BLM Safford Field Office Ranches

Ranches that are permitted to use grazing allotments administered by the Bureau of Land Management Safford Field Office and have benefited from government assistance. (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 FundLCCGPLFPLOFFAPLRPPFWPWHREFWQIG
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)
LOFFAP - Livestock Operator Fire & Flood Assistance Program, Arizona Department of Agriculture (state)
LRP - Landowner Relations Program, Arizona Game & Fish Department (state)
PFWP - Partners for Fish & Wildlife Program, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (federal)
WHREF - Wildlife Habitat Restoration & Enhancement Fund, Arizona Game & Fish Department (state)
This fund was created by a one-time $3.5 million appropriation by the Legislature in 2006.
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.
Allred RanchAndrus RanchBar A RanchBar J Bar RanchesBar T Bar RanchBoss RanchBroken L Badlands RanchBrown RanchC-Spear RanchCampstool RanchCarrizo RanchChevelon Butte RanchCienega RanchCimarron RanchCosper RanchDoor Key RanchDry Camp RanchF Bar RanchGhost Lake RanchesGlen Flake RanchGraves RanchJed Flake RanchJeffers RanchKlump RanchesL Lazy E RanchMalpai RanchMcDonald RanchMenges RanchOl' Morani RanchOx Yoke RanchParker RanchPlatt RanchRed Wing RanchRocking Chair RanchSan Francisco RanchScraper Knoll RanchTurtle Mtn. RanchTwin C RanchWengert Brothers RanchWillis Ranch
Allred Ranch (Calvert G. Allred) - Bear Spring, Pima, Mesa, E. Spear, W. Spear, White House & Oso Largo Allotments, State Lease #05-001243
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2008-2019EQIP$323,715
2010-2013EQIP*$81,8527 Lazy A Ranch LLC
2011-2015LFP*$57,2707 Lazy A Ranch LLC
2011-2021LFP$93,381
2020ECP$49,697
2022EQIP$5,818
2022LFP$4,842
2023EQIP$34,272
$650,847TOTAL 2008 - 2023
* This assistance was received by the previous permittee of the White House & Oso Largo allotments, 7 Lazy A Ranch LLC. Calvert Allred obtained the permits for these allotments in 2015.
Andrus Ranch (Andrus Ranch Holdings LLC) - Sponseller & Ortega (FS) and Little Ortega Lake & Concho Ranch (BLM) Allotments, State Lease #05-000223
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2015-2021LFP$224,825
2017-2020EQIP$146,561

2018HPC #17-110$15,000Little Ortega Lake Water Well Solar Conversions
2020Heritage Fund$9,000Repair Bourdon Well Water System
2022EQIP$14,844
2022LFP$54,158
2023EQIP$67,879
2023LFP$93,753
2024HPC #23-102$96,000Remove Juniper Trees
$722,020TOTAL 2015 - 2024
Steve Flake Ranch (Bar A Cattle Co. LLC) - Bar A Allotment, State Lease #05-106577
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2011-2021LFP$89,500
2022LFP$27,482
$116,982TOTAL 2011 - 2022
Keith Flake Ranches (Bar J Bar Cattle Co.) - Washboard Wash Allotment, State Leases #05-000349, #05-000429
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
1999EWP$90,166
$63,974
Pinal County
Navajo County
2005-2010EQIP$69,779Pinal County
2008-2013EQIP$102,317Navajo County
2011-2022LFP$186,742Pinal County
2012-2022LFP$201,100Navajo County
$714,078TOTAL 1999 - 2022
State grazing lease #05-000349 is located west of U.S. 60 in northern Pinal County, and lease #05-000429 is located north of Snowflake in Navajo County.
Bar T Bar Ranch (Bar T Bar Ranch, Inc.) - Bar T Bar (FS) and Flying Butte (BLM) Allotments, State Leases #05-001339, #05-000305
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
1999EWP$79,558Paid to Take Cattle Off the Land During Drought
2005LRP*$285,000Juniper Tree Removal
2005LCCGP #05-81$150,000Grassland Restoration & Livestock Water
2005-2011WHIP$36,937
2005-2021EQIP$790,011
2006-2013WHIP*$176,981
2007-2008EQIP*$449,995
2007WHREF*$649,552Help Remove Pinyon Pine & Juniper Trees
2010HPC #09-201$15,000Cleanout Dirt Tanks
2011-2021LFP$1,085,897
2011HPC #10-203$24,000Prescribed Burns To Kill Juniper Trees
2012-2018PFWP$200,661
2014HPC #13-204$32,000Cut Down Juniper Trees
2015HPC #14-214$5,349Water Drinker Replacements
2017HPC #16-211$31,920Cut Down Juniper Trees
2022LFP$117,875
2023LFP$49,894
$4,180,630TOTAL 1999 - 2023
* This was shared with the Flying M Ranch, the other member of the Diablo Trust.
WHIP was absorbed by the EQIP program after 2013.
The ranch has used scientifically discredited Holistic Resource Management (HRM) intensive grazing theories. HRM grazing plans are typified by high utilization rates, which can increase competition between cattle and wildlife for forage, and degrade watershed health and wildlife habitat - especially in dry ecosystems and during droughts.
Boss Ranch (Boss Ranch, LLC) - FS & BLM Boss Allotments, State Lease #05-000135
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2007-2019EQIP$31,826
2015-2022LFP$123,673
2023EQIP$27,856
$183,355TOTAL 2007 - 2023
Broken L Badlands Ranch (Lance & Kristen Knight) - Puerco Ridge Allotment, State Lease #05-043833
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2005LCCGP #05-14*$75,000Livestock Fencing
2006-2011EQIP*$292,220
2007LCCGP #07-08*$36,000Livestock Water
$403,220TOTAL 2005-2011
* This assistance was received by the ranch’s previous owner Broken L Badlands, LLC. The Knights acquired the Puerco Ridge grazing permit in 2015.
Brown Ranches (J. Albert Brown Ranches, Inc.) - Greens Peak & Cerro Trigo (FS) and Wildcat Creek (BLM) Allotments, State Leases #05-000160 & #05-042016
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2009-2021EQIP$511,511
2011-2021LFP$718,094
2017AWPF #17-188$303,975Juniper Tree Removal
2023LFP$85,477
$1,619,057TOTAL 2009 - 2023
The Brown Ranch is owned by the descendants of the late influential state legislator Jack A. Brown, who died in 2015.
Brown Ranch has received at least $28,094 in compensation from the Arizona Livestock Loss Board since 2017 for cattle reportedly killed by Mexican wolves.
C-Spear Ranch (C-Spear LLC) - C-Spear Ranch & Soza Mesa Allotments, State Leases #05-000679 & #05-100019
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2009EQIP$54,664
2014-2020LFP$181,221
2022LFP$30,596
2023LFP$27,970
$294,451TOTAL 2009 - 2023
Campstool Ranch (Sombrero Butte Cattle, LLC) - Copper Creek (FS), Copper Creek & Reliable (BLM) Allotments, State Lease #05-002851
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2005-2008EQIP$270,603
2014-2015LFP$158,364
$428,967TOTAL 2005 - 2015
Carrizo Ranch (J. J. Johnson, LLC) - Carrizo Wash & Cedar Lake Wash Allotments, State Lease #05-001059, State Sublease #105380
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2014-2016LFP$349,515
2020-2021LFP$116,693
2023EQIP$62,850
$529,058TOTAL 2014 - 2023
Chevelon Butte Ranch (O'Haco Cattle Co. LLC) - Clear Creek (FS) & Toltec Divide (BLM) Allotments, State Leases #05-001582, #05-000762
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
1995HPC*$103,700Hi-Point Water Well
1996AWPF #96-0002$77,844Hi-Point Water Well
1999EWP$90,205Paid to Take Cattle Off the Land During Drought
2002OSR #43**$5,961
2005LCCGP #05-74$30,390Water Development
2006-2008EQIP$42,728
2007Heritage Fund$14,000Public Access For 1 Year
2008HPC #07-102$50,000Grassland Restoration
2008HPC #07-103$2,750Water Pump Fuel
2008HPC #07-112$34,000Well Pumping Equipment
2009HPC #08-120$5,000Water Pump Fuel
2009WHIP***$183,900
2009-2014PFWP$88,500
2010HPC #09-106$6,000Water Pump Fuel
2010HPC #09-111$10,250Water Wells Maintenance
2011HPC #10-103$6,000Water Pump Fuel
2011-2021LFP$463,591
2012HPC #11-104$7,400Water Pump Fuel
2012HPC #11-105$7,500Dirt Tank Cleaning
2013HPC #12-105$8,300Water Pump Fuel
2014Heritage Fund$50,000Public Access for 5 Years
2014HPC #13-107$7,600Water Pump Fuel
2018Heritage Fund$75,000Public Access for 5 Years
2015HPC #14-106$10,000Water Wells Maintenance
2015HPC #14-107$7,600Water Pump Fuel
2017HPC #16-108$12,000Water Wells Fuel & Maintenance
2018HPC #17-105$31,000Water Wells Fuel & Maintenance
2019HPC #18-105$34,000Water Wells Fuel & Maintenance
2020HPC #19-104$33,000Water Wells Fuel & Maintenance
2021HPC #20-109$13,000Water Wells Fuel & Maintenance
2022HPC #21-102$13,000Water Wells Fuel & Maintenance
2022LFP$30,342
2023HPC #22-103$55,000Hi-Point Water Well Solar Pump Drive
2023HPC #22-104$5,000Water Wells Fuel & Maintenance
$1,614,561TOTAL 1995 - 2023
* The Arizona Game & Fish Department stated they no longer have any record of this HPC grant, but it was described in the AWPF grant application.
**Open Space Reserve (OSR) grants became LCCGP grants in 2005.
*** WHIP ended in 2013 and was absorbed by the EQIP program.
* The Arizona Game & Fish Department stated they no longer have any record of this HPC grant, but it was described in the AWPF grant application.
**Open Space Reserve (OSR) grants became LCCGP grants in 2005.
*** WHIP ended in 2013 and was absorbed by the EQIP program.

Ranch manager Jim O'Haco is a member of the Arizona Livestock Loss Board, which provides ranchers with financial compensation for claimed livestock losses from endangered Mexican wolves, along with wolf depredation prevention grants.
Cienega Ranch (Cienega Ranch LLC) - HYL and Red Mtn. Allotments, State Leases #05-088454, #05-001133 & #05-108822
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2016PFWP$25,000
2018-2020EQIP$144,248
2019-2021LFP$160,903
2022LFP$78,095
$408,246TOTAL 2016 - 2022
Cimarron Ranch (Cimarron Cattle LLC) - Pat Hills Allotment, State Lease #05-001125
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2011LCCGP #11-60$46,715Pasture Fences
2016LCCGP #16-21$50,000Perimeter Fences
2017-2021LFP$46,365
2018-2021EQIP$158,481
2022LFP$18,834
$320,3952011 - 2022
Cosper Ranch (J. Bruce Lunt) - Rhyolite Peak Allotment, State Lease #05-000279
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2007-2018EQIP$197,049
2011-2021LFP$91,151
2023LFP$17,596
$305,796TOTAL 2007 - 2023
Door Key Ranch (Donald E. Lann) - Blanco Allotment, State Leases #05-003304, #05-000481
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2014-2021LFP$499,735
2017-2021EQIP$154,977
2022EQIP$333
2022LFP$58,575
$713,620TOTAL 2014 - 2022
Dry Camp Ranch (Dry Camp Ranch, LLC) - Dry Camp, Hell Hole, Aravaipa & Aravaipa South Allotments, State Lease #05-002572
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2005-2018EQIP$418,607(Kathy Sergent)
2007LCCGP #07-80$49,020Livestock Water & Fencing
2009LCCGP #09-101$69,182Coordinated Resource Management Plan (CRMP)
2011LCCGP #11-64$100,000Coordinated Resource Management Plan (CRMP)
2011-2022LFP$134,971(Kathy Sergent)
2015-2018EQIP$57,995(Dry Camp Ranch, LLC)
2016-2022LFP$121,433(Dry Camp Ranch, LLC)
2023LFP$63,204
$1,014,412TOTAL 2005 - 2023
A coordinated resource management plan (CRMP) and environmental assessment (EA) were completed in 2008.
Jake Flake Ranch (F Bar Cattle Co. LLC) - F Bar Allotment, State Lease #05-106576
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
1999EWP*$179,891Paid to Take Cattle Off the Land During Drought
2000EWP*$21,420Paid to Take Cattle Off the Land During Drought
$201,311TOTAL 1999 - 2000
* This assistance was received by the ranch’s previous owner Franklin “Jake” Flake who died in 2008. The ranch is still owned by his family.
Ghost Lake Ranches (Ghost Lake Corp.) - Jarvis Wash, Little Reservoir & St. Johns Allotments, State Leases #05-095260, #05-106926, #05-000325 & #05-088158
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
1999EWP*$40,680Paid to Take Cattle Off the Land During Drought
2008-2012EQIP*$118,737
2012-2015LFP*$67,122
2016-2019LFP$86,724
$313,263TOTAL 1999 - 2019
* This assistance benefited Orlando A. "Tony" Garcia, previous permittee of the Jarvis Wash allotment.
Ghost Lake Corp. also holds the grazing permit for the Y Canyon allotment administered by the adjacent Gila National Forest in New Mexico, and also the permit for BLM's NM-AZ Stateline allotment in that neighboring state. It also received at least $322,765 of LFP assistance in New Mexico from 2016-2023. Furthermore, it owns the Spurlock Ranch, a state land ranch in Apache County that received HPC grant #23-106 for $100,000 in 2024.
Nelson D. Shirley, is an owner of Badger Creek Corp. and Ghost Lake Corp., plus the holder of the grazing permit for the T Bar allotment in New Mexico's Gila National Forest. He received $291,379 of LFP assistance for his operations in New Mexico's nearby Catron County from 2019-2023, and another $46,854 of LFP from 2018-2021 for a state land ranch her formerly owned in Arizona's Mohave County. Shirley has also received at least $31,706 in compensation from the Arizona Livestock Loss Board (ALLB) since 2019 for cattle reportedly killed in Arizona by Mexican wolves. (There may have been more payments for cattle reportedly killed by wolves in New Mexico.) And the ALLB has also awarded him at least $48,000 in Mexican Wolf Depredation Prevention Grants since 2022, along with $500 in 2023 for cattle carcass removals.
Glen Flake Ranch (Snowflake Cattle Co.) - The Divide Allotment, State Lease #05-001925 & #05-088190
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
1999EWP*$52,675Paid to Take Cattle Off the Land During Drought
1999EWP*$62,362Paid to Take Cattle Off the Land During Drought (Agua Fria-New River NRCD)
2004-2008EQIP*$84,301
2011-2021LFP$103,179Lance Flake
2022LFP$28,726Lance Flake
$331,243TOTAL 1999 - 2022
* This assistance was received by the ranch’s previous owner, Glen L. Flake, who died in 2008. The ranch is currently managed by his son Lance.
Graves Ranch (Ronald W. & Chad M. Graves) - Hickey (FS), Wilky & Chimney (BLM) Allotments, State Lease #05-001286
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2008-2011EQIP$93,870
Ronald W. Graves
2011-2020LFP$183,024Ronald W. Graves
2011-2022LFP$146,629Chad M. Graves
2022LFP$20,896Ronald W. Graves
2023LFP$6,548 Ronald W. Graves
$450,967TOTAL 2008 - 2023
As of late 2023, the GH Cattle Co., LLC is the permittee for the Forest Service’s Hickey grazing allotment.
Jed Flake Ranch (Legacy Ranches LLC) - Monument Hill Allotment, State Lease #05-000435
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2005EQIP*$2,714
2008EQIP$226,554Ron Flake
2019-2020LFP$21,750
$251,018TOTAL 2005 - 2020
* This assistance was received by the ranch’s previous owner Jay “Jed” Flake who died in 2005. The ranch is currently managed by his son Ron.
Jeffers Ranch (Jeffers Cattle Co.) - Leroux Wash & Digger Wash Allotments, State Leases #05-000662 & #05-003573
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
1999EWP$170,435Paid to Take Cattle Off the Land During Drought
2011-2020LFP$491,552
2017-2021EQIP$680,958
$1,342,945TOTAL 1999 - 2021
Klump Ranches (Klump Ranches, LLC) - Gillman & Ten (FS), Apache Springs, Sheep Canyon, Owens, Muskhog & Willow (BLM) Allotments, State Leases #05-105382, #05-003289, #05-097417, #05-094619, #05-000723, #05-000915, #05-001886, #05-108009, #05-003363, #05-105016, #05-001630, #05-001808, #05-052878, #05-001023, and #05-082580
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2006-2012EQIP$452,010
2009LCCGP #09-62$46,537Ten Ranch
2015-2021LFP$488,015
2022LFP$117,875
2023EQIP$48,836
2023LFP$117,875
$1,271,148TOTAL 2006 - 2023
L Lazy E Ranch (David & Sonia Gasho) - Middlemarch (FS) & Ron Searle (BLM) Allotments, State Lease #05-000569
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2007LCCGP #07-31$56,753Livestock Water, Fencing
2008HPC #07-519$3,000Water Well
2011LCCGP #11-21$100,000Grubbing, Mucking, and Stretching Wire
2012-2021EQIP$246,491
2021LFP$34,310
2022EQIP$34,605
2022LFP$23,892
2023LFP$33,571
$532,622TOTAL 2007 - 2023
Malpai Ranch (Glenn Ranch Corp.) - Glenn Allotment, State Lease #05-002596
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
1999EWP$7,420Paid to Take Cattle Off the Land During Drought
2006-2016EQIP$170,154
2008-2010WHIP*$72,161Malpai Borderlands Group
2011-2021LFP$175,769
2014HPC #13-510$11,400Redevelop 3 Water Wells
2022LFP$66,895
$503,799TOTAL 1999 - 2022
* This was shared with neighboring ranches.
McDonald Ranch (McDonald Cattle Co.) - Geronimo (FS) & Sycamore (BLM) Allotments, State Lease #05-000855
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2006-2008EQIP$28,405
2008-2010WHIP*$72,161Malpai Borderlands Group
2010HPC$15,000Dirt Tank Cleanouts & Repair
2021-2022LFP$57,879
2023LFP$75,638
$249,093TOTAL 2006 - 2023
Menges Ranch (Menges Ranches LLC) - Bonita Creek, Johnny Creek, Smuggler Peak, and Zorilla Allotments
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
1996AWPF #95-014*$157,223Gila Box RNCA Riparian Fences & Livestock Water
2005 - 2009EQIP$57,240
2005LCCGP #05-70$36,831Livestock Water
2007LCCGP #07-64$36,503Livestock Water
2011-2021LFP$638,740
2017WQIG #19-002$49,580Livestock Water
2020ECP$33,122
2022LFP$20,420
$1,029,659TOTAL 1996 - 2022
* This grant was shared with two neighboring ranches.
Ranch manager Jeff Menges was the Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association’s 2019 Cattleman of the Year. He is also a past president of that organization, and the local Greenlee County Cattle Growers’ Association. And he is also a former member of the Arizona BLM’s Resource Advisory Council (RAC). In 1998 he initiated a successful legal challenge against a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biological opinion that would have eliminated grazing in riparian areas on local BLM allotments in order to protect potential habitat for endangered species.
Portions of the ranch’s four BLM grazing allotments are located within the BLM’s Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area.
Ol' Morani Ranch (Ol' Morani Ranch, LLC) - Cochise Head South (FS) & Midway, Nippers, Oak Creek, Haystack (BLM) Allotments, State Lease #05-002971
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2005-2021EQIP$284,186
2011-2021LFP$141,588
2022LFP$16,155
$441,929TOTAL 2005 - 2022
Ox Yoke Ranch (The Ox Yoke Ranch, LLC) - Potato Wash Allotment, State Lease #05-002173
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2011-2021LFP$225,310
2010-2013EQIP$250,694
2016LCCGP #16-11$50,000Water Well, Pipeline & Drinkers
2017HPC #16-104$20,961Water Development
2022LFP$15,145
$562,110TOTAL 2011 - 2022
Parker Ranch (Parker Ranch, LLC) - Rough Mtn. West (FS) Emigrant Canyon & Oil Well (BLM) Allotments, State Lease #05-109782
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
1999ECP$44,490Paid to Take Cattle Off the Land During Drought
2004-2019EQIP$223,577
2011-2021LFP$294,243
2022LFP$41,341
$603,651TOTAL 1999 - 2022
Platt Ranch (Platt Cattle Co. LLC) - Big Hollow Wash & Mud Springs Allotments & State Sublease #05-027970
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2018-2021LFP$271,385
2021EQIP$91,263
2022EQIP$105,453
2023EQIP$134,903
$603,004TOTAL 2018 -2023
The ranch also received at least $7,110 in compensation from the Arizona Livestock Loss Board since 2022 for cattle reportedly killed by endangered Mexican wolves.
Red Wing Ranch (Red Wing Rock & Cattle LLC) - Red Wing Allotment, State Lease #05-001130
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2011-2021LFP$164,503
2018-2020EQIP$86,913
2022LFP$28,441
$279,857TOTAL 2011 - 2022
Rocking Chair Ranch (Rocking Chair Ranch, Inc.) - Hidden Lake Allotment, State Lease #05-0032278
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2014-2020LFP$158,627
2019-2021EQIP$143,316
2022EQIP$16,979
2022LFP$60,003
$378,925TOTAL 2014 - 2022
San Francisco Ranch (Kaler Ranch LLC) - San Francisco & Sheldon Mtn. Allotments, State Lease #05-000372
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2005-2014EQIP$110,995Richard M. Kaler
2005LCCGP #05-52$85,100Erosion Control
2007LCCGP #07-51$50,000Livestock Water & Fencing
2009LCCGP #09-60$87,068Alternative Livestock Water, Phase II
2009WQIG #11-002$42,750Alternative Livestock Water
2010WQIG #12-005$100,246Alternative Livestock Water, Phase II
2010EQIP$56,046Lois J. Kaler
2011AWPF #11-175$137,594Alternative Livestock Water, Phase III
2011LFP$1,554 Lois J. Kaler
2018-2021LFP$60,144Kaler Ranch LLC
2020-2021EQIP$36,396Kaler Ranch LLC
$767,893TOTAL 2005 - 2021
Lois J. Kaler died in 2011, and Richard M. Kaler died in 2021. Kaler Ranch LLC, formed in 2012, persists with new ownership.
Scraper Knoll Ranch (Badger Creek Corp.) - Scraper Knoll Allotment, State Lease #05-104398
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
1999EWP$32,195Paid to Take Cattle Off the Land During Drought
2011PFWP$24,900
2015WQIG #15-005**$322,822Improve Upper Little Colorado River Watershed Degraded by Livestock Grazing
2017-2019EQIP$107,263
$487,180TOTAL 1999 - 2019
** Per this project's final report, this grant was shared with five neighboring ranches.
The government assistance listed above benefited the ranch's previous owner, Johnson Cattle Co. LLC, which sold the ranch in late 2020.
Badger Creek Corp. also holds the grazing permit for the Spur Lake allotment administered by the adjacent Gila National Forest in New Mexico, although the western portion of the allotment is in Arizona's Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, where HPC grant #20-106 for $20,050 was used. The company also holds the permits for the BLM's Cimarron Mesa, Stokes Flat & Summers Community allotments in New Mexico. It received at least $405,894 of LFP assistance in New Mexico from 2016-2022.
Nelson D. Shirley, is an owner of Badger Creek Corp. and Ghost Lake Corp., plus the holder of the grazing permit for the T Bar allotment in New Mexico's Gila National Forest. He received $291,379 of LFP assistance for his operations in New Mexico's nearby Catron County from 2019-2023, and another $46,854 of LFP from 2018-2021 for a state land ranch her formerly owned in Arizona's Mohave County. Shirley has also received at least $31,706 in compensation from the Arizona Livestock Loss Board (ALLB) since 2019 for cattle reportedly killed in Arizona by Mexican wolves. (There may have been more payments for cattle reportedly killed by wolves in New Mexico.) And the ALLB has also awarded him at least $48,000 in Mexican Wolf Depredation Prevention Grants since 2022, along with $500 in 2023 for cattle carcass removals.
Turtle Mountain Ranch (Turtle Cattle Co. LLC) - Turtle Mountain, Morenci, Metcalf (BLM) & Granville (FS) Allotments, State Subleases #05-001089, #05-002190
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2007LCCGP #07-70$125,000Livestock Water, Fencing
2008WQIG #10-008$126,900Gila Box RNCA Riparian Fence
2008LRP$22,200Gila Box RNCA Riparian Fence
2009-2015EQIP$180,873
2011-2016LFP$306,270
2011LCCGP #11-52$83,910Chesser Creek Rehab
2013HPC #12-502$29,623Turtle Mtn. Allotment Water & Livestock Fence
2014HPC #13-503$33,000Turtle Mtn. Allotment Water & Livestock Fence
2016LCCGP #16-19$47,863Livestock Fence Reconstruction
2018LFP$48,886
2020-2021LFP$106,920
2022LFP$32,104
2023LFP$90,165
$1,233,714TOTAL 2007 - 2023
The government assistance disbursed prior to 2019 benefited the ranch's previous owners, Noland Ranch LLC, which sold the to Turtle Cattle Co. LLC ranch in 2019. One of the ranch's current owners, John L. Klump, was convicted in 1998 of selling the hides of endangered jaguars and ocelots. Portions of the Turtle Mtn. and Morenci grazing allotments are located within the BLM’s Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area.
Twin C Ranch (Twin C Ranch, LLC) - Twin C Allotment
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
1996AWPF #95-014*$157,223Gila Box RNCA Riparian Fences, Livestock Water
2011LCCGP #11-44$100,000Goat Camp Water Well
2011-2021LFP$98,409
2022LFP$4,068
$359,700TOTAL 1996 - 2022
*AWPF #95-014 was shared with two neighboring ranches.
The Twin C Ranch’s manager Manuel “Rocky” Manuz is a past president of the Greenlee County Cattle Growers Association.
A portion of the Twin C grazing allotment is located within the BLM’s Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area.
Wengert Brothers Ranch (Wengert Bros. Ranches LLC) - Mexican Wash Allotment, State Leases #05-002112 & #05-002698
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2008Heritage Fund$21,000Public Access for 5 years
2011-2021LFP$398,343
2014Heritage Fund$25,000Public Access for 5 Years
2019Heritage Fund$25,000Public Access for 5 Years
$469,343TOTAL 2008 - 2021
Willis Ranch (Willis Ranch LLC) - Flint Knoll Allotment, State Lease #05-001463
YEARSPROGRAMAMOUNTPROJECT NAME
2011EQIP$879,525
2018-2021LFP$49,712
$929,237TOTAL 2011-2021
Note: Ranch ownership often changes in Arizona, because much of the state is too hot and dry for most operations to be sustainably profitable. The ranch owners shown in the tables above are updated when information about a new owner is acquired, but the amounts of government assistance that benefited the ranch's previous owners are maintained.
Background Information About Government Assistance Programs

Some of this financial assistance was justified as being primarily for the purpose of improving wildlife habitat or watershed health. But those projects also benefited livestock production on the ranches where they were implemented. Whatever improvements to local natural resource conditions that might have resulted were tempered by the increased livestock grazing they facilitated.

The assistance didn’t always go directly to the ranchers, but sometimes to local non-profit organizations that helped them complete application processes and minimize taxable income. This included the Altar Valley Conservation Alliance, Coronado Resource Conservation & Development Area, Inc., Gila Watershed Partnership of Arizona, and the Upper Eagle Creek Watershed Association (UECWA).

Some of it also went to the local Natural Resource Conservation District (NRCD). Arizona’s NRCDs are regional subdivisions of the State Land Department, and are comprised only of local landowners, mostly ranchers, that work to obtain funding for agricultural “conservation” projects. They often work to obtain grants that directly benefit their members, including their governing supervisors. The local NRCDs also created the private nonprofit Arizona Association of Conservation Districts so they could apply for more types of assistance.

These aren't the only examples of Arizona ranches that benefited from government assistance. But it takes a lot of work to gather and compile this sort of information, because the agencies don't normally disclose it, so this web page will be updated as additional records are obtained. Also, the information provided about some of these ranches may be incomplete. But that just means those ranches benefited from at least the amounts shown.

Update

On June 21, 2024, Gov. Katie Hobbs signed HB 2865, creating a new state agency called the Natural Resource Conservation District Board, comprised primarily of local NRCD supervisors. It's tasked with providing administrative assistance to the state's regional Natural Resource Conservation Districts, which was formerly the responsibility of the Arizona State Land Department. The initial operating funds for the Board will come from the Legislature's regular annual appropriation of $650,000 to the state's NRCDs. The NRCD Board is also responsible for dispensing "conservation" and "education" grants from a new NRCD Fund to the local NRCDs and Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The monies in the fund can include state appropriations, grants and contributions - although the Legislature didn't make an initial appropriation to the fund. Most of the grants dispensed by the Board will likely benefit ranchers, as most NRCD supervisors are ranchers.

This page was last updated on Jun 19, 2024 @ 7:40 am.

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