The 2008 Grazing Fee, Surcharge Rates, and Penalty for Unauthorized Grazing Use

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov

February 21, 2008
In Reply Refer To:
4130 (220) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 03/03/2008
Instruction Memorandum No. 2008-075
Expires: 09/30/2009

To: All Field Office Officials

From: Assistant Director, Renewable Resources and Planning

Subject: The 2008 Grazing Fee, Surcharge Rates, and Penalty for Unauthorized
Grazing Use

Program Area: Livestock Grazing Administration

Purpose: This Instruction Memorandum transmits the grazing fee charged for grazing use on public lands for grazing fee year 2008.

Policy /Action:

2008 Grazing Fee

The fee for livestock grazing on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) during the 2008 grazing fee year (March 1, 2008 through February 28, 2009) is $1.35 per animal unit month (AUM).

Surcharge for Authorized Grazing

In accordance with 43 CFR 4130.8-1(f), BLM adds a surcharge to the grazing fee bill for authorized grazing of livestock owned by persons other than the permittee or lessee except where such use is made by livestock owned by sons and daughters of permittees and lessees as provided in 43 CFR 4130.7(f) 43 CFR 4130.7(d) specifies the requirements that apply to pasturing agreements. When pasturing agreements are in effect, BLM adds the surcharge to the permittee’s or lessee’s grazing fee billing based on the number of AUM’s being billed. The surcharge must be paid before grazing use begins, except where "after the grazing season" billing occurs under the terms of an approved allotment management plan or other activity plan intended to serve as a functional equivalent.

Table 1 lists the grazing fee surcharge rates in effect for the 2008 grazing fee year. They vary by State and equal 35 percent of the difference between the 2008 grazing fee and the 2007 private land lease rate for the State where the pasturing agreement occurs. Surcharge rates are calculated automatically by BLM’s Rangeland Administration System (RAS) and the appropriate geographic State rate(s) are assessed based on the geographic state distribution entered in RAS.

Table 1: 2008 Surcharge Rates

State
$/AUM
State
$/AUM
State
$/AUM
State
$/AUM
AZ
2.33
CA
5.30
CO
4.78
ID
4.36
KS
4.43
MT
5.76
NE
7.58
NV
4.08
NM
3.38
ND
5.13
OK
2.68
OR
4.46
SD
6.88
UT
4.04
WA
3.76
WY
4.92
Penalty for Unauthorized Grazing Use

The value of forage consumed for unauthorized grazing is the average private grazing land lease rate per AUM for the state where the unauthorized grazing occurs. The National Agricultural Statistics Service publishes the state rates annually in January.

In cases where grazing has been approved for livestock that are not owned by the permittee or lessee, but those livestock make unauthorized use of public forage, the regular nonwillful and will penalty amounts apply.

Where unauthorized grazing occurs in an allotment located in multiple States, RAS automatically calculates the value of forage consumed by calculating the AUM's that were grazed in each State and applying the applicable State unauthorized use rate to that amount.

Nonwillful Unauthorized Grazing Use: The value of forage consumed rates that BLM will use for nonwillful unauthorized grazing during the 2008 grazing fee year are listed in Table 2.

Table 2: 2008 Rates for Nonwillful Unauthorized Grazing Use

State
$/AUM
State
$/AUM
State
$/AUM
State
$/AUM
AZ
8.00
CA
16.50
CO
15.00
ID
13.80
KS
14.00
MT
17.80
NE
23.00
NV
13.00
NM
11.00
ND
16.00
OK
9.00
OR
14.10
SD
21.00
UT
12.90
WA
12.10
WY
15.40
Under 43 CFR 4150.3(a), BLM may approve nonmonetary settlement of nonwillful unauthorized use violations if BLM determines that the unauthorized use occurred through no fault of the livestock operator, the forage use was insignificant, the public lands have not been damaged, and that nonmonetary settlement is in the best interest of the United States.

Willful Unauthorized Grazing Use: As per 43 CFR 4150.3(b), the rates BLM uses for the value of forage consumed for willful unauthorized use is twice the nonwillful rate as shown in Table 2.

Repeated Willful Unauthorized Grazing Use: As per 43 CFR 4150.3(c), the rate BLM uses for the value of forage consumed is three times the nonwillful rate as shown in Table 2.

43 CFR 4150.3 requires that settlement for willful and repeated willful violations include the value of the forage consumed, the value for damages to the public lands and other property of the United States, and all reasonable expenses in detecting, investigating, resolving violations, and livestock impoundment costs. The BLM determines the latter two amounts on a case by case basis.

Penalty for Unauthorized Leasing or Subleasing Violations

Any person found to have violated the subleasing prohibition under 43 CFR 4140.1 (a)(6) shall be required under 43 CFR 4170.1-1(d) to pay twice the respective State amount listed in Table 2 and are subject to other appropriate penalties under these regulations.

Timeframe: This policy is effective on March 1, 2008.

Budget Impact: No additional costs or savings result from implementing this policy.

Background: Livestock grazing fees are calculated annually and administered in accordance with 43 CFR 4130.8.

Coordination: The United States Department of Agricultural, National Agricultural Statistics Service collects the data to support the grazing fee and related computation. The Division of Science Applications, National Operations Center enters the fee and related charges into RAS.

Contact: If you have any questions regarding these matters, please contact Ken Visser, WO 220, (775) 861-6492, Leon Pack, ST 170, (303) 236-0156, or Philip Cooley, ST 170, (303) 236-3693.

Signed by: Authenticated by:
Edwin L. Roberson Robert M. Williams
Assistant Director Division of IRM Governance,WO-560
Renewable Resources and Planning