ABSTRACT
The paper begins with a description of the western rangeland resource, its place in the national and regional economies and its contribution to meat production and outdoor recreation. The specific costs and returns of federal management of the range are presented, and set in the context of the larger federal budget. Rangeland privatization is analyzed relative to the national debt, economic efficiency, and the distribution of benefits and losses. The author concludes that neither the issue of economic efficiency nor welfare distribution is as simple as many proponents of privatization have maintained. A management system much like the current system is suggested.
