Idaho Lands Memo Notes Value To State

Following a spring session when interest groups sought to change Idaho’s state endowment land management goals, Idaho Dept. of Lands Director Dustin Miller released a six-page memo detailing the importance of sustainable timber management to Idaho’s state education efforts.

The report noted that annual endowment distributions have almost doubled during the past 10 years. Since 2016, $512 million has been distributed to public schools, and $188 million has gone to higher education from endowment distributions.

Associated Logging Contractors-Idaho (ALC) Executive Director Clete Edmunson said the memo should make all Idaho loggers proud of their contributions to the state, and shows how important the endowment lands management is to state education and rural economies.

Edmunson added that ALC is “adamantly opposed” to any change in the current lands management process.

The Idaho state endowment land is 42% timberland—1.04 million acres—and accounts for about a third of the state’s overall timber harvest. According to the report, timber management accounts for 90% of the state lands’ revenues and supports more than 6,000 jobs.