Rural lawmakers back federal land transfer report

BOISE — Rural lawmakers are backing the recent recommendations of a state-commissioned report, calling for Idaho to invest at least $750,000 to continue laying the groundwork for the transfer of federal lands to state ownership. The report, released in late January, included feedback from public hearings and was drafted by an interim legislative committee convened in April 2013. It asserts Idaho could make a legal case that the federal government, which owns 62 percent of land in the state, has breached its contract through poor land management. The federal government spends $392 million per year for wildfire suppression and management of Idaho public lands, according to the Congressional Research Service. By contrast, the report concludes Idaho manages healthier public lands, which also generate an annual return of $23 per acre. “That would be a tax savings to the taxpayers of the U.S.,” said Rep. Ken Andrus, R-Lava Hot Springs, a rancher who chairs the state’s Agricultural Affairs committee. “There’s no question we could take the model we use to manage our state forest lands and apply that same model to the federal government.” The report stops short of suggesting litigation against the federal government, noting Utah will likely test those waters. In the mean time, the report calls for the state to reconvene the interim committee and invest $500,000 for a more in-depth economic analysis of affects on Idaho’s coffers. Furthermore, the report calls for spending $250,000 to fund a permanent working group, with a full-time staff member and administrative assistant, to implement transfer-related policy changes the Legislature may approve...more