BLM Lower Sonoran Field Office Ranches

Ranches that are permitted to use grazing allotments administered by the Bureau of Land Management Lower Sonoran Field Office and have benefited from government assistance. The allotments administered by this office are hot and rugged Sonoran Desert. (Additional ranches are added to this list as information becomes available.)

Visit the Arizona Public Land Ranches Home Page for information about ranches in other regions of the state.

Government Assistance For Ranchers Program Key
ALLBAWPFECPEQIPEWPHPCHeritage FundLCCGPLFPLRPPFWPWQIG
AALB - Arizona Livestock Loss Board, Arizona Livestock Loss Board (federal/state)
AWPF - Arizona Water Protection Fund, AWPF Commission (state)
ECP - Emergency Conservation Program, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (federal)
EQIP - Environmental Quality Incentives Program, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (federal)
The EQIP program absorbed the NRCS Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) after 2014.
EWP - Emergency Watershed Protection, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (federal)
The Arizona EWP Drought Program was discontinued in 2001 after a critical audit.
HPC - Habitat Partnership Committee, Arizona Game & Fish Commission (state)
Arizona Heritage Fund, Arizona Game & Fish Commission (state)
LCCGP - Livestock & Crop Conservation Program, Arizona Department of Agriculture (state)
Note: Open Space Reserve Grants became LCCGP Grants after 2002.
LFP - Livestock Forage Disaster Program, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (federal)
LRP - Landowner Relations Program, Arizona Game & Fish Department (state)
PFWP - Partners for Fish & Wildlife Program, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (federal)
WQIG - Water Quality Improvement Grant, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (federal/state)
Note: These grants were previously called Section 319 nonpoint source (NPS) water pollution prevention grants.
Beloat RanchJ-P RanchQuarter Circle U RanchWard Ranch
Beloat Ranch (Christopher & Kimmel Dalley) - Beloat Allotment, State Lease #05-000095
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2016-2021LFP$112,341
2022EQIP$5,080
$117,421TOTAL 2016 - 2022
The current permittees, Chris & Kimmel Dalley, acquired the ranch in 2015. They also received an additional $53,509 of LFP in 2014 & 2015 for the other desert ranches they owned in the area in 2013. They no longer own those ranches.
The Beloat allotment is located within the BLM’s Sonoran Desert National Monument.
J-P Ranch (J-P Cattle Co. LLC) - Florence Jct. Allotment, State Leases #05-002333, #05-083590, #05-000649, #05-003246 & #05-108150
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
1999EWP$224,717Paid to Take Cattle Off the Land During Drought
2008-2021EQIP$559,187
2009LCCGP #09-57$75,000Silver Creek West Irrigation Pipeline
2011-2019LFP$359,785
$1,218,689TOTAL 1999 - 2021
State grazing lease #05-002333 is located in the Sonoran Desert in Pinal County, while the other state leases are located near Snowflake in Navajo County.
Quarter Circle U Ranch (Quarter Circle U Ranch LLC) - Buzzards Roost Allotment, State Lease #05-000071
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2006-2017EQIP$117,207 
2021LFP$18,224 (Rafter D Cattle Co.)
2021ECP$7,734(Rafter D Cattle Co.)
2022LFP$37,818(Rafter D Cattle Co.)
$180,983TOTAL 2006 - 2022
Quarter Circle U Ranch LLC sold this desert ranch, located on the southern edge of the Superstition Mountains, to Rafter D Cattle Company, Inc. in 2019.
The ranch’s former owner, Charles Backus, received the 1995 Arizona Rancher of the Year, the 2000 Arizona Conservation Rancher of the Year, and the 2019 the Gila County Cattle Growers Association Rancher of the Year awards, among others. He also owns the Quarter Circle U Ranch - North in Navajo County, which includes grazing allotments on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests.
Ward Ranch (Saddle Back Cattle Co. LP*) - Ward & Gable-Ming Allotments, State Lease #05-044784
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
1999EWP$27,400Paid to Take Cattle Off the Land During Drought
2006-2016EQIP$91,546
2007LCCGP #07-30$50,000LIvestock Water & Fencing
2009LCCGP #09-40$63,481Livestock Management Enhancements
$232,427TOTAL 1999 - 2016
* Saddle Back Cattle Co. LP is one of the owners of K Cross Cattle Co. LLC.

This page was last updated on Mar 30, 2023 @ 10:17 am.

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