Factsheet on Fiscal Grazing Costs on Public Lands-BLM Self Dealing Racket-Fox guards henhouse-taxpayer pays-By Govt Accountability Office investigation

 

Fiscal Costs of Federal Public Lands Livestock Grazing

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported the federal government spends at

least $144 million each year managing private livestock grazing on federal public lands, but

collects only $21 million in grazing fees—

for a net loss of at least $123 million per year.1

•

The GAO reported that ten federal departments and agencies operate grazing programs

on federal public lands: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), USDA-Forest Service, D

National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Energy, Bureau of

Reclamation, Army Corps of Engineers, the Army, Air Force, and Navy.

•

The GAO admits its report is incomplete because several agencies, including the

Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Environmental Protection Agency,

which spend millions of dollars mitigating for grazing damage such as non-point source

water pollution, did not provide estimates of their grazing related costs to the GAO.

Other programs that benefit both private and public lands ranchers, such as the

“Livestock Compensation Program,”

2 were also not included in the total subsidy to public

lands ranchers.

•

Considering the additional direct and indirect costs not included in the GAO report,

economists have estimated that the federal public lands grazing on only BLM and Forest

Service lands

may cost as much as $500 million to $1 billion annually.3

•

The majority of BLM and Forest Service grazing fees are not deposited to the U.S.

Treasury, but instead are

diverted to the "Range Betterment Fund" to pay for fencing,

water developments, and related infrastructure to support continued livestock grazing

(see below).

•

No report has ever fully analyzed the incredible environmental costs of livestock

grazing on federal public lands.

1

GAO. 2005. Livestock grazing: federal expenditures and receipts vary, depending on the agency and the purpose of

the fee charged. GAO-05-869. Government Accountability Office. Washington, DC.

2

The Livestock Compensation Program was a huge boondoggle that paid farmers and ranchers $635 in 2002 and

2003. G. M. Gaul, D. Morgan, S. Cohen. No drought required for federal aid: livestock grazing program grew to cover

any “disaster.” Washington Post (July 18, 2006).

3

Moscowitz, K. and C. Romaniello. 2002. Assessing the Full Cost of the Federal Grazing Program. Center for

Biological Diversity. Tucson, AZ. The estimated cost of the federal grazing program at $500 million is consistent with

estimates developed by other experts. K. Hess (former special advisor on policy to the Assistant Secretary for

Program, Policy, and Budget of the Department of the Interior) and J. Wald (senior attorney and Land Program

Director, Natural Resources Defense Council) estimated the annual cost of the federal grazing program to be

approximately $500 million. Hess, K. and J. H. Wald. 1995. Grazing reform: here's the answer. High Country News

27(18). The

Economist magazine has also reported the annual cost of the federal grazing program to be $460 million.

Subsidized cow chow.

The Economist (Mar. 7, 2002): 39.

Federal Grazing Permit Loans

While taxpayers pay millions of dollars to subsidize livestock grazing on public lands, federal

grazing permittees and lessees are also allowed under dubious federal policy to collateralize

their grazing permits/leases to finance their public lands grazing operations. Both the Forest

Service

4 and the BLM5 sanction the use of publicly owned federal grazing permits and leases as

collateral for

private bank loans.

♦

The BLM has documented more than $1.1 billion in liens on BLM grazing permits/leases

in the eleven western states.

6

♦

Approximately 300 ranch operations have taken more than $450 million in loans on

Forest Service grazing permits.

7

♦

In Supreme Court documents, the State Bank of Southern Utah confirmed that financial

institutions hold an estimated $10 billion in loans and related credit transactions to the

public land ranching industry, with the grazing privileges alone worth approximately $1

billion.

8

4

The Forest Service “escrow waiver” program is further described in M. Salvo. 2002. “Mortgaging Public Assets: How

Ranchers Use Grazing Permits as Collateral.” Pages 271-273

in G. Wuerthner and M. Matteson (eds.). WELFARE

R

ANCHING: THE SUBSIDIZED DESTRUCTION OF THE AMERICAN WEST. Island Press. Covelo, CA.

5

T. Jones and M. Salvo. 2006. “Mortgaging Our Natural Heritage: An Analysis of the Use of Bureau of Land

Management Grazing Permits as Collateral for Private Loans.” Distributed report. Forest Guardians, Santa Fe, NM;

Sagebrush Sea Campaign, Chandler, AZ.

6

Mortgaging Our Natural Heritage: 5.

7

Mortgaging Our Natural Heritage: 5.

8

Brief of Amici Curiae State Bank of Southern Utah in Support of Petitioner, Public Lands Council v. Babbitt, 529

U.S. 728 (2000).

Predator Control to Protect Livestock

Of the millions of dollars that taxpayers spend annually to subsidize public lands grazing, perhaps

$5 - $8

million

is dedicated to killing “predators” to protect livestock grazing on federal lands.9 Native wildlife

killed to protect livestock include coyotes, bobcats, wolves, mountain lions, and bears.

•

Number of predators Wildlife Services killed in sixteen western states (FY 2007): 71,196.10

•

Wildlife Services spent more than $61 million of federal funds to control wildlife in FY 2007; more than

$18 million was spent to protect “agriculture” (including livestock) from animal damage; of that

amount, $10,303,903 was spent in the eleven western states with the most federal public land and

federal public lands grazing.

11

•

Percent of Wildlife Services predator control budget spent to protect livestock on public lands: 75

percent.

12

•

Percent of predator control budget paid by ranchers: 1 percent.13

•

Percent of cattle and calf losses attributed to predation (including dogs) (2005): 4.7 percent.14

•

Percent of cattle and calf losses attributed to digestive problems, respiratory difficulties, calving

complications, weather and other causes (2005):

95.3 percent.15

For more information, please contact Mark Salvo, Director of the Sagebrush Sea Campaign for

WildEarth Guardians, at msalvo@wildearthguardians.org.

9

Wildlife Services claimed to spend $5.1 million to protect domestic livestock from predators on federal public lands

in FY 2004 (

$5 million). GAO. 2005. Livestock grazing: federal expenditures and receipts vary, depending on the

agency and the purpose of the fee charged. GAO-05-869. Government Accountability Office. Washington, DC: 6.

However, this amount may be higher. The agency annually spends approximately $10.3 million on activities in the

eleven western states, and it is estimated that 75 percent of this amount is used to control predators on public land

(

$8 million).

10

Data compiled by WildEarth Guardians from Wildlife Services data tables for FY 2007. Total count includes black

bears, bobcats, coyotes, mountain lions, northern gray wolves and Mexican gray wolves.

11

Wildilfe Services. 2008. Wildlife Services' 2007 Annual Tables: Table A. Wildlife Services Federal and Cooperative

Funding by Resource Category – FY 2007. USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services.

12

O'Toole, R. 1994. Audit of the USDA Animal Damage Control Program. Cascade Holistic Economic Consultants.

Oak Grove, OR: 1.

13

Rogers, P. 1999. Cash cows. San Jose Mercury News (Nov. 7, 1999): 6S.

14

USDA-NASS. 2006. Cattle Death Loss. USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service, Agricultural Statistics Board.

(May 2006).

Domestic dogs kill as many livestock as mountain lions, bobcats, bears, and wolves, combined.

15

USDA-NASS. 2006. Cattle Death Loss. USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service, Agricultural Statistics Board.

(May 2006)