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No Easy Answers On Federal Grazing Fees

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Members of the armed anti-government group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters stand guard Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, near Burns, Ore.
Rick Bowmer

With the armed occupation of a wildlife refuge ongoing in eastern Oregon, there’s been renewed attention on ranchers’ discontent with federal grazing policy.

A lot has been said about the relatively low prices ranchers are paying to graze their livestock on public lands. Critics say the U.S. taxpayer is subsidizing that.

But as is often the case, the truth isn’t quite so cut and dried.  JPR’s Liam Moriarty spoke with Jes Burns with our EarthFix team to try to sort it out.  

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Liam Moriarty has been covering news in the Pacific Northwest for three decades. He served two stints as JPR News Director and retired full-time from JPR at the end of 2021. Liam now edits and curates the news on JPR's website and digital platforms.