Improved forest health, reduced wildfire risk will result from IDL easement purchase

HAILEY, Idaho (KIFI) - At statehood, Idaho received a patchwork of 640-acre sections of land to support endowment beneficiaries like public schools.

Unfortunately, not all sections granted to Idaho by the federal government were accessible.

The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) negotiated a management access easement to an isolated endowment parcel in Blaine County with a private party at a total cost of just $7,700. The easement allows state foresters to reach diseased endowment timber located about a mile south of Baldy Mountain.

“This easement is a win for the area’s forestlands and for endowment beneficiaries,” IDL director Dustin Miller said. “With this new access we can harvest the dying timber, improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk in the area, and generate an estimated $60,000 for public schools. If we did nothing, eventually the 230 acres of timber would lose all value, likely burn, and may cause disease and insects to spread to adjacent forestland."

This arrangement also resulted in a win for the private landowner who granted the easement.

“Our partner in this venture gains a new road for better access to their property, and IDL will save tens of thousands of dollars on building an alternative access, an expensive and technically challenging road that would have left a visible scar across the hillside,” Miller said.

Per the agreement with the landowner, the new access road will be for management access only, and not open for public recreation. Endowment land, unlike other public land in Idaho, is managed primarily to generate revenue for beneficiaries like public schools, colleges and universities and veterans’ homes. While recreation is not the primary use of most endowment land, IDL and the Land Board endeavor to keep most endowment land open for dispersed recreation