Western Watersheds Project won its seventh consecutive court decision over the State Board of Land Commissioners in the conservation group's efforts to protect and preserve public lands in Idaho.

In September state District Judge Duff McKee reversed the Land Board's award of a grazing lease to rancher Chris Black for the Sam Noble Springs allotment in Owyhee County. The 680­acre parcel boasts the largest population of Columbia spotted frogs in southern Idaho.

The spotted frog is a priority candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Research conducted by Boise State University biologists points to livestock grazing as a principal cause for the decline of spotted frog populations and their habitat.

WWP first applied for the Sam Noble Springs lease in 1996. The Land Board refused to consider the group's application, but the decision was overturned by the Idaho Supreme Court in 1999.

WWP then asked the Land Board to reclassify the parcel for conservation purposes to better protect the spotted frogs. The group also committed to pay double the prevailing grazing lease rate.

The Idaho Constitution requires the Land Board, as trustee of public school and other endowment lands, to "carefully preserve" and oversee management of these lands in a way that will secure the "maximum, long-term financial return" for the endowments.

In practice, the Land Board has frequently used state lands to help prop up a long-suffering livestock industry, rejecting WWP's offers to pay significantly more money for state leases.

On Sept. 11, 2001 the Land Board denied an appeal by WWP to reclassify the Sam Noble Springs allotment. The board, which comprises the five highest-ranking officials in state government, also rejected a request from WWP executive director Jon Marvel for a contested case hearing. WWP countered with an appeal.

The latest ruling allows WWP to present scientific evidence of the harmful impacts and excessive costs of livestock grazing, and to demonstrate the Land Board's poor record in grazing management.

"While the Land Board may not want to learn the truth about the harmful effects of livestock grazing and negative returns grazing has earned for Idaho's public schools, we now can force them to confront reality," said WWP executive director Jon Marvel.