Land Legacy Trust Deserves Public Support

Statement

LAND LEGACY TRUST DESERVES PUBLIC SUPPORT

By Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter

This past spring I told folks running what turned out to be a successful campaign to create a community college district in southwestern Idaho that I would support them or oppose them - whichever they thought would do their effort the most good.

Maybe I should make the same offer to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game on its Land Legacy Trust idea. After all, it too is a worthy project, and one in which I strongly believe. Whether its success depends on my support or opposition, I am ready to oblige.

Fortunately, I believe the Land Legacy Trust proposal is strong enough to withstand the most skeptical scrutiny or even my staunchest support. It certainly has the latter.

It also has my commitment as governor to work with Fish and Game and other stakeholders to ensure we meet the goals of improving wildlife habitat, enhancing public access and protecting our precious resources - all in an open and transparent process.

By now, many of you likely have heard about the Land Legacy Trust concept.

It involves negotiating an agreement with the Bonneville Power Administration for payment of the wildlife habitat mitigation debt owed to the state as a result of five federal hydropower developments in Idaho - Albeni Falls in the north, Palisades in the east, Minidoka in the south, and Black Canyon and Anderson Ranch in the southwest.

That settlement money would be added to receipts from the sale or trade of about 16,200 acres of Fish and Game's 200,000-acre land inventory to help endow a trust fund devoted to fulfilling the agency's mission. A trust that I hope will exceed $50 million would pay for conservation and stewardship of ranches, farms and timberlands important to wildlife, hunting and fishing.

The project has been in the works since the Idaho Fish and Game Commission adopted a policy in 2003 directing the department to "continually evaluate all existing land holdings to determine if they should be sold or exchanged for lands of higher fish, wildlife and associated recreational value."

The plan's first element involves engaging the public in development of a Land Legacy Report identifying landscapes, places and kinds of habitat that deserve to be protected. Along a parallel track, I have asked Idaho's congressional delegation to work with state officials - including our members on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council - in reaching agreement with the BPA on the mitigation debt.

Secondly, Fish and Game "in-holdings" property entirely surrounded by U.S. Forest Service tracts would be transferred to the federal government in exchange for cash to help establish the Land Legacy Trust. The parcels involved include about 1,500 acres on backcountry ranches and the roughly 12,000-acre Snow Peak Wildlife Management Area.

Finally, Fish and Game would sell 16 parcels of land scattered around the state, totaling about 300 acres, which no longer provide significant fish, wildlife or associated recreational value. Where appropriate, that land may be transferred to other land management agencies.

Once the trust is established, the money would be used to protect the places - especially those threatened by growth and development - where fish and wildlife values are most at risk. That protection would take the form of easements or purchases that further Fish and Game's stewardship goals.

Now, I know some people believe my principles and priorities are contrary to those goals. They are entitled to their views, no matter how erroneous. But no matter what you think of me, the Land Legacy Trust is a proposal that richly deserves the public's support.

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