Idaho Watersheds
Project confronts new obstacle
By GREG
MOORE
Express Staff Writer
A recent
rule change will hinder the efforts of Hailey-based Western Watersheds
Project to eliminate cattle grazing on environmentally sensitive state
range land.
During a
meeting Aug. 7, the State Land Board approved a rule revision to require
applicants for grazing leases to certify they will actually use the land
for grazing. The Western Watersheds Project has outbid ranchers and
acquired leases but left the land empty to allow purportedly overgrazed
areas to recover.
The rule,
which requires approval by the Idaho Legislature, can not go into effect
until next summer.
The Land
Board manages 2.5 million acres of Idaho School Endowment Fund land, and
in leasing or selling the land earns about $50 million a year for public
schools.
Jay
Biladeau, Department of Lands assistant director for lands, range and
minerals, said the new rule’s intent is to require applicants who want
leases for a purpose other than grazing to identify that purpose.
"If
you want to do something else, then we’re going to handle it under a
different procedure that allows us to address that use," Biladeau
said.
He said the
department must determine not only the highest bidder for a parcel, but
also the "highest and best use" of the land. He said Western
Watersheds Project can still submit bids to lease grazing parcels but must
request that the land be reclassified from "grazing" to
"miscellaneous."
Western
Watersheds Project President Jon Marvel, of Hailey, said the board’s
recent decision shows that "the good ol’ boys are still in
charge."
He
contended the board’s goal is to prevent groups such as his from
competing for leases.
Marvel said
the Land Board has stalled on addressing previous requests he has made for
reclassification of grazing parcels.
"If
the board wants people to ask for reclassification, you should be able to
get a hearing and a decision in a timely manner," he said.
The board’s
move last week was the state’s second effort to block Marvel’s
tactics. The Idaho Supreme Court ruled in 1999 that a so-called
"anti-Marvel" law, which directed the Department of Lands to
give ranchers preference in lease auctions, violated the Idaho
Constitution.
The
Legislature had granted the department authority to accept lower bids from
ranchers on the grounds that cattle grazing adds to the state’s economy
and therefore helps schools more in the long run. The court, however, said
the department is obligated to manage the lands for the direct benefit of
schools.
Biladeau
said he believes the new wording will be safe from constitutional
challenge. He said that in addressing benefits to the Idaho economy, the
earlier law "really got kind of far afield, and I believe that’s
why it was ruled unconstitutional."
Marvel,
however, contended the board has once again "chosen to ignore its
constitutionally required fiduciary responsibility."
"They’re
not operating for the benefit of schoolchildren. They’re operating as
agents of ranchers."
Marvel said
he has not yet decided on a course of action in response to the new rule.