Owyhee Land Exchange

Congressional action in 2009 designated more than 500,000 acres of public land in Owyhee County as wilderness.As a result of the wilderness designation, the State of Idaho (Idaho Department of Lands) now has lands located in areas that do not match the agency’s purposes.

Through the Owyhee Land Exchange, IDL is considering exchanging up to 28,000 acres of endowment land located within the wilderness area for up to 34,000 acres of BLM lands outside the wilderness area that are better suited to our mission and objective to maximize long-term financial returns to public schools and other State institutions.

Resources

• Fact Sheet: Owyhee Land Exchange – updated August 2020
• Map of Exchange Acres – updated August 2020
• Summary of Input Received on May 2015 Field Tour
• BLM letter on status of exchange – May 2015
• BLM’s Management of Livestock Grazing