Federal Grazing Fee
To Remain Unchanged

SANTA FE, N.M. —(AP)— _ The grazing fee charged on federal Bureau of Land Management property won't change this year.

The fee, $1.35 per animal unit month, is the lowest allowed under a 1986 presidential order. An animal unit month represents the amount of forage needed for a cow and a calf, one horse or five sheep or goats for a month.

The fee applies to lands in the West administered by the BLM and to national forests and grasslands administered by the U.S. Forest Service.

It is adjusted each March 1 based on current private grazing lease rates, beef cattle prices and the cost of livestock production.

The 1999 charge remains the same as 1998 because of a small drop in cattle prices and a small increase in both the lease rates and production costs, the BLM said.

The BLM manages 264 million acres of federal land, most of it in 12 western states. The Forest Service manages 191 million acres of federal land in 44 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.