Idaho's Endowment Lands: A Matter of Sacred Trust, Second Edition

In 1969, the commissioner of the Idaho Department of Public Lands - a predecessor of today's Idaho Department of Lands - described in a published letter to Idaho's governor a troublesome problem the agency faced in managing the state's endowment lands: "Evidence strongly suggests a lack of knowledge and understanding of the term 'state lands,' These lands are, at times, referred to as, 'public lands,' 'grant lands,' 'school lands,' 'endowment lands,' etc. Irregardless of the term used to describe them, there appears to be a general misconception as to how they were acquired, their purpose and dedication, and their disposition." By providing the people of Idaho with a guide to understanding the land grant endowment trusts administered by the Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners (Land Board) this report, like its first edition in 1990, attempts to overcome that problem. The body of assets (or "corpus") in the endowment trusts consists of three principal assets: 2.5 million acres of land managed by the Idaho Department of Lands (IDL), a Permanent Fund consisting of financial assets that "shall forever remain inviolate and intact," and an Earnings Reserve Fund from which distributions are made to beneficiary institutions. The financial trust funds are administered by the Endowment Fund Investment Board (EFIB).Policy Analysis Group Report - University of Idaho College of Natural Resource