WASHINGTON (AP) - The fee for grazing livestock on federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service is going up to $1.79 per animal unit month, the BLM announced Monday.

The new fee is up from $1.43 in 2004. It goes into effect March 1.

The grazing fee is adjusted annually to take into account private grazing rates, cattle prices and the cost of livestock production.

The animal unit month rate refers to the amount of forage needed to sustain one cow and her calf, one horse or five sheep or goats for a month.

The grazing fee applies to public land in 16 western states administered by the BLM or the Forest Service. The Forest Service applies different grazing fees to national grasslands and to lands it manages in the East and Midwest and parts of Texas.

The formula used for calculating the grazing fee was established by Congress in 1978. Under a 1986 presidential order, the fee cannot fall below $1.35 per AUM and any increase or decrease cannot exceed 25 percent of the previous year's level.