On this page: State Land Board Updates [below] | State Land Board Member Photos | How to Contact Land Board Members | Endowment Beneficiaries | How Often Does the Board Meet | What are Endowment Lands
Updates
Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners
| C. L. "Butch" Otter, Governor | Ben Ysursa, Secretary of State | Lawrence Wasden, Attorney General |
 |
 |
 |
| Donna Jones, Controller | Tom Luna, Superintendent of Public Instruction |
Tom Schultz, Secretary to the Land Board Director, Idaho Department of Lands |
 |
 |
 |
How to Contact the State Board of Land Commissioners
How do I contact Land Board Members? You can send correspondence to each Land Board member individually by visiting their respective web sites or you can send correspondence for all Land Board members to: Attn: Director - Idaho Department of Lands, Secretary to the State Board of Land Commissioners, 300 North 6th Street, Suite 103, Post Office Box 83720, Boise, Idaho 83720-0050.
| STATE LAND BOARD MEMBERS | |
C. L. "Butch Otter, Governor, State of Idaho, Chairman, President, State Board of Land Commissioners |
Bio: http://gov.idaho.gov/ Web Address: http://gov.idaho.gov/ Contact: http://gov.idaho.gov/ourgov/contact.html |
| Ben Ysursa, Idaho Secretary of State | Bio: http://www.sos.idaho.gov/ysursabio.htm Web Address: http://www.sos.idaho.gov/ Contact:http://www.sos.idaho.gov/general/genindex.htm |
Lawrence Wasden, Idaho Attorney General
|
Bio: http://www.ag.idaho.gov/aboutUs/biography.html Web Address: http://ag.idaho.gov Contact: http://www.ag.idaho.gov/aboutUs/contactUs.html |
Donna Jones, Idaho State Controller
|
Contact Controller Donna Jones at this web address: http://www.sco.idaho.gov/web/scoweb.nsf/pages/adminfunctcontact.htm |
Tom Luna, Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction
|
Bio: http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/luna/ Web Address: http://www.sde.idaho.gov/ Contact: http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/contact/ |
Tom Schultz, Secretary to the Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners and Director, Idaho Department of Lands
|
Web Address: www.idl.idaho.gov Contact: www.idl.idaho.gov/contactus.html Address: Idaho Department of Lands, 300 North 6th Street, Suite 103, Post Office Box 83720, Boise, Idaho 83720-0050, tele: (208) 334-0200; fax (208) 334-5342 |
Who are the Endowment Beneficiaries?
— Public Schools
— Agricultural College Fund (University of Idaho)
— Charitable Institutions Fund (Idaho State University, State Hospital North, Idaho Veterans Homes and the School for the Deaf and Blind)
— Normal School Fund (Idaho State University Department of Education and Lewis-Clark State College)
— Penitentiary Fund
— School of Science Fund (University of Idaho)
— State Hospital South Fund
— University Fund (University of Idaho)
— Capitol Commission
To learn about the history of endowment lands, the State board of Land Commissioners and the Idaho Department of Lands, refer to the University of Idaho, College of Natural Resources publication, Idaho's Endowment Lands, a Matter of Sacred Trust by Jay O'Laughlin, March 1990.
>Information of Interest - Why are some forests clearcut? An article by the Idaho Forest Products Commission.
How often does the Land Board meet?
Effective August 2008 the State Board of Land Commissioners will meet regularly on the third Tuesday of each month to conduct the business of managing Idaho's Endowment and Trust lands. Meeting dates and times are subject to change at the discretion of the Board.
— Current Year Land Board Meeting Dates
What are endowment lands?
When Idaho was admitted to the Union as the 43rd state in 1890, it was granted approximately 3,672,000 acres of land for the support of state institutions. The land was granted under the condition that it be managed in perpetuity as a trust for the beneficiary institutions. This mandate was codified in Article IX Section 8 of the Idaho Constitution, which states that the lands are to be managed, "...in such manner as will secure the maximum long term financial return to the institution to which granted." Chief among the beneficiaries are the public schools, which received two sections of every township in the state (1/18 of the total land base). Other institutions include the University of Idaho, the Agricultural College, the Normal Schools, Penitentiary, Charitable Institutions, State Hospital South, School of Science and Public Buildings (now Capitol).
Management activities on state endowment trust land are not intended to benefit the general public, but are directed solely to the good of the beneficiaries of the original land grants. Money generated from the management of these lands is deposited into the earnings reserve fund from which the costs of management and payments to the beneficiaries are made. Revenue from mineral royalties is deposited into the permanent endowment fund. Both the earnings reserve and permanent fund are invested by the Endowment Fund Investment Board (visit the Endowment Fund Investment Board web page at www.efib.idaho.gov). The investment return is distributed to the beneficiaries. Land sale revenue is deposited into the land bank and is available to purchase other land. If not expended for that purpose within five years, the land sale revenue is deposited into the permanent fund.
Management of endowment trust lands is entrusted to the State Board of Land Commissioners. The Idaho Department of Lands is the administrative arm of the Board and carries out the executive directives of the Board to meet the constitutional trust mandate.
