Billionaire ranchers receive massive public land subsidies while taxpayers fund environmental damage

A new investigation reveals that America’s wealthiest individuals are exploiting a Depression-era federal program designed to prevent overgrazing, turning public lands into a massive subsidy scheme that benefits billionaires at taxpayer expense.

The analysis by ProPublica and High Country News found that just 10% of permit holders control roughly two-thirds of all grazing on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands. Among the beneficiaries are sports team owner Stan Kroenke (worth $20 billion), media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and major mining corporations. These wealthy ranchers pay just $1.35 per animal unit month to graze on federal lands—a staggering 93% discount compared to private land rates.

In 2024 alone, the federal government provided at least $2.5 billion in subsidies accessible to public lands ranchers, not including the heavily discounted grazing fees. Meanwhile, environmental oversight has dramatically declined, with BLM rangeland managers reduced by 39% since 2019, leaving each manager responsible for an average of 716 square miles.

The Trump administration plans to expand this system further, opening more of the 240 million acres of federal grazing land while reducing environmental protections. Critics argue that public lands grazing accounts for only 2% of the nation’s beef cattle while causing significant environmental damage to ecosystems that once supported threatened species like the Lahontan cutthroat trout. The investigation highlights a fundamental question about whether taxpayers should continue subsidizing profitable operations for the ultra-wealthy while America’s public lands suffer degradation.