Current News Coverage
Half million in endowment distributes to area school districts
Idaho County Free Press, 1-7-26
Area school districts will receive half a million dollars this year, as part of a $68-million-plus in endowment distributions. This is the largest portion of the $110,371,200 distributed to all endowment beneficiaries, funding which comes from money earned from managing endowment land and investments.
Funds through the endowment are provided to districts by the state as part of their appropriations. Breakdown is as follows:
• Cottonwood Joint School District 242: $109,901
• Salmon River Joint School District 243: $53,839
• Mountain View School District: $261,016
• Kamiah Joint School District: $93,685.
Read Idaho County Free Press article
Idaho Capital Sun, 1-5-26
daho’s endowment forests are often the subject of passionate public conversation, and that is a good thing. These lands support Idaho’s public schools and other institutions and are managed – by Idahoans – with care and scientific rigor.
A recent op-ed about Priest Lake includes several misconceptions about how the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) and the State Board of Land Commissioners (Land Board) manage these trust lands. As stewards of Idaho’s endowment lands, we want to set the record straight.
The endowment assets are managed as a unified trust with the Endowment Fund Investment Board managing the financial assets and Idaho Department of Lands managing and protecting the land assets. Both entities are under the supervision of the Land Board.
Read Idaho Capital Sun article
Boise News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now!
Daily News Now!, 1-5-26
Idaho's Endowment Forests: Debunking Myths
Myth vs. fact: Managing Idaho’s endowment forests at Priest Lake
IDEDNEWS.org, 1-5-26
This article was first published in the Idaho Capital Sun
Idaho’s endowment forests are often the subject of passionate public conversation, and that is a good thing. These lands support Idaho’s public schools and other institutions and are managed – by Idahoans – with care and scientific rigor.
A recent op-ed about Priest Lake includes several misconceptions about how the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) and the State Board of Land Commissioners (Land Board) manage these trust lands. As stewards of Idaho’s endowment lands, we want to set the record straight.
The endowment assets are managed as a unified trust with the Endowment Fund Investment Board managing the financial assets and Idaho Department of Lands managing and protecting the land assets. Both entities are under the supervision of the Land Board.
Read the IDEDNEWS article
Public lands belong to all
Idaho Mountain Express, 1-5-26
For generations, Idaho Democrats have protected the places that make this state what it is. We believe our public lands belong to all of us, not just the highest-bidding billionaires.
Former Sen. Frank Church, D-Idaho, led the fight to pass the Wilderness Act and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. As interior secretary under President Jimmy Carter, Cecil Andrus drove the effort that secured passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, the largest conservation law in U.S. history. Today, Democrats like state Rep. Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, are pushing to keep access from shrinking when state land is sold. Idaho voters back this work.
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This is where Idaho’s own history matters. State-owned land is not run like federal public lands. Endowment lands must maximize financial return for specific beneficiaries. That revenue-first mandate puts access at risk.
Since statehood, Idaho has sold off more than 1.7 million acres. Much of that land moved into private ownership, where access becomes optional and the public has little leverage. Look at what happened in Teton County this year. A fifth-generation ranching family had leased and cared for a parcel. The Republican-controlled Land Board decided to sell it after a wealthy newcomer set his sights on it.
Read Idaho Mountain Express article
Timber salvaged from Rock Fire
Lewiston Tribune, 1-3-26
McCALL — About 1 million board feet of timber was salvaged and purchased by Tamarack Resort after the Rock Fire burned nearly 2,800 acres south of the resort in August.
The Idaho Department of Lands sold 700,000 board feet of burned timber across 65 acres on endowment trust land to Tamarack.
Tamarack Resort also purchased 224,000 more board feet of salvaged timber on the Boise National Forest from the Good Neighbor Authority Rock Fire Salvage Sale, just 22 days after the fire was contained.
Read Lewiston Tribune article
Idaho Land Board announces a merry $68 million distribution to public schools
Clearwater Tribune, 12-31-25
It is a very Merry Christmas for Idaho’s public schools this year. Public schools are receiving a $68,224,800 distribution for the current school year, which is the largest portion of the $110,371,200 distributed to all endowment beneficiaries.
Funding for this distribution comes from money earned from managing endowment land and investments.
The Idaho Board of Land Commissioners (Land Board) presented a symbolic check to Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield and the youth in the Capital Singers today during its Christmas celebration in the rotunda.
Read Clearwater Tribune article
IDL announces timber sales
The Gazette Record, 12-31-25
The Idaho Department of Lands (IDL) announced the successful sale of three timber sales through its St. Joe Supervisory Area, with bids accepted at the St. Maries office in December.
On December 16, 2025, IFG Timber, LLC was the successful bidder for the Boehls Bottom Cedar timber sale, submitting a bid of $1,042,390. The sale had an appraised value of $991,386. Stella-Jones also submitted a competitive bid.
Also on December 16, Bennett Lumber Products, Inc. secured the Found It 40 timber sale with a winning bid of $1,593,440, exceeding the appraised value of $1,034,541. Stimson Lumber Company participated as a competitive bidder.
The third sale, Builda Burma, was awarded on December 23, to Stimson Lumber Company. The winning bid totaled $1,812,405, compared to an appraised value of $1,178,623. Competitive bids were submitted by Bennett Lumber Products, Inc. and IFG Timber, LLC.
Revenue from state timber sales supports Idaho’s endowment beneficiaries, including public schools and other state institutions.
Read the Gazette Record article
ICYMI: Lands near Payette Lake, Tamarack Resort at center of new land exchange proposal
Valley Lookout, 12-30-25
More than 2,000 acres of state endowment land around Payette Lake would become part of the Payette National Forest under an exchange being negotiated by the Forest Service and the Idaho Department of Lands.
Valley Lookout obtained details on the negotiations, which remain in progress, by obtaining public records under the Idaho Public Records Act
The records include email conversations, voicemails, documents, and maps distributed between the agencies since last March, when the Forest Service presented an initial offer to IDL.
Read Valley Lookout article
ICYMI: Man sues city over Boise River island. Claims he owns it, and police used fire he set to ‘get rid of him’
BoiseDev, 12-28-25
A man is suing the City of Boise in federal court over what he says were “attacks” on an island in the Boise River, which he claims possession of.
According to court documents, Christopher Burdge has claimed “adverse possession” of an island in the Boise River he says was created in the 1860s when a canal was dug around the land to power a sawmill and float logs along the property. Burdge, who is representing himself in court, said he hopes to preserve the island as a historic site. In the court documents, he said that he believed the property was abandoned in 1925 due to the Great Depression and the sawmill becoming obsolete in the area.
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As part of the lawsuit, Burdge is seeking to get the parcel number removed from the island. He said its creation was fraudulent. Burdge also said the City of Boise tried, as part of its “scheme” to obtain the property, to say the island was part of a different parcel of land it had a 1976 deed to. The lawsuit said the city told the Idaho Department of Lands that the island had accumulated onto the parcel it owns as a result of the meandering of the Boise River. The lawsuit casts doubt on this, noting the concrete ruins on the island, which it says are from the former sawmill. The lawsuit claims the city’s attempt to gain the land was blocked by the Idaho Department of Lands.
Read the BoiseDev article
Family forestry workshop dates set
Bonners Ferry Herald, 12-24-25
The University of Idaho Extension will host its annual Family Foresters Workshop next month in Coeur d'Alene.
Family-owned forests are vital to the economy and quality of life in the Inland Northwest, and the workshop gives industry officials and family foresters the tools and skills they need. The lands are critical for wildlife habitat, timber supply, water quality and many other values.
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Presentations include:
• The current and future state of federal forestry cost sharing programs: Cindy Lewis, Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Opportunities for consulting foresters with Good Neighbor Authority and similar efforts to support federal land management: Ed Wingert, Idaho Department of Lands
Read the Bonners Ferry Herald article
Environmental protection groups sue over Trestle Creek adjacent marina
Sandpoint Reader, 12-23-25
The Center for Biological Diversity and the Idaho Conservation League filed suit Dec. 18 against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Army Corps of Engineers, challenging their permit approvals for the proposed Idaho Club marina and housing development near the mouth of Trestle Creek. The Corps subsequently put a halt to construction work with a Dec. 22 letter, which alleged that the then-ongoing work violated the permit’s conditions of approval.
The organizations filed a similar lawsuit in 2022, arguing both times that the development would negatively impact the local bull trout population.
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In addition to the aforementioned permits, the development received various permissions from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, Idaho Department of Lands and the Idaho Department of Water Resources.
Read the Sandpoint Reader article
When it comes to protecting public lands, Democrats have the strong track record
Sandpoint Reader, 12-23-25
By Lauren Necochea, Reader Contributor
For generations, Idaho Democrats have protected the places that make this state what it is. We believe our public lands belong to all of us, not just the highest-bidding billionaires.
Idaho Democratic Sen. Frank Church led the fight to pass the Wilderness Act and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. As Interior Secretary, former-Democratic Gov. Cecil Andrus drove the effort that secured passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, the largest conservation law in U.S. history.
...
This is where Idaho’s own history matters. State-owned land is not run like federal public lands. Endowment lands must maximize financial return for specific beneficiaries. That revenue-first mandate puts access at risk.
Since statehood, Idaho has sold off more than 1.7 million acres. Much of that land moved into private ownership, where access becomes optional and the public has little leverage. Look at what happened in Teton County this year. A fifth-generation ranching family had leased and cared for a parcel. The Republican-controlled Land Board decided to sell it after a wealthy newcomer set his sights on it.
Read the Necochea opinion article
MSN, 12-21-25
Idaho's endowment lands benefit schools but the greater benefits could go to the forestry industry.
Endowment lands have been around since the westward expansion after the American Revolution. Logging, land sales and lease agreements on these lands go to the endowment fund for the state's schools. They are governed statewide by the Land Board, which is managed by the Idaho Department of Lands.
James Lea, board president of the Selkirk Conservation Alliance, said the Land Board acts to maximize revenue on public lands for schools. However, the fund provided just $200 per K-12 student in 2024.
Idaho Land Board announces record $68M funding distribution to K-12 public schools
Idaho Capital Sun, 12-17-25
The Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners presented state leaders with a ceremonial $68.2 million check on Tuesday to celebrate this year’s funding disbursement to the K-12 public school system.
Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller said the $68.2 million funding distribution is a record-high amount, due to a combination of increased timber sales and low expenses.
“We saw increased revenue from endowment lands this past fiscal year mostly through the increase in our timber harvest level over time,” Miller said. “Also, one thing I am proud of is that while our revenue is going up, expenses are staying relatively flat. This is an added benefit to the beneficiaries.”
Read the Idaho Capital Sun article
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