Grazing rights at center of Oregon standoff; a question and answer

The standoff at a federal wildlife reserve in Oregon has put a spotlight on an often-overlooked conflict over grazing rights on federally owned land that has played out for decades across the American West.

Few locals agree with the methods used by the armed activists who rolled into Burns, Oregon, over the weekend and took over the nearby headquarters of the sprawling Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. But they share some of the same frustrations with the federal agencies that manage about half the state’s land.

Ranchers have long complained the government’s growing emphasis on protecting the environment is leading to more aggressive restrictions on grazing, timber harvesting and mineral extraction on the federally owned lands that have sustained their families for generations.

“All of that makes the ranchers feel like they are under siege, and they push back,” said John Freemuth, a professor of public policy at Boise State University in Idaho.

In the view of some conservationists, however, the ranchers are actually the beneficiaries of a government subsidy that essentially pays them to destroy some of the West’s remaining natural treasures by offering grazing land at deeply discounted rates.

Question: How much land does the government own?

Answer: The federal government owns roughly 640million acres, nearly 28percent of U.S. land, according to a 2014 report by the Congressional Research Service. The vast majority of that is concentrated in 11 Western states, where nearly 50percent of the land is federally owned, and in Alaska, where the figure tops 61percent.

Q: How much federally owned land is open for grazing?

A: Two government agencies manage most of this land: the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Agriculture’s national Forest Service. Livestock grazing is permitted on about 155million acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management and 95million acres of U.S. Forest Service lands. The permits and leases issued to ranchers to graze their livestock on these lands are generally valid for 10 years and can be renewed if they abide by the government’s conditions.

Q: What does the federal grazing program cost taxpayers?

A: The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service charge livestock owners a fee to graze their herds on public lands. However, they typically spend far more on managing grazing than they collect in fees.

A report by the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, determined that the two agencies spent $132.5million on their grazing programs during the 2004 fiscal year but the receipts were just $17.5million – a difference of $115million.

Other studies have estimated the cost to taxpayers is even higher. The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group, found that federal appropriations for these grazing programs amounted to $143.6million in 2014 but said the agencies collected only $18.5million.

That year, the fee charged by both agencies was set at $1.35 per animal unit month. That is the amount of forage needed to feed a cow and her calf, one horse, or five sheep or goats for a month. Had the government charged the average prevailing rate to graze on private rangeland, the receipts would have been $261million, the study said.

Q: What is the cost to the environment?

A: Environmental activists argue the low fees contribute to overgrazing that leads to soil loss, invasive plant species infestations, the killing of native predators and endangerment of species on public lands.

“There are no grazing rights,” Travis Bruner, executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, said in a statement this week. “But there are lots of grazing ‘wrongs.’”

Any increase in federal grazing fees can be expected to face opposition from those who fear it would put many small and medium-sized ranches out of business. Ranchers argue federal fees are not comparable to those charged for leasing privately because public lands are often less productive, must be shared with others and may lack water tanks, fencing and other amenities.