Idaho land sales report fails to address critical issues
Young public land owner speaks up in Idaho.
Brad Brooks, The Wilderness Society
Internal study on Idaho state land sales raises more questions than it answers
An internal audit of land sales released recently by the Idaho Department of Lands confirms more than 150 potentially illegal transfers of state land into private ownership, a historic practice first brought to question by the Wilderness Society and the Idaho Conservation League.
“The state’s tendency to liquidate state land – even to the point of breaking legal limitations – illustrates why Idahoans should be careful to keep public lands in public hands,” said Jonathan Oppenheimer, Idaho Conservation League director of government relations. “Ultimately, it’s everyday Idahoans who lose out when the lands they use for hunting, fishing, camping, snowmobiling, and hiking are sold off and gated.”
The audit was carried out in response to a report released in February 2017 by the two conservation organizations after they found potential violations of the Idaho Constitution's limitation on state land sales.
“This report confirms our suspicions that there have been widespread constitutional violations and that we cannot trust the state with managing our public lands,” said Brad Brooks, public lands director of the Wilderness Society. “All Idahoans that use public lands and value access should be alarmed by this admission by the Department. The fact is, we cannot trust the state not to sell off public lands should they get their hands on it.”
The audit addresses the Idaho constitutional limit on how many acres the State Land Board can sell to private parties. Consistent with the findings of the 2017 report by the conservation organizations, these questionable land sales are historic and do not implicate any current members of the Land Board.
“Despite nearly two years of study, the audit clarifies little and confuses much. If we really want to get to the bottom of this, there remains a need to conduct further independent review,” said Oppenheimer.
This audit provides ample evidence that federal public lands should not be given to the state for management and safe keeping.
Contacts:
Chelsi Moy, Northern Rockies Communications Manager, (406) 240-3013
Brad Brooks, Public Lands Director, (208) 870-9043
The Wilderness Society, founded in 1935, is the leading conservation organization working to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places. With more than one million members and supporters, The Wilderness Society has led the effort to permanently protect 109 million acres of wilderness and to ensure sound management of our shared national lands. www.wilderness.org
