Public Rangeland Improvement: A Slow, Costly Process in Need of Alternate Funding
RCED-83-23
Published: Oct 14, 1982. Publicly Released: Oct 14, 1982.
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Highlights
GAO conducted a review to determine the status of, and progress being made under, the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) programs for managing and protecting public rangelands in 16 western states.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Congress should assess alternative funding sources, such as amending the Public Rangelands Improvement Act to provide an interim increase in grazing fees, provided the funds are used to make range improvements where they are collected. |
Closed – Not Implemented
|
Congress has no plans in the immediate future to take action on this recommendation. |
| Congress should assess alternative funding sources, such as appropriating the special funds already authorized by section 5 of the Public Rangelands Improvement Act, for range improvements. |
Closed – Not Implemented
|
Congress has no plans in the immediate future to take action on this recommendation. |
| Congress should assess alternative funding sources, such as amending the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, to allow BLM to use a higher percentage or amount of grazing fees for making improvements. |
Closed – Not Implemented
|
Congress has no plans in the immediate future to take action on this recommendation. |
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Interior | The Secretary of the Interior should direct BLM to develop an additional rangeland condition assessment method that will classify conditions in relation to management objectives and require state BLM offices, to the extent possible, to obtain consistent rangeland data to be used for: (1) determining whether management objectives, such as bringing grazing use in line with grazing capacity, are being met; and (2) reporting to Congress and the public on the rangelands' overall condition. |
Closed – Implemented
BLM is currently testing and evaluating relevant rangeland classifications that were established.
|
| Department of the Interior | The Secretary of the Interior should test and evaluate the feasibility of expanding the Experimental Stewardship Program which allows permittees to receive up to a 50-percent credit of their annual grazing fees for making range improvements. This program, if feasible for expansion, should be implemented with proper fiscal safeguards and in line with the BLM range improvement priority system. |
Closed – Implemented
BLM policies now allow rangeland users to deduct improvements, such as building new fences, from grazing fees. This is only being done on an experimental basis at five or six places.
|
| Department of the Interior | The Secretary of the Interior should provide those incentives which Interior determines to be needed to encourage permittees to make range improvements. |
Closed – Not Implemented
In June 1985, BLM issued new guidance for improving and maintaining the condition and productivity of renewable resources on public lands. GAO will determine the effectiveness of this action in a 1986 follow-up review which started in August 1986.
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Topics
Agricultural industryCattleConservationData collectionGrazing rightsMonitoringPublic landsRange managementLivestockBudget allotment