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Show Rep. Howe requests Secretary Kelppe to 'hold off on Grazing Fee increases Congressman Allan T. Howe has met with Interior Secretary Kelppe to discuss the sharp increase in-crease of grazing fees on Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service lands. In a joint meeting with other representatives of public land states, Congressman Howe . strongly urged the Secretary not to impose a Department of Interior In-terior grazing schedule that would increase grazing fees charged stockmen from $1.00 to $1.51 per animal unit month. "Under the Department's present plan, cattlemen would carry a burden over and above the economic burden they already face," Rep. Howe said. He explained that due to economic conditions and the general cost of raising and producing livestock, cattlemen would be hard pressed to meet the 50 percent increase. "In 1969, then Secretary of Interior Stewart Udall introduced a 10-year 10-year formula to equalize fees paid on public or federal lands with that paid on private lands," he stated. The formula is based on a yearly, increment which automatically raises fees on BLM lands to 11 cents per year and nine cents on Forest Service lands plus a fair market value which is adjusted on a yearly basis, he continued, "Fortunately, "For-tunately, last year because of drought conditions, the increment in-crement figure was not assessed and consequently not raised, but i the Interior Department is trying to pass that raise on to this year," Rep. Howe said. "A more equitable and fair solution would be an assessment of only one increment for this year and moving the implementation im-plementation schedule back one year to account for the other increment. He further explained th,at some increase was necessary to enable range managers to make capital im-provemtns im-provemtns on the land. "The federal government does have a responsibility to increase grazing capacity on their lands, but I do not think that responsibility respon-sibility should be passed on unfairly to the cattlemen," Rep. Howe said. |