Friends of Idaho Watersheds Project
In a test of the Idaho Land Board and the Idaho Department of Lands' response to IWP's recent triple victory at the Idaho Supreme Court. IWP has applied for 8000 acres of expiring Idaho school endowment land grazing leases which , if acquired, would effectively cut grazing use by a minimum of one half on BLM lands managed jointly with the school lands. The following news release was sent to Idaho media outlets today:
News Release
May 4, 1999
Idaho Watersheds Project Applies for 8000 Acres of Expiring Grazing Leases on Idaho School Endowment Lands in Owyhee County
On April 29, Idaho Watersheds Project filed applications for four grazing leases in Owyhee County covering almost 8000 acres of Idaho school endowment lands. The leases expire December 31, 1999. The leases are all adjacent and form a block of land within the BLM administered South Mountain Area grazing allotment. This allotment is permitted to three Owyhee County ranchers whose grazing management has been shown to be degrading the public land and creeks for many years.
The 1996 BLM Draft Owyhee Resource Management Plan stated about this allotment that the "riparian ecosystems are in unsatisfactory condition, there is high erosion potential, and that the ecological condition of the allotment as a whole is unsatisfactory "(Owyhee DRMP 1996, page A-61). The 1981 BLM Owyhee Resource Area Environmental Impact Statement stated that all the BLM acres in this allotment were rated in a "static or downward ecological trend" (Owyhee EIS 1981, page F-9), and there has been no change since then. This allotment is one of ten Owyhee County allotments on which ranchers have failed to meet modest riparian grazing standards for the last three years.
The Idaho school endowment land subject to these leases amounts to approximately 46% of the total area of the South Mountain Area allotment which encompasses about 17,000 acres and includes the headwaters of several creeks which are critical habitat for redband trout which has been petitioned to be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Idaho Watersheds Project President, Jon Marvel, stated: "IWP looks forward to the auction for these leases which could raise substantial funds for Idaho's school children. IWP also welcomes the opportunity to start the long recovery process for these damaged lands by acquiring these leases for the next ten years."