Valuing Grazing Use on Public Land

Abstract

The value of public land forage has been of key interest since grazing fees were first established on federal lands. Additionally, knowing the value of rangeland forage is important for assessing the economics of range improvements, grazing systems, and alternative land uses. It is important for resource value comparisons and impact assessments when public land forage is allocated to other uses. In this synthesis paper, we review the various methods that have been used to value public land forage and discuss the advantages and limitations of each. We highlight that past valuation efforts have concentrated on the value of public land forage for livestock production and, consequently, underestimated total forage value and rancher willingness to pay for forage and grazing permits. These research efforts failed to recognize that amenity and lifestyle attributes from ranch ownership and forage leasing play important roles in the use and pricing of rangeland forage. We review the numerous studies conducted to estimate public land forage value and suggest modifications to improve future value estimates. Because lifestyle attributes of ranch ownership have so strongly influenced ranch values and what ranchers are willing to pay for grazing use on public lands, we find the market value of federal grazing permits and a modification of the standard contingent valuation method for valuing non-market goods to hold the greatest promise for valuing public land grazing.

A social-ecological impact assessment for public lands management: application of a conceptual and methodological framework

“…Agriculture comprises 26.1% of total employment in Owyhee County, with two-thirds of that sector engaged in ranching (University of Idaho Extension, Owyhee County: agriculture, livestock and range: http://extension.uidaho.edu/owyhee/2014/07/11/agriculture-livestockand-range/). Most ranches are not economically viable with private lands alone; these operations rely on permitted grazing on BLM allotments (Bartlett et al 2002). Although the Owyhee region is vast and rural, it is in close proximity to the greater Boise metropolitan area (Mackun and Wilson 2011), from where many people travel for hunting, fishing, rafting, bird watching, hiking, and off-highway vehicle riding.…”

What accounts for the divergence between ranchers' WTA and WTP for public forage?

“…Range economists argue that, because rates of return to livestock production average no more than 2%, grazing permits have value only because they provide the owner with a quality of life benefit (Bartlett et al, 2002;Torell et al, 2005). That is, there is no evidence that public land ranchers are subsidized and make an inflated rate of return because of low grazing fees (Torell et al, 2001 p.6), so the value of grazing permits is equivalent to the value placed on the ranching lifestyle.…”

“…7 In 2003, while the BLM grazing fee was set at $1.35, the respective fees charged on state-owned lands in Oregon, Idaho and Washington were $4.16, $5.33 and $7.52 per AUM. 8 Although rates of return to livestock production average no more than 2% while the return to private grazing lands is estimated to average 3.4% (Bartlett et al, 2002), grazing permits that give ranchers perpetual rights to graze cattle on public land have positive value. 9 In theory, the value of a grazing permit is equal to the difference between the marginal value of public forage minus the grazing fee appropriately discounted, where the discount rate takes into account the possibility of losing the right to graze livestock at some future time (Gardner, 1962(Gardner, , 1963.…”

Bruneau-Owyhee sage-grouse habitat project (BOSH) : final environmental impact statement /

“…Agriculture comprises 26.1% of total Owyhee County employment with two-thirds of that sector as ranching (Bentley Brymer et al 2016). Most ranches are not economically viable with private land alone; these operations rely on permitted grazing on BLM allotments (Bartlett et al 2002). Although Owyhee County is rural, it is in close proximity to the greater Boise metropolitan area (Mackun & Wilson 2011), and many people travel from the metropolitan area for hunting, fishing, rafting, bird watching, hiking, and OHV riding (among other activities).…”