A group of Idaho lawmakers gathers tomorrow at the Statehouse to begin weighing whether the federal government should transfer public lands to the state to manage. Theall-day meeting will include presentations from Boise National Forest Supervisor Cecilia Seesholtz, Deputy Attorney General Steve Strack and State Forester David Groeschl. He's with the Idaho Department of lands.
More than half of Idaho’s land is considered public and is managed by federal agencies including the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
The Federal Lands Interim Committee plans to study and develop a proposal to present to the full legislature in coming sessions. This spring lawmakers signed off on this interim committee while also demanding that the federal government transfer public lands into Idaho’s hands.
This is part of a movement among Western states to have the federal government transfer these public lands to states including in Idaho. Boise State Public Radio held a community conversation about the future of Idaho’s public lands earlier this year and you can listen to that discussion here.
The committee is made up of 10 legislators. Sen. Chuck Winder, a Republican, co –chairs the committee along with House Republican Lawerence Denney. There are five senators and five house members in the group, including two women and two Democrats. Republicans make up the rest of the committee.
The regional law firm Parsons Behle & Latimer has provided aninitial survey for the interim committee along with a memorandum to the co-chairs.
We will be tweeting Friday’s meeting, which begins at 9 a.m., throughout the day. You can follow along at #IDleg and @SadieBabits .
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