Idaho Land Sales: A Prediction of the Future?
by Tony Hansen
For months now, the debate over whether states should be given ownership of Federally-owned lands has raged. Proponents of the move say the Federal government is incapable of properly managing the land and claim the ground should be returned to state control and that doing so would mean only improved management and not a public lockout.
Opponents say that doing so would almost certainly mean a net loss in access by the public.
So which side is telling a closer version of the truth?
Perhaps we can look to Idaho for historical insight.
The Wilderness Society recently filed a public records request for an analysis of the Idaho Department of Lands. What they found is interesting indeed.
Since 2000, the state of Idaho has sold more than 100,000 acres of publicly-owned land. The buyers? Timber companies, cattle ranchers, lakeside homeowners and privately-owned fishing clubs along the banks of prime trout waters.
That 100,000-plus acres is part of more than 1.7 million acres of public land the state has sold of the roughly 4.25 million acres Idaho received at statehood. That’s a sell-through rate of roughly 41 percent.
History is clear on what will happen if our national public lands are given to the state, Brad Brooks, The Wilderness Society’s Boise-based deputy regional director told the Idaho Statemen. They’re almost certain to end up in hands that will lock the public out.
