Saturday, December 11, 1993
Magic Valley Ag Weekly
Environmentalists challenge rancher for land

By Clark Miller - Ag Weekly writer

HAILEY - A Wood River Valley environmental group is about to enter the market for the right to lease state-owned range land. Idaho Watersheds Project members hope to remove livestock from a 640-acre Custer County grazing parcel by outbidding Challis rancher Will Ingram for possession of a 10-year lease on the state land. It would mark the first time in Idaho history an environmental group has entered into a bidding war with a rancher for public grazing land. "There will be more," said Jon Marvel, a Hailey architect who organized the Idaho Watersheds Project in September as a vehicle for bidding on state land currently being grazed by livestock. Marvel said his group wants to fence part of the property to protect a creek that provides habitat for spawning salmon. Supporters of the livestock industry fear the move could have a lasting impact on Idaho ranchers. "I think ranchers should be concerned about this," said Idaho Secretary of State Pete Cenarrusa, a member of the Idaho Land Board and a sheep rancher from Carey. Cenarrusa has intervened in the case postponing the auction until after the land board discusses the issue at its regular meeting Dec. 21 in Boise.

Auction delayed

"It might be setting a precedent and I think the board should hear this," Cenarrusa said. Cenarrusa said his motive was to delay the auction so the board could explore the legality of allowing groups wanting to idle grazing from bidding against livestock producers. Marvel said he's confident his group would not infringe on any state laws related to leasing public land. Don Hobbs, chief of the Department of Lands range management bureau, said the holder of a lease must meet range management standards already in place and must not have a significant impact on the existing use of surrounding government-owned land. Most revenue from state land goes to fund public schools, Hobbs said. Revenue is also a priority under state law when awarding leases on the state land, he added.

Cenarrusa said his concern is existing laws relate to grazing practices, and say little about land leased for other purposes. The land at issue is a 640-acre parcel on Lake Creek in Custer County. Lake Creek is fed by Herd Lake and is a tributary to Herd Creek, which runs into the east fork of the Salmon River. Ingram has permits to graze federal Bureau of Land Management land that surrounds the parcel.

Marvel said Idaho Watersheds Project wants to lease the land and fence off about 30-40 acres of land along Lake Creek to preserve spawning habitat of salmon. Past grazing has damaged the streambed and threatened spawning areas, he said. Ingram said the group has no scientific information that shows the land on the 640-acre parcel has been damaged by grazing. "Marvel's intention is to get the cattle off public land," he said. "We surround that with BLM range. The fence along the creek where our cattle enter, that will impact the area. It's going to put more pressure on both ends of the fence."

Bidding process

If other parties do not express interest in bidding on state leases, the current renter usually is awarded another 10-year contract on the land and continues to pay an annual users fee, Hobbs said. With no auction, the renter pays no initial fee for acquiring the lease. If there is an auction, the state would receive whatever money is raised through the bidding process. Ingram's current fee is about $236 each year, a number based on grazing capacity of the land. Hobbs said only a handful of allotments ever make it to the bidding process. There have been a few cases of ranchers bidding against ranchers, and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game has bid on leases for habitat protection, Hobbs said. However, this would mark the first entrance of an environmental group into the bidding. Leases on state land which expire next year will also be targeted for acquisition by Idaho Watersheds Project, Marvel said.

Environmental objectives

"This is a good place to establish a precedent because it does several things," Marvel said. Objectives of Idaho Watersheds Project include:

• Using the 640-acre parcel as an education tool to promote the idea that grazing is harmful to the environment, Marvel said. If the last is not grazed for 10 years, it can be compared to neighboring range that has been grazed during that period.
• "We can also show ranchers are willing - if they are - to pay much more than they currently do for grazing," Marvel said. If Ingram is willing to pay significantly more for the lease through the bidding process, it would indicate that the state should charge more for grazing fees, he said. Neither Marvel nor Ingram would reveal how much they are willing to bid for the lease.
• Finally, Marvel said the bidding process, no matter who wins, raises more money for Idaho schools.

Ingram said he's not giving up the allotment without a fight. "What they'll do is lock free-enterprise people off the range,"he said. "We're going to participate in (the auction) mainly because we have to protect our interest we have in it already."