ACTION ALERT: Support public access bill

House Bill 129 is a pro access bill that would increase opportunities for hunting, fishing, wildlife habitat, and recreation within Idaho. HB 129 has passed the House but faces an uncertain future in the Senate and we need to build momentum to push it through.

The bill is straightforward and simply increases the length of time that the Idaho Land Board has to acquire land with Land Bank funds from five years to ten years. Any acquisitions would be for Idaho State Land, which provide significant public access and recreation opportunities.

As it stands now, funds are automatically transferred to the permanent endowment fund after five years and are thereafter unavailable to be used to acquire new State lands. Land acquisitions often take significant time to complete, and extending this period to ten years could enable the Land Board to greenlight the purchase of new land for hunting and fishing, for parcels that provide access to landlocked public land, and for other uses. The Land Board would still retain the ability to transfer land bank funds to the permanent endowment fund at any time if they wish, and this extension would have no negative fiscal impact.

Cover Image provided by Janice Chilcoat