The Senate State Affairs committee approved two resolutions that would seek to transfer public lands from the federal government to the state. Rep. Lawerence Denney (R- Midvale) asked the committee to endorse the resolutions.
Denney cited last year’s forest fire season as a reason for state control.
“Last summer, we saw nearly two million acres of public lands and forest burned," says Denney. "Years of harvesting only a fraction of the annual growth has lead to a build-up of fuel in the forest that waits only for a dry year to create a catastrophic fire. I’m not blaming the federal agencies but rather a bureaucratic dysfunctional system.”
Denney argues that by putting Idaho in control, the state can better deal with dry or diseased forests.
But Jonathan Oppenheimer disagrees. Oppenheimer is with the Idaho Conservation League. He says a transfer like this would open up Idaho’s public land to private sale.
“Public lands really represent the lands where Idahoans fish, where we hunt, where we recreate," Oppenheimer says. "They represent a tremendous economic engine to the state, contributing billions to the state of Idaho. Based on economic realities and the expressed statements made in both of these resolutions, public land would be at risk to the highest bidder – a notion that is steadfastly opposed by the majority of Idahoans.”
Oppenheimer also questions the legal basis for a land transfer.
The two measures now head to the Senate floor.
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