2005 Idaho Code - 58-310B — TWO OR MORE APPLICANTS FOR SAME LAND -- AUCTION OF LEASE

                                  TITLE  58
                                 PUBLIC LANDS
                                  CHAPTER 3
                           APPRAISEMENT, LEASE, AND
                                SALE OF LANDS
    58-310B.  TWO OR MORE APPLICANTS FOR SAME LAND -- AUCTION OF LEASE. (1)
The legislature of the state of Idaho finds:
    (a)  That state endowment lands are a valuable resource to the people of
    Idaho, supporting employment opportunities and creating a significant
    source of income to the state and endowed state institutions;
    (b)  That many state endowment lands have few alternative uses, except for
    grazing livestock, that provide a stable long-term source of income to the
    endowed institutions of the state and contribute to tax revenues from all
    sources;
    (c)  That maximum long-term financial returns to the institutions to which
    granted are best obtained through stable leases;
    (d)  That long-term productivity of state endowment grazing lands and
    maximum long-term financial returns to the endowed institutions and the
    state are encouraged when lessees engage in cooperative grazing planning
    and management with the state of Idaho and federal land management
    agencies;
    (e)  That the promotion of good stewardship through the cooperative
    development and implementation of written grazing management plans, which
    meet department standards, on state endowment lands should be encouraged.
    (2)  It is hereby declared that the purposes of this section are:
    (a)  To support the endowed institutions and the state by encouraging a
    healthy Idaho livestock industry so as to generate related business and
    employment opportunities on a state and local level, thus supporting
    additional sales, income and property taxes;
    (b)  To enhance the long-term financial returns to the endowed
    institutions and the state from the state endowment lands available for
    grazing leases.
    (3)  When two (2) or more qualified applicants, as determined by the state
board of land commissioners apply to lease the same endowment land that is
currently leased for grazing,  the director of the department of lands, or his
agent, shall hold an auction.
    (a)  At least fourteen (14) days prior to the date of such auction, the
    director, or his agent, shall give notice by letter, which notice shall be
    sent in the course of regular mail to each of the qualified applicants for
    the lease, notifying them of the time and place such auction is to be
    held. The notice shall be sent to the name and address exactly as it is
    given in the application.
    (b)  Each qualified applicant who appears in person or by proxy at the
    time and place so designated in said notice shall be deemed to have
    participated in the auction. To be awarded the lease, a qualified
    applicant must participate in the auction.
    (4)  To be a qualified applicant and therefore entitled to participate  at
an auction for a lease under this section:
    (a)  The conflict applicant must have provided payment of one (1) year's
    rental on the lease payable at the time of application to lease;
    (b)  The applicant must be capable of and willing to fulfill all
    provisions of any existing written grazing management plan which meets
    department standards associated with the parcel;
    (c)  The conflict applicant's proposed use of the state land must be
    compatible with the purpose and terms of a written grazing management plan
    which meets department standards;
    (d)  The applicant must have filed applications in the manner and at the
    time provided for by statute and rules duly promulgated thereunder.
    (e)  Nothing herein shall limit the state board of land commissioner's
    discretion to consider other qualification criteria, including but not
    limited to applicable criteria contained in subsection (6) of this
    section.
    (5)  The state board of land commissioners is expressly authorized to
reject conflict applications, filed under section 58-307, Idaho Code, and this
section, to lease parcels of grazing land.
    (6)  Criteria that may be considered by the state board of land
commissioners, in deciding to whom the lease should be awarded, include, but
are not limited to, the following:
    (a)  Whether the participant satisfies the requirements of subsection (4)
    of this section;
    (b)  Whether the current lessee owns or controls sufficient real property
    to adequately feed the livestock in the lessee's agricultural operation
    when the lessee is not utilizing the state lands for grazing purposes;
    (c)  The importance of the state grazing lands to be leased upon the
    current lessee's total annual livestock operation, and the ability of the
    lessee to remain economically viable without the lease;
    (d)  The future revenues reasonably anticipated to be generated for the
    beneficiaries of the endowment and the state as a result of awarding the
    lease to one (1) applicant over others. If a conflict auction has been
    held, the board also may consider the premium bids resulting from the
    auction.
    (e)  The indirect benefits to the beneficiaries of the endowment from tax
    revenues from all sources generated by the lessee's proposed activities on
    the leasehold and those activities related thereto, and the long-term
    stability or appreciation of such tax revenues;
    (f)  The impact on endowment land or the return to the endowment if the
    leasehold is not managed in conjunction with adjacent grazing lands;
    (g)  Whether the current lessee has managed the conflicted parcels in
    accordance with a written cooperative grazing management plan which meets
    department standards;
    (h)  Whether the current lessee has applied in writing to the director for
    the development and implementation of a written cooperative grazing
    management plan which meets department standards;
    (i)  Nothing herein shall limit the state board of land commissioner's
    discretion to consider other criteria in deciding to whom the lease should
    be awarded.
    (7)  (a) For the purposes of subsection (6)(h) of this section, the
    qualified applicant status of a current lessee having applied in writing
    to the director for the cooperative development and implementation of a
    written grazing management plan, meeting department standards, shall
    remain in force until the director notifies the lessee in writing that the
    department is ready to develop a written grazing management plan;
    (b)  The failure of the lessee to enter into a cooperative grazing
    management plan within eighteen (18) months following the director's
    written notice shall constitute a breach of the lease;
    (c)  Upon written request by the lessee, filed before the expiration of
    the eighteen (18) month period, the department may authorize additional
    time to complete the plan, provided that development of the written
    grazing management plan is progressing to the satisfaction of the
    director;
    (d)  The department shall prioritize all written requests to establish
    grazing management plans, with such priority list in writing to be made
    available at appropriate department offices.
    (8)  (a) If the board awards the lease for the conflicted parcels to the
    former lessee, any existing written grazing management plan shall be
    incorporated by reference in the lease;
    (b)  If the board awards the lease for the conflicted parcel(s) to the
    former lessee who, prior to said award, has applied in writing to the
    director for the development and implementation of a written grazing
    management plan which meets department standards, then said written
    grazing management plan shall, upon its development, be incorporated by
    reference into the lease as a matter of law, as if it had existed and been
    approved when the board awarded the lease;
    (c)  If the board awards the lease for the conflicted parcels to a
    conflict applicant, a written cooperative grazing management plan which
    meets department standards shall, upon its development, be incorporated by
    reference into the lease as a matter of law, as if it had existed and been
    approved when the board awarded the lease.
    (9)  The state board of land commissioners shall review all bids and shall
have the power to reject any and all bids made at such auctions, when in their
judgment:
    (a)  There has been fraud or collusion;
    (b)  The criteria listed in subsection (6) of this section have not been
    satisfied so as to support the findings and purposes of this section; or
    (c)  For any other reasons which, in the judgment of the state board of
    land commissioners, justify the rejection of said bids.