wildlife (including wild horses), and taxpayers, who subsidize the below-market grazing fees that ranchers enjoy.”

“The biggest thing to understand here is that the grazing fee is not a cost-recovery fee,” BLM spokesperson Tom Gorey told the Fiscal Times. “If you want to blame Congress for that, go ahead, because they created the formula that we use.”

This issue is also affecting state levels. In Idaho, officials are considering raising fees for grazing on state lands. Not surprisingly, a ranching lobbyist, Jared Brackett, told the Twin Falls Times News that ranchers might then switch entirely to grazing on those bargain-rate federal lands.

Originally Posted By News & Review