Ranching Operations on Public Lands

Pursuant to congressional requests, GAO reviewed the top 500 livestock grazing permits issued by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service, focusing on the: (1) extent that large ranching operations are dependent on federal lands; (2) dependency of local western economies on these ranching operations; and (3) contributions these ranching operations make to wildlife and improving the condition of the federal lands. GAO noted that: (1) one-third of the cattle in 11 western states graze at least part of the year on federal lands; (2) the extent that ranching operations are dependent on federal lands varies by state and region; (3) federal lands are generally of lower quality and not as productive as private and state lands; and (4) the operating size of many livestock operations is affected by the amount of federal range land available during seasons of feed shortage on privately-owned lands.