Timber Sale Contracts
Too often timber harvests are conducted with no more than a nod and a handshake between the parties involved. Although this procedure sometimes works, a written agreement is far better.
State Board of Land Commissioners
The State Board of Land Commissioners (Land Board) comprises Idaho’s Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Superintendent of Public Instruction, and State Controller.
The Land Board provides direction to the Department of Lands in managing approximately 2.5 million acres of state endowment trust lands in Idaho. The Land Board also oversees the work of the Department of Lands in its regulatory and assistance duties, and in managing Idaho’s public trust lands – the thousands of miles of land beneath Idaho’s navigable waterways.
Land Board Meetings
Land Board meetings are regularly scheduled in Boise on the third Tuesday of each month. Meetings begin at 9:00 a.m. (Mountain). Meeting dates, times and locations are subject to change at the discretion of the Board.
2026 Meeting Dates – revised 03/05/2026
May 19, 2026 Regular Meeting
The May 19, 2026 meeting will be held in the State Capitol, Lincoln Auditorium (WW02), Lower Level, West Wing, 700 W. Jefferson St., Boise.
The State Board of Land Commissioners will conduct this meeting in person and by virtual means.
- Live Streaming via IDPTV: https://www.idahoptv.org/shows/idahoinsession/ww02/
- Register to attend the Zoom webinar: https://idl.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0sX6Zv-NSXeItTkWaJjd9Q
Materials and Minutes
Materials / Minutes and Archive
Summary Minutes – December 16, 2025
Subscribe to Land Board Meeting Notices
History
When Idaho was admitted to the Union as the 43rd state in 1890, it was granted 3,672,000 acres of land to support state institutions, primarily the state’s public school system. The land was granted under the condition that it be managed in perpetuity as a trust for the beneficiary institutions. Learn more about Idaho’s endowment trust lands.
Resources:
- Idaho’s Endowment Lands, a Matter of Sacred Trust by Dr. Jay O’Laughlin
- Economic Activity of Idaho’s Endowment Trust Lands report by Dr. Peter Crabb
- A Magnificent Endowment: America’s School Trust Lands
- Idaho Admission Bill
Beneficiaries
Endowment trust lands are tied to specific funds and beneficiaries. There are nine state endowment funds, the largest of which supports Idaho’s public school system. Beneficiaries of all the endowment funds are:
- Idaho public schools
- University of Idaho
- State hospitals for the mentally ill
- Lewis-Clark State College
- State veterans homes
- Idaho State University
- Capitol Commission
- Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind
- Idaho’s juvenile corrections system and prison system
Endowment Funding
The Endowment Fund Investment Board is the nine-member board and staff that provide professional investment management services to the Land Board, among other stakeholders.
Each endowment has both permanent assets – which can never be spent – and a reserve fund of accumulated earnings that acts as a buffer. The permanent assets include approximately 2.5 million acres of endowment trust land and money in a Permanent Fund. Investment earnings from the Permanent Fund as well as ongoing land revenues, such as the money from timber sales, go to the Earnings Reserve fund. The Land Board annually determines the allocation of the reserve account – how much to distribute to the beneficiaries, how much to transfer to the permanent fund to offset inflation, and how much to retain for future distribution.
Land Board Policies
The following policies have been adopted by the Land Board. Additional Department policies are on the Agency Guidance Documents webpage.
Administrative
Endowment Land Management
Endowment Leasing
Investments and Asset Management
Regulatory Programs
Wildlife
Members of the Board of Land Commissioners
Related Articles
Read Full Article
Forest Management 9: Snag Management
A snag is a standing dead or dying tree. It may have died because of wildfire, insects, disease, lightning, or a combination of factors. Regardless of the reason for its death, a snag can be very important to many kinds of wildlife.
Forest Management 5: Administering a Timber Harvest
In technical terms, timber sale administration is the supervision of harvest activities to achieve silvicultural and economic objectives through sound logging practices and proper log utilization. In plain English, sale administration is telling a logger what you want before it’s too late.
Planning a Timber Harvest
Informed family forest landowners know you can harvest trees, make a profit and still have a healthy thriving woodlot that looks good. Sound impossible? Well the truth is a forest can be improved with a successful timber harvest.