2023 Grazing Fee, Surcharge Rates, and Penalty for Unauthorized Grazing Use Rates

The following fees go into effect on March 1, 2023.

2023 Grazing Fee

The fee for livestock grazing on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) during the 2023 Grazing Fee Year (March 1, 2023, through February 29, 2024) is $1.35 per animal unit month (AUM).  The grazing fee 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. 

Surcharge for Authorized Grazing

In accordance with 43 CFR 4130.8-1(f), the BLM adds a surcharge to the grazing fee bill for authorized grazing of livestock owned by persons other than the permittee or lessee, except as provided by 43 CFR 4130.7(f).  Regulation 43 CFR 4130.7(d) specifies the requirements that apply to pasturing agreements.  When pasturing agreements are in effect, the BLM adds the surcharge to the permittee’s or lessee’s grazing fee billing based on the number of AUMs 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 2023 Grazing Fee Year.  The surcharges vary by state and equal 35 percent of the difference between the 2023 grazing fee and the 2022 private grazing land lease rate for the state where the pasturing agreement occurs.  Surcharge rates are calculated automatically by the BLM Rangeland Administration System (RAS) and the appropriate geographic state rate(s) are assessed based on the geographic state distribution entered in RAS.

Table 1: 2023 Surcharge Rates

State

$/AUM

State

$/AUM

State

$/AUM

State

$/AUM

AZ

$3.03

CA

$7.51

CO

$6.35

ID

$6.18

MT

$8.98

NE

$14.93

NV

$3.03

NM

$5.30

ND

$7.75

OK

$3.03

OR

$6.18

SD

$12.48

UT

$6.18

WA

$5.13

WY

$8.10

Penalty for Unauthorized Grazing Use

The value of forage consumed for unauthorized grazing on BLM administered lands 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 the BLM has approved a permittee or lessee taking control of livestock that they do not own and allowed them to be grazed under its permit or lease pursuant to a pasturing agreement under 43 CFR 4130.7(d) and those livestock make unauthorized use of public forage, the regular non-willful and willful penalty amounts will apply.

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

Non-willful Unauthorized Grazing Use:  The value of forage consumed rates that the BLM will use for non-willful unauthorized grazing during the 2023 Grazing Fee Year is listed in Table 2.

Table 2:  2023 Rates for Non-willful Unauthorized Grazing Use

(Average private grazing land lease rate per AUM by state)

State 

$/AUM 

State 

$/AUM 

State 

$/AUM 

State 

$/AUM 

AZ  

$10.00

CA  

$22.80

CO  

$19.50

ID  

$19.00

MT  

$27.00

NE 

$44.00

NV 

$10.00

NM  

$16.50

ND 

$23.50

OK 

$10.00

OR 

$19.00

SD  

$37.00

UT 

$19.00

WA 

$16.00

WY  

$24.50

Under 43 CFR 4150.3(a), the BLM may approve nonmonetary settlement of non-willful unauthorized use violations if the BLM determines that the unauthorized use occurred through no fault of the livestock operator, the forage use is 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 the BLM uses for the value of forage consumed for willful unauthorized use is twice the non-willful rate (shown in Table 2).

Repeated Willful Unauthorized Grazing Use:  As per 43 CFR 4150.3(c), the rate the BLM uses for the value of forage consumed for repeated willful unauthorized grazing use is three times the non-willful rate (shown in Table 2).

Regulation 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, and resolving violations, including 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) will be required under 43 CFR 4170.1-1(d) to pay twice the value of the forage consumed rates for the respective state where the violation occurred, as listed in Table 2, and are subject to other appropriate penalties under these regulations.