An Overview ...
... an excerpt from IDL 2009 Annual Report
"Our people have completed an intensive study of our timber asset ... They implemented improved land acquisition and disposal processes to quickly capture market opportunities. They developed new procedures to improve the performance of our rangeland asset. They deployed new technologies to enhance information management. They instituted new processes to gain efficiencies in all programs, even when facing tough economic challenges. Through it all, they have consistently met their targets in asset management and landowner assistance.
With an eye on the future, we are developing new revenue streams, such as wind power. We are enhancing our commercial property assets. We are planning strategic land development. More importantly, we are strengthening our core businesses. In the public sphere, we are assisting, protecting, educating and collaborating."
• Click here to read the entire letter
• Click here for a list of IDL annual reports
Our Vision
— The Idaho Department of Lands: Trusted stewards of Idaho’s resources, from main street to mountain top.
— The Idaho Department of Lands will be the premier organization for trust management, service, and regulatory oversight in the western United States. We will invest in Idaho’s resources to maximize financial returns to the endowment trust beneficiaries and enhance the health and resilience of Idaho’s natural resources for the benefit of all Idahoans. We will deliver programs with professionalism and integrity, providing exemplary service to the citizens of Idaho.
— We will invest in our employees and have an organizational culture and framework that equips, entrusts, and expects employees to make decisions. The Idaho Department of Lands will be a unified and vibrant organization in which all employees participate in constructive communication to fully meet our missions.
Our Missions
— To professionally and prudently manage Idaho's endowment assets to maximize long-term financial returns to public schools and other trust beneficiaries.
— To provide professional assistance to the citizens of Idaho to use, protect and sustain their natural resources.
BUREAUS AND PROGRAMS ADMINISTERED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LANDS
For information about programs administered by the Department of Lands, visit our Bureau web pages:
› Lands, Minerals, Range Division (Director's Office/Boise) —— Programs include:
• LEASING: Cottage Site; Commercial; Grazing; Farming; Conservation; Mineral;
• SERVICE / REGULATORY: Navigable Waters; Mining, Oil & Gas; Abandoned Mine Lands
› Fire Management Bureau (Coeur d'Alene Staff Office)
› Forest Management Bureau (Coeur d'Alene Staff Office)
› Forestry Assistance Bureau (Coeur d'Alene Staff Office)
AREA OFFICES
The Department of Lands maintains fourteen Supervisory Area Offices throughout the State of Idaho. To find your closest IDL area office, visit www.idl.idaho.gov/areas.htm.
RELATED LINKS
— Idaho State & Private Forestry Fact Sheets
— To learn more about endowment lands, the State Board of Land Commissioners and the Idaho Department of Lands, refer to the University of Idaho, College of Natural Resource publication, Idaho's Endowment Lands, a Matter of Sacred Trust, by Jay O'Laughlin, March 1990
Today's Department of Lands and the Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners
Reference Documents:
— Idaho Admission Bill (PDF Format)
— State Trust Lands Asset Management Plan
... Supporting Idaho Schools and Institutions since 1890
Who are the Endowment Beneficiaries?
— Public Schools
— Agricultural College Fund (University of Idaho)
— Charitable Institutions Fund (Idaho State University, Industrial Training School, 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.
When Idaho became a state in 1890, the federal government granted lands to Idaho on the condition they produce maximum long-term financial returns for public schools and other beneficiaries. Idaho now has over two million acres of endowment lands providing financial support to our public schools and other institutions. The Idaho Department of Lands manages this sacred trust under the governance of the Idaho Board of Land Commissioners.
In order to effectively manage the endowment lands and funds, Article IX of the Idaho Constitution established the State Board of Land Commissioners, consisting of Idaho's Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General and Superintendent of Public Instruction. The State Auditor (now called State Controller) was added in 1910. The Land Board, acting in the capacity of trustees on behalf of the beneficiary schools and other institutions, were given the responsibility under Article IX, Section 8 of the Constitution (as amended) to manage endowment lands
"...in such manner as will secure the maximum long term financial return to the institution to which granted..."
In addition to this charge, the Constitution also established a permanent endowment fund, the principal of which "...shall forever remain inviolate and intact...," and the interest from which must be used for the maintenance of the public beneficiaries of the State.
More than 225 dedicated natural resource specialists and support staff, functioning in 14 Supervisory Areas throughout the State, work to implement the management directives as handed down by the Idaho Constitution and the State Board of Land Commissioners. Endowment lands include 780,000 acres of commercial timberland and about three million acres of minerals. In addition, the Department of Lands, having been assigned additional duties over the years by the State Legislature, now serves as the host agency to the Idaho Board of Scaling Practices, the Clearwater-Potlatch Timber Protective Association and the Southern Idaho Timber Protective Association.
For information about jobs with the State of Idaho, visit www.dhr.idaho.gov/stateJobs.html or www.idl.idaho.gov/administration/job.htm
