Cattle ranchers got a break this week. Their grazing fees on public lands just dropped to the lowest amount allowed under federal law. The average savings per rancher will be just $32 a year, but the decision is still controversial.
Bob Skinner starts up his all-terrain vehiclethat heuses to get around his remote ranch near the Idaho/Oregon border. It鈥檚 calving season, so several times a day he drives his land to check for newborn calfs. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a brand new one,鈥� says Skinner, pointing to a rust-colored calf on wobbly legs, right next to its mother. The cow assumes a protective stance as Skinner comes near.The calf seems to be in good shape, so Skinner zooms over the rocky sagebrush landscape to look for the next one.
In a few months, Skinner will turn all his cows and calves out to eat grass on public lands. He鈥檚 happy about the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service decision to $1.35 an "animal unit month." That鈥檚 the price for grazing one horse, five goats, five sheep or for Skinner 鈥� one cow and her calf.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not one of our big expenses,鈥� says Skinner, who is also president of the cattlemen鈥檚 advocacy group the . 鈥淲e have big expenses running on public lands.鈥�
Things like gas, building materials and labor costs make up those expenses.
Skinner compares leasing grazing acres from the government to being a renter whose landlord expects you to pay for any maintenance and repairs.
鈥淭he government does nothing," says Skinner. "I mean nothing."
Every spring, Skinner and his crews spend days repairing barbed wire fences that were downed over the winter. He鈥檚 also responsible for maintaining the pipeline that transports water to his cows over the remote rangeland. Sometimes, he repairs four or five pipeline breaks a day. All those costs add up, and are the rancher鈥檚 responsibility.
And then there鈥檚 the volatility in the beef market, depending on what鈥檚 going on with say, tariffs. Brian Lombard is with the BLM. He says the government takes current market conditions into account when calculating . His agency looks at things like fluctuations in beef prices and the general costs of livestock production.
鈥淕enerally these increases and decreases they have the most influence on what happens with the grazing fee,鈥� says Lombard.
And Lombard argues the fee reduction might even encourage more people to apply for grazing permits. That would mean more money for the program.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 going to increase participation,鈥� says Lombard. 鈥淲e currently have 18,000 leasing permits. I would suspect that that鈥檚 probably going to go up next year as a result of this."
That idea terrifies Scott Lake with the nonprofit conservation group .
Lake says all this grazing on public lands has ecological consequences.
"First and foremost is the cost to the land itself, and the ecological services and recreational values we鈥檙e sacrificing in order to sustain public lands grazing," says Lake.
Environmentalists like Lake want to see the government raise fees for ranchers and put those dollars toward habitat improvements.
Under the Trump Administration, grazing fees have hit rock bottom. The $1.35 minimum was set by executive order by former President Ronald Reagan in 1986.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a raw deal for the taxpayers," says Lake. "The grazing program doesn鈥檛 even recoup the money that the BLM spends on it.鈥�
Neil Rimbey can confirm that. He鈥檚 a a range economist and a professor emeritus with the University of Idaho.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a good deal for the government at all,鈥� says Rimbey.
I visited with a rancher to talk abt reduced grazing fees, and got to see some brand new calves. 鈥� Amanda Peacher (@amandapeacher)
The BLM鈥檚 rangeland management program costs more than it brings in 鈥� about $63 million more, according to the agency. So if it鈥檚 not a good deal for government, what about ranchers? Are they getting a good deal here?鈥淚鈥檒l give you the typical economist鈥檚 answer: It depends,鈥� says Rimbey.
Rimbey says each rancher鈥檚 profit margin depends in part on how much money and time they have to devote to upkeep.
For Rancher Bob Skinner that鈥檚 a lot. But he thinks it鈥檚 worth it for him 鈥� and the country.
鈥淣ame me one government program that鈥檚 not a loss,鈥� says Skinner. 鈥淓ducation, transportation. Name me one.鈥�
The BLM and the Forest Service manage more than 441 million acres of public land 鈥� mostly in 12 Western states.
This is the second time grazing fees have dropped under the Trump Administration. The new fees go into effect March 1.
Find reporter Amanda Peacher on Twitter .
Copyright 2019 Boise State Public Radio
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUER in Salt Lake City and KRCC and 萝莉少女 in Colorado.
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