Thursday, February 16, 1995
The Idaho Statesman
Let market determine bids

Is the state Land Board going to determine who will be the economic winners and losers in the state? Looking at the board's denial on Tuesday of formal hearings in conflict auctions, the public can conclude that the board is stacking the deck in favor of traditional grazing leases. Instead of backing one special interest over another, the board needs to demand that the state get the highest possible price for its leases - whether that be from ranchers or from environmentalists or from whoever. That is its constitutional duty - to manage the lands for maximum long-term financial return. Yet in turning down a call from Jon Marvel and the Idaho Watersheds Project for formal appeals hearings, the board in effect said it didn't care about its constitutional mandate. It wants ranchers to win regardless of whether their bids are the highest. Moreover, when Secretary of State Pete Cenarrusa said that going through a formal hearing could overshoot this year's grazing season, the decision seemed to be a done deal. Clearly, grazing gets priority.

Marvel has essentially tied the state's establishment in knots by outbidding ranchers for leases on state land. Use of the land for grazing cattle and sheep is considered almost sacred by ranchers, but Marvel considers grazing environmentally unfriendly and wants to stop it. The public doesn't have to agree with Marvel's views to see the principle at stake. Suppose, to pick a far-fetched example, someone thought he could make a lot of money making widgets on public lands. As long as he is willing to outbid others for leases and able to pay, shouldn't he be awarded the leases? Just because challenges to lease renewals each year traditionally involved groups wanting to use the land for the same thing, livestock grazing or farming, is no reason to consider only those uses. The board needs to let the marketplace determine the lands' best use through the highest bids.