2015 Grazing Fee, Surcharge Rates, and Penalty for Unauthorized Grazing Use

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240-0036
http://www.blm.gov
February 24, 2015

In Reply Refer To:
4130 (220) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 03/11/2015
Instruction Memorandum No. 2015-056
Expires:  09/30/2018  

To:                   All Field Office Officials

From:               Assistant Director, Resources and Planning

Subject:           2015 Grazing Fee, Surcharge Rates, and Penalty for Unauthorized Grazing Use

Program Area:  Livestock Grazing Administration

Purpose:  This Instruction Memorandum transmits the fees charged for grazing use on public lands for Grazing Fee Year 2015.

Policy/Action:  The following fees are to be charged as of March 1, 2015.

2015 Grazing Fee

The fee for livestock grazing on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) during the 2015 Grazing Fee Year (March 1, 2015, through February 28, 2016) is $1.69 per animal unit month (AUM).

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 2015 Grazing Fee Year.  The surcharges vary by state and equal 35 percent of the difference between the 2015 grazing fee and the 2014 private land lease rate for the state where the pasturing agreement occurs.  Surcharge rates are calculated automatically by the 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: 2015 Surcharge Rates

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 the BLM has approved a permittee or lessee taking control of livestock that they do not own and allow 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 nonwillful 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.

Nonwillful Unauthorized Grazing Use:  The value of forage consumed rates that the BLM will use for nonwillful unauthorized grazing during the 2015 Grazing Fee Year is listed in Table 2.

Table 2:  2015 Rates for Nonwillful Unauthorized Grazing Use

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

Under 43 CFR 4150.3(a), the BLM may approve nonmonetary settlement of nonwillful 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 nonwillful 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 is three times the nonwillful 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.

Timeframe:  This policy is effective on March 1, 2015.

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 Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, collects the data to support the grazing fees and related computations.  The BLM’s 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 Kimberly Hackett (WO-220) at 202-912-7216 or Lynnda Jackson (OC-580) at 303-236-8012.

Signed by:                                                       Authenticated by:

Edwin L. Roberson                                         Robert M. Williams
Assistant Director                                           Division of IRM Governance,WO-860
Resources and Planning