Current News Coverage
In court, Idaho attorney general fights Land Board policy to stop using him as its attorney
Idaho Capital Sun, 9-18-25
Clash over Land Board’s decision to hire its own attorneys, instead of using the AG’s Office, is playing out in a lawsuit that neither agency is a party to
Usually, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office legally represents state government agencies.
But in 2024, the Idaho Legislature and Gov. Brad Little approved a law to carve out the Idaho Department of Lands as an exception, directing the agency to have its own attorney that is independent of the Attorney General’s Office.
Then this June, the Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners voted to extend that exception to itself. The Land Board manages the state’s public lands, including deciding whether to sell land.
Now, attorneys for the Land Board and Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador are squabbling about that policy in court — in an unrelated federal lawsuit about access to land in the Boise foothills, which neither agency is a party to.
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IDL reports record fiscal year for endowment land activities
Coeur d'Alene Press, 9-18-25
BOISE — The Idaho Department of Lands announced Tuesday that Fiscal Year 2025 was a record-breaking year for revenue generated from endowment land activities, bringing in $91,772,231 — exceeding the previous record from FY2014 by $2.2 million.
“This milestone highlights not just financial success, but the critical and unique mission of Idaho’s endowment trust lands,” said IDL Director Dustin Miller.
Endowment lands are held in trust "to maximize long-term revenue for the beneficiaries," including Idaho's public schools and other institutions, he added.
"Every timber sale, grazing lease, and commercial project is managed with that single goal: to strengthen and support Idaho’s state institutions,” Miller said.
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District celebrates completion of new building
St. Maries Gazette Record, 9-17-25
The Idaho Department of Lands are officially celebrating the completion of its new headquarters in St. Maries, and the public is invited.
The IDL’s grand opening and open house of its new building will be at 1 p.m., Wednesday, September 17 (today) at the IDL headquarters along Main Avenue in St. Maries.
IDL St. Joe area manager Tony Brede said guest from around Idaho are expected to visit the new building for an open house/grand opening event. The IDL’s director Dustin Miller will visit from Boise along with one of the IDL’s deputy directors says Brede. A few other IDL employees from around the local area are expected to visit as well.
“I’m looking forward to it. A lot of people from the IDL that haven’t seen the new building. If they’re making a trip north to south, some have slowed through to take a look at it, but they’ve looked at it during the construction of it. Most of them haven’t seen the completed project yet,” Brede said.
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Opinion: Making Pacific Northwest Forests Healthy Using Good Neighbor Authority
Clark County Today.com, 9-17-25
Key Takeaways
- Across the Pacific Northwest, there are millions of acres of unhealthy federal forests that contribute to annual forest fires that fill the region’s air with smoke.
- Federal efforts to improve forest health have been hampered by a lack of resources and federal regulation.
- Good Neighbor Authority allows states to collaborate with the federal government to improve forest health by combining resources.
- Revenue from forest thinnings and harvests help offset the cost of projects. Idaho hopes to fund its program based on these revenues.
- The pace of forest health treatment using Good Neighbor Authority is too slow but has the ability to increase.
- Tribes now have the authority to use GNA but have chosen to use other tools because they have limited resources to fund initial harvests.
- Forest health treatments take years to plan and execute, so state legislatures should put funding in capital budgets to allow state agencies to access funding beyond the limited scope of state operating budgets.
- The federal government should also reduce the regulatory barriers, including NEPA, to accelerate the pace of forest health treatments.
- State and federal agencies should provide training and look to collaborate further with tribes to help use their new authority effectively.
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Land Board highlights record revenues, advances Ada County solar project
Idaho Press, 9-16-25
The Idaho Department of Lands is maintaining particularly strong revenues in the face of executive agency holdbacks and state revenue projections that have fallen below original estimates.
The Land Board, which oversees the state’s public lands, touted record public land revenues at its Tuesday meeting, with the present fiscal year seeing $91.7 million in revenue, exceeding the record set in FY2014 by $2.2 million.
RECORD PUBLIC LAND REVENUES
While 2014 had the highest net income, this was driven by wildfire salvage sales — in which trees damaged by wildfire are harvested for timber and sold — as well as $2 million in premium bids for oil and gas lease auctions, Jim Elbin, the trust lands division administrator with the Department of Lands, said.
“This year’s record, by contrast, reflects sustainable management practices, long-term planning and the continuing work on diversifying our endowment portfolio,” Elbin said.
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Stage one fire restrictions to be lifted this week
KMVT, 9-16-25
WIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Fire managers will be lifting stage one fire restrictions this week due to recent weather changes.
The Sawtooth National Forest, Bureau of Land Management Twin Falls District, and Idaho Department of Lands originally put the restirctions in place on Aug. 1, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Due to conditions no longer meeting criteria for fire managers, they will lift restrictions at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday.
The lifted restrictions will mean the public can buld campfires, use a charcoal or smoke outside of designated campground and recreation sites.
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Idaho Endowment Land Activities Set New Revenue Record in Fiscal Year 2025
KOZE, 9-16-25
The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) announced today that Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 was a record-breaking year for revenue generated from endowment land activities, bringing in $91,772,231 — exceeding the previous record from FY2014 by $2.2 million.
Oversight by the State Board of Land Commissioners (Land Board), professional land management by IDL, and the investment expertise of the Endowment Fund Investment Board have collectively driven this success. Since endowment reform in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Idaho’s total trust value has become one of the highest among states with trust lands, trailing only those with significant oil or natural gas revenue.
“Idaho sets the standard in land and fund management, demonstrating our dedication to responsible, revenue-driven stewardship of trust lands. Our success is delivering enduring value for the state’s public schools and other endowment beneficiaries,” Land Board Chairman Governor Brad Little said.
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Agencies Coordinate Smoke Management for Prescribed Fire Across Idaho and Montana
DailyFly, 9-16-25
LEWISTON, ID – State, federal, and tribal agencies are reminding residents that prescribed fire is a critical tool used by forestry and agricultural managers to improve ecosystem health and reduce the risk of severe wildfires. Officials say prescribed burning helps slow the spread of disease in forests, stimulate plant growth, and limit fuel buildup that can lead to large-scale fires.
Because smoke is an unavoidable byproduct of burning, multiple factors are weighed before fire managers approve a prescribed fire. These include the number of planned burns in the area, the amount of smoke already in the airshed, current and forecasted weather and air quality, and coordination between agencies and private landowners.
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Contacts for more information include representatives from the Idaho Department of Lands, Bureau of Land Management, Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, and other partner agencies involved in smoke and fire management.
Rainfall aids in slowing North Idaho wildfires
Bonner County Daily Bee, 9-16-25
SANDPOINT — Fire crews saw continued progress in their efforts to contain a series of wildfires across the region.
Firefighters were able to fully contain the Sage Brush Fire located near Athol on Thursday evening at 47 acres. The Idaho Department of Lands officials requested that the public stay off trails around the fire as crews continue to clean the affected area.
With rain and cool temperatures in the forecast, firefighters got a boost over the weekend. However, these temperatures aren’t set to stick around, which may complicate containment efforts as heat returns to the area.
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Teton County, Idaho, commissioners vote to oppose state trust land sale
Jackson Hole News & Guide, 9-15-25
Teton County, Idaho, commissioners on Friday unanimously approved a letter to the State Board of Land Commissioners opposing the sale of a 160-acre parcel of state trust land in Tetonia.
It was the commissioners’ fourth discussion of the sale, due to intra-commission divisions about what position the county should take.
The final letter emphasized public opposition to the sale — describing an “abnormally large amount of interest and interaction” — and said it was contrary to the county’s comprehensive plan, which charges the commission with striving to “maintain, nurture and enhance the rural character and heritage of Teton Valley.”
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New Equipment Boosts Idaho’s Rangeland Fire Protection Efforts!
Posted Sept.17, 2025
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  New Equipment Boosts Idaho’s Rangeland Fire Protection Efforts!
Two of Idaho’s Rangeland Fire Protection Associations (RFPAs) recently added powerful new firefighting tools with the help of the Idaho Department of Lands:
 Camas Creek RFPA – M900 Series Water Tender
Owyhee RFPA – Two M1078A1 LMTV Cargo Trucks
These heavy-duty vehicles strengthen firefighting capacity in rugged terrain where rangeland fires are most challenging.
RFPAs are volunteer groups of local landowners and community members who train in wildland firefighting to protect southern Idaho’s rangelands. Through federal equipment programs, RFPAs gain access to specialized vehicles like these, helping them respond quickly, safely, and effectively.
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