Proper Public Lands Management - Not Private Agenda Implementation
The federal grazing program, established by the 1934 Taylor Grazing Act, has resulted in significant economic and environmental costs to American taxpayers. A budget-conscious approach to reforming the program is called for, due to the egregious waste and mismanagement of the lands by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Highlights for revised grazing lease allocation criteria for the 80,000 cattle leases, adjusted per-acre fees, and elimination of conflicting relationships between Congress, the BLM, livestock interest groups, and the BLM Wild Horse and Burros Program are urgently called for.
The native inhabitants' use of the public lands whose birthright is to live freely on the public lands precedes recorded history. However, the primary use of these lands has shifted to a heavily subsidized program for private livestock grazing. Unfortunately, consistently net negative operational results (a net loss of $133.8 million in direct costs to taxpayers in 2023) has been the trend in recent years.
The direct costs to the federal grazing program, who manages 1.5 million private livestock on 155 million acres of public lands, with 18,000 leases is millions higher than it should be for taxpayers. In 2023, the program spent $154.8 million in taxpayer dollars, while collecting only $21 million in grazing fees. This significant deficit is unsustainable and warrants reform. Yet, the BLM does not seem to be concerned about saving taxpayer dollars.
Rather, they are catering to the financial interests of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), whose 2021-2025 plan indicates the necessity of using public lands to increase their beef profits (NCBA website).
The indirect costs of the program are far larger than the direct costs. There are three primary deficits. First is rangeland health. Millions of acres of public lands fail to meet the BLMs rangeland health standards, with cattle grazing cited as a primary cause. The grazing program clearly degrades the land, causes unwanted invasive species to overtake forage species.
Second, the ranchers and their trade associations (e.g. NCBA), demand the BLM to remove competing species and predators, including the wild horses and burros. Meeting those demands has resulted in over 325,000 wild horses and burros being removed from the public lands of their birthright (1971 to current). These animals are gathered by expensive helicopter roundups, which are inhumane, and held off range livestock holding facilities. Fiscal assessment reveals a steadily increasing net negative annual cost for taxpayers.
For example, data from the BLM Advisory Board Meeting, January 7-9, 2025 showed over 64,000 animals rounded up and held in private holding facilities operated by livestock companies. The cost to keep these animals is $7.00/animal unit/day in short-term holding and $2.00/animal unit/day in long-term, private, pastures owned by wealthy livestock owners. The projected cost to the taxpayer to hold these animals to subsidize the livestock leases is $127,000,000 annually. Annually roundups add another $50,000.000 equaling 7/8 of the BLM Wild Horse and Burro budget.
Additionally, the $40,000,000,000 annual costs of wildfire mitigation will be reduced if livestock grazing is managed properly. The wild horses mitigate wildfires on the public lands because where they graze stops the fires. Their manure also reseeds the grasslands, while the cattle manure only adds greenhouse gasses.
The current results of the federal grazing program, mismanaged by the BLM, is a multi-billion-dollar loss for American taxpayers. This loss is exacerbated by the deliberate misrepresentation of program outcomes by BLM federal land managers, who conceal the important facts regarding the damages, land degradation and imbalance to the ecosystem on the public lands by the cattle. The BLM and their contractors blame the wild horses and burros for these damages, caused by the cattle. The BLM and the Department of Agriculture are pressured by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) and their lobbyists in DC, causing the agency and BLM to avoid truthful oversight on the public lands.
Restoration of the taxpayer's best interests can be achieved by revising the federal private livestock grazing program, which will reverse the annual $1 billion loss. Eliminating the removal of competing species such as the wild horses and burros will result in three-fourths of the savings to tax payers. Revising the cost-per-acre fees, presently $1.35 per animal unit per month to reflect commercial rates starting at $20.00 per animal unit per month can also help achieve a break-even status.
Only severing the conflicting relationships between the Department of Agriculture, the BLM and the NCBA's political action funding of members of congress will restore legitimate oversight.
It is imperative that Congress be presented with the truth about the conservation of the public lands, the legitimacy of the land use by native species, and consider the interests of the American taxpayers over their campaign fund donors’ interests.
For over 20 years the mismanagement of the public lands has been caused by the undue influence of the NCBA. Today public lands do not feed Americans or contribute to food security, as more than fifty percent of the beef from the public land is exported to other countries where it can be sold for prices far higher than the US marketplace.
Congress additionally needs to formally recognize that America's Wild Horses and Burros are native species with the same protection given the American Bald Eagle and BISON. A declaration for naming Wild Horses as the National Equine should be brought forward.
Properly adjusted, the federal grazing programs can attain fiscal responsibility.
