Land Board deserves Marvel
Western Watersheds Project lightning rod Jon Marvel of
Hailey has taken a lot of abuse in his quest to get Idaho to take better
care of its public lands.
Marvel is a gadfly’s gadfly. Overstatement is his
hallmark, and it makes people mad—even those who agree with him.
Be that as it may, the Idaho Land Board deserves Jon
Marvel. It proved it again last week.
The Land Board leases state land to private companies and
individuals for various enterprises, mostly ranching. Marvel had taken aim
at its cheap sweetheart deals with ranchers and its lax attitude about
range conditions on its leased parcels.
For a while, it looked like Marvel and the Idaho Supreme
Court had gotten the Land Board’s attention.
It didn’t last long.
Last week, the Land Board reinstated a grazing lease on
7,000 acres for a Custer County rancher who never complied with a
management plan he agreed to three years ago. The plan that called for
lighter grazing would have improved conditions in lower elevations and
along stream banks.
Land Board members Secretary of State Pete Cenarussa, Gov.
Dirk Kempthorne and Controller J.D. Williams said they didn’t want to
put a rancher out of business. So, they outvoted Attorney General Al Lance
and Superintendent of Public Instruction Marilyn Howard and decided to
overlook the violations.
Instead, they demanded a 25 percent reduction in grazing
and said, if they can be believed, that the lease will be canceled
immediately if the management plan is violated.
The Land Board did more than encourage a scofflaw. It
proved it needs Marvel and the Western Watersheds Project more than ever.
