There was a rare moment of unanimity in the House today on a public-lands issue, when the House voted 68-0 in favor of HCR 53, a resolution sponsored by Reps. Mat Erpelding, D-Boise, and Mike Moyle, R-Star, to encourage the state Land Board to ensure access to state endowment lands – and not grant proposals for exclusive hunting and fishing access on that land that would “lock Idahoans out.” The resolution calls on the Land Board to “preserve and promote reasonable and equitable access to state endowment trust land for the benefit of all Idahoans.”

“We have a conflict,” Erpelding told the House. “Our state’s heritage says that we provide access to all those lands … but our Constitution says we need to maximize financial output. So this conflict must be addressed, and this is the first step in addressing it.”

Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, spoke out in support of the resolution, saying, “One of the primary signs that really irks me is to see a sign that says, ‘State property, no trespassing.’”

The unanimity dissolved when the House, just a few bills later, took up SB 1338, the bill authorizing counties to declare federal public lands a “catastrophic public nuisance” and demand abatement. “There’s nothing in this bill that says (it’s a) stick in the eye of the federal government,” said Rep. Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay. “While it may not be a direct effect … it’s a protection for our citizens for those county commissioners who take an oath to do that, to act upon that.” That bill passed on a party-line vote, 56-13.