NEWS RELEASE USDA Forest Service Washington, D.C.
	Contact:	Larry Chambers (USFS), 202-205-1005 Tom Gorey (BLM), 202-912-7420 Twitter: @forestservice

US Forest Service, BLM announce 2013 grazing fee

WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2013 – The federal grazing fee for 2013 will be $1.35 per head month (HM) for lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and $1.35 per animal unit month (AUM) for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The grazing fee for 2013 is the same as it was in 2012.

An HM or AUM - treated as equivalent measures for fee purposes - is the occupancy and 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, determined by a congressional formula and effective on March 1, applies to more than 8,000 permits administered by the Forest Service and nearly 18,000 grazing permits and leases administered by BLM.

The formula used for calculating the grazing fee, which was established by Congress in the 1978 Public Rangelands Improvement Act, has continued under a presidential Executive Order issued in 1986. Under that order, the grazing fee cannot fall below $1.35 per AUM, and any increase or decrease cannot exceed 25 percent of the previous year's level.

Credit: Thinkstock

The annually determined grazing fee is computed by using a 1966 base value of $1.23 per HM/AUM 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, with livestock operators paying more when conditions are better and less when conditions have declined.

The 2013 grazing fee of $1.35 per HM/AUM applies to 16 western states on public lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service and BLM. 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 Forest Service or BLM office for additional information.

The mission of the U.S. Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world. Forest Service lands contribute more than $13 billion to the economy each year through visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 20 percent of the nation’s clean water supply, a value estimated at $27 billion per year.

The BLM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages approximately 245 million surface acres. Most of this public land is located in 12 western states, including Alaska.

#

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).