Architect’s Accusations Anger Land Board Marvel Says Republicans Have Kept Watersheds Project From Leasing Property

Hailey architect Jon Marvel angered Gov. Phil Batt and likely lost his bid for a state grazing lease in southeastern Idaho by arguing that Republicans are using partisan politics against him.

The head of the Idaho Watersheds Project said Tuesday that a state Department of Lands recommendation against granting him a lease on 640 acres of land about 25 miles south of American Falls discriminated against his conservation group. Marvel is the only bidder for the lease.

“The real intention of those who support the department’s recommendation here is to prevent the Idaho Watersheds Project from ever holding a lease on state school endowment land, no matter the purpose,” he told the five-member state Land Board at its monthly meeting.

Marvel said “political considerations” were behind the fact that his group has failed to win a single state grazing lease despite more than a dozen attempts.

That clearly upset the GOP governor, who was joined by Democratic state Controller J.D. Williams in pointing out that some of the Land Board votes on Marvel’s grazing lease applications in recent years have been bipartisan.

But Attorney General Alan Lance led the charge against Marvel on Tuesday.

The Lands Department said the Idaho Watersheds Project bid should be rejected because Marvel failed to submit all the information the agency requested - at the Land Board’s direction - on his grazing plans for the tract, such as how many and what type of livestock he planned to run.

“If we ask legitimate questions we deserve legitimate answers. We have a management responsibility,” Lance said. “I don’t think we’re obligated to lease to anybody just because they wave 300 bucks in front of us.”

Marvel had agreed to pay $3,500 for the 10-year grazing lease. And on Tuesday he offered to up the ante by $1,500, asking Lance, “at what point does money make a difference?”

Grazing lease receipts go into the public schools endowment fund. Lance, however, said the question was whether Marvel would comply with Land Board requirements.

“All you had to do was play by the rules,” he said. “If you choose not to play by the rules, you do so at your peril.”

Marvel later tried to respond directly to another Lance criticism of his case, but Batt intervened.

“The chair will not tolerate personal attacks on the attorney general or any other members of the board,” he said.

Marvel then argued that although he would graze livestock on the parcel involved, more than 30,000 acres in other grazing land leased to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and Department of Parks and Recreation is not used for that purpose. And he said hundreds of thousands of acres in other grazing parcels has been “degraded by lessees who have never been taken to task by the Land Board.”

Williams, citing the fact that the endowment fund now is getting no money for the tract, backed Marvel’s contention that he should not have to meet information requirements others have not. So did Batt, but only reluctantly.

“Mr. Marvel, you have made it extremely difficult for me to support you on this motion, but I’m going to,” the governor said.

Lance and state Schools Superintendent Anne Fox supported the Lands Department recommendation.

So the question of whether Marvel will be granted the grazing lease was postponed until the February meeting, when Secretary of State Pete Cenarrusa is expected to attend.

He has consistently opposed of Marvel’s attempts to lease state land.