History and Analysis

of

Federally Administered Lands

in Idaho

by

Jay O'Laughlin,¹
Wyatt R. Hundrup,²
and
Philip S. Cook ³

Report No. 16
Idaho Forest, Wildlife and Range Policy Analysis Group
University of Idaho

June 1998

¹ Dr. O'Laughlin is Director, Idaho Forest, Wildlife and Range Policy Analysis Group, University of Idaho, Moscow. As Professor, Department of Forest Resources, he teaches courses in natural resource policy. As a member of the Society of American Foresters he led a team that prepared comments on the 1997 draft proposal by federal agencies to implement ecosystem-based mangement on federally administered lands in Idaho. In 1996 he was appointed by the Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners as a member of the Federal Lands Task Force.

² Wyatt R. Hundrup is a half-time Research Assistant with the Idaho Forest, Wildlife and Range Policy Analysis Group. He has a B.S. in wildlife resource management from the University of Idaho. During 1997 he attended many meetings of the Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners' Federal Lands Task Force.

³ Philip S. Cook is a Research Associate with the Idaho Forest, Wildlife and Range Policy Analysis Group. He has an M.S. in Forest Management and Economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and is a member of the Society of American Foresters.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

About the PAG
Acknowledgments
Preface
Table of Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables

Executive Summary

Focus Questions and Brief Replies

1. Why is 64% of Idaho federal land?
2. What is the purpose of federal lands?
3. What does the law say about "ownership" of federal lands?
4. What "federalism" issues are relevant?

Organization of Report

Findings

Fragmented Authority and Accountability
Gridlock

Analysis of Alternatives

Current Baseline Situation (No Change)
Change Ownership of Land
Change Rules for Federal Land Management

Economic-based Reforms
Land Leasing
Federal Land Management Commission
Local Advisory Council
Trust Land Management
Cooperative State/Federal Management

Framework for Comparing Alternatives

Chapter 1. Why is 64% of Idaho federal land?

Current Land Ownership and Land Use in Idaho

Land Ownership
Land Use

Federal Land Eras

Disposal of the Public Domain to State and Private Ownership
Retention and Management by Federal Agencies

Summary and Conclusions

Chapter 2. What is the purpose of federal lands?

U.S. Forest Service

Policy Objectives
Planning Approaches
Idaho National Forests

Bureau of Land Management

Policy Objectives
Planning Approaches

Management: From Policy and Planning to Action

Management History
Preservation and Environmental Protection
Conflict and Confrontation

Gridlock: Management Inaction

What is "deadlock"?
What is "gridlock"?
Reasons for Gridlock
Gridlock in the National Forest System

Summary and Conclusions

Chapter 3. What does the law say about "ownership" of federal lands?

Federal Land Ownership and Law (by Arthur D. Smith, Jr.)

Title to Federal Land
Federal and State Authority Over Federal Land
Duties Imposed by Federal Ownership

Summary and Conclusions

Chapter 4. What "federalism" issues are relevant?

Cooperative Federalism and Preemption

Possible State Roles
Preemption

Revenue Sharing

Revenue-sharing Payments (25% Fund)
Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILT)
Revenue Production from National Forest and BLM Lands
Payments to Idaho Counties

Locus of Decision Making and the "Public Interest"

What is the "public interest"?
Collaborative Process and the "Public Interest"
National Interests
State and Local Interests

Summary and Conclusions

Chapter 5. Analysis of Alternatives

Current Baseline Situation (No Change)

Current Land-use Plans and Interim Directions
Ecosystem-based Management: Preferred Draft Alternative
Resource Assessment Data

Scenic Conditions
Recreation
Rangeland Health
Forest Health
Riparian Health
Water Quality
Wildlife
Fish
Threatened and Endangered Species

Human Communities
Ecosystem-based Management as Public Policy
Summary and Conclusions

Change Ownership of Land

Land Sale
Ownership Transfer
Summary and Conclusions

Change Rules for Federal Land Management

Economic-based Reforms

Summary and Conclusions

Land Leasing

Timber Rights Leasing in Canada
Leasing Issues
Summary and Conclusions

Federal Land Management Commission

Land Law Review
Management Oversight
Summary and Conclusions

Local Advisory Council

Collaborative Planning
Forest Service and Collaborative Stewardship
Collaboration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Collaborative Learning
Quincy Library Group
BLM Resource Advisory Councils (RACs)
Concerns About Collaborative Processes
Summary and Conclusions

Trust Land Management

Key Concepts and Trust Components
Elements of a Trust
Parts of a Trust
Public Involvement
Sustainable Resource Management
Frequently Asked Questions
Summary and Conclusions

Cooperative State/Federal Management

Summary and Conclusions

Framework for Comparing Alternatives

Criteria
Preliminary Evaluation

Mixed Results
Conclusions

Conclusions

Appendix Tables (see List of Tables)
Endnotes: Legal Citations
Literature Cited
Glossary
Index

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure E-1. Idaho land ownership, 1996; percent of total by public and private sector, with federal land percent of total by agency

Figure 1-1. Federal land in Idaho, 1982-1996; with National Forest, BLM, and other federal agency ownership

Figure 1-2. Land use in Idaho

Figure 1-3. Land use on federal lands in Idaho

Figure 2-1. Idaho timber harvest, 1947-1996; with national forest contribution

Figure 2-2. National forest contribution to Idaho timber harvest, 1947-1996; as percent of total timber harvest

Figure 2-3. Domestic livestock on federal lands in Idaho, 1947-1996

Figure 2-4. Recreational use of Idaho national forests, 1947-1996

Figure 2-5. National forest administrative hierarchy, flow of funds, and public involvement

Figure 4-1. Revenue-sharing payments to Idaho counties, 1967-1997; from timber harvests on Idaho national forests, 1967-1996

Figure 5-1. Implications of fire regime changes on federal lands in Idaho, measured by historic and current lethal and nonlethal conditions as a percentage of Forest Service and BLM lands

Figure 5-2. Forest health conditions for selected Idaho national forests,1979-1995; measured by annual mortality and growth on suitable timberlands and compared to regional range, 1952-1995

Figure 5-3. Federal Land Management Commission alternative design for a national forest

Figure 5-4. Local advisory council (collaborative management) alternative design for a national forest

Figure 5-5. Trust land management alternative design for a national forest

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2-1. Top five states: National Forest System lands, 1996

Table 2-2. Top five states: National Wilderness Preservation System lands, 1989

Table 4-1. Forest Service and BLM Receipts and Expenditures in Idaho, 1994-1996

Table 5-1. Cumulative effects on specialized industries of alternatives considered by the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project

Table 5-2. Arguments for and against ecosystem-based management, as embodied in the Preferred Alternative of the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project

Table 5-3. Arguments for and against changing ownership by land sale or ownership transfer

Table 5-4. Arguments for and against economic-based reforms

Table 5-5. Arguments for and against leasing federal land

Table 5-6. Arguments for and against a Federal Land Management Commission

Table 5-7. Arguments for and against local advisory council (collaborative management)

Table 5-8. Legal definitions of trust terms

Table 5-9. Arguments for and against trust land management

Table 5-10. Arguments for and against cooperative state/federal management

Table 5-11. Framework for comparing alternatives for managing federal lands, with preliminary evaluations

Appendix Table A. Idaho land ownership by category of owners, 1996

Appendix Table B-1. Northern Idaho communities with wood products specialization, 1995

Appendix Table B-2. Southern Idaho communities with wood products specialization, 1995

This page last updated 8/4/98.

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