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State trust lands aren't talked about much, but these lands with a mandate to generate revenue take up a large amount of the Western United States. As the world modernizes, states are debating future land use on these lands, including options like outdoor recreation or real estate development near surging tourist towns. If managed correctly, trust lands present opportunities for both economic development and conservation.
What exactly are state trust lands? Upon being granted statehood, Congress granted each Western state ownership of a portion of the lands within its borders in the form of a patchwork of evenly spaced parcels of land. Now known as state trust lands, these tracts were designated to financially support public institutions, particularly schools.
Given their economic support mission, state trust lands are not “public lands” in the traditional sense, and public access is generally restricted, unless states have established access programs such as in Colorado. Rather, states manage their trust lands to generate revenue, leasing parcels for grazing, agriculture, logging, as well as drilling and mining.
In some states, extractive industries like logging are no longer paying the bills, while calls for conservation ramp up with booming outdoor recreation economies. Even in states like New Mexico, where there is a strong oil and gas industry, there is recognition that extraction opportunities are finite, whereas trust land mandates are permanent. As a result, New Mexico managers have halted the sale of trust land water rights for fracking operations and created an outdoor recreation office to capitalize on a growing recreation economy.
State land managers have a fine needle to thread: they need to provide stable funding for schools and public services while protecting the environment and supporting local communities. One thing that's clear is that times are changing, and that it may be time for conservation and outdoor recreation to enter the mix of state trust land uses.
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Permafrost is melting, villages are sinking in the tundra. A couple of years ago, because of the extreme heat, there were dead salmon floating down on the river... The wildlife — everything — is being impacted [by climate change]. We’re at ground zero.”
