PUBLIC LANDS -- Despite being largely opposed and proven wastes of taxpayer money, right-wing efforts to transfer Western federal lands to state control continue in some states, including Idaho and Washington.

In Idaho, the Idaho Statesman reports:

Idaho’s three-year campaign to force the government to transfer most of the 35 million acres of federal land to the state ended when a state Senate committee voted April 1 against joining Utah and Arizona in a compact to study legal action.

The vote was a victory for sportsmen and conservation groups, who have fought vigorously against an idea they worry could lead to the sale of places they hunt, fish, hike, camp and ride. It also was an affirmation of U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo’s 25-year campaign to shift public land policy away from confrontation to collaboration between conservationists, ranchers, loggers and local officials.

“It’s going to take a cooperative effort of all of the stakeholders to get to solutions,” said State Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Boise, a co-chair of the interim legislative committee that studied the public lands issue at the direction of the 2014 Legislature.

But just as Idaho legislators were moving away from the land transfer idea, the U.S. Senate approved a budget resolution that would establish a procedure for selling, exchanging or transferring to the states federal lands that aren’t national parks, monuments or reserves. The amendment, sponsored by Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, passed 51-49 on March 26, with Idaho Republicans Crapo and Sen. Jim Risch both voting yes.

• Read more here.

In Washington, Mitch Friedman of Conservation Northwest reports:

The Washington House Capital Budget Bill includes this:

SECTION. Sec. 7023. RESEARCH ON TRANSFER OF FEDERAL LANDS TO WASHINGTON STATE. Staff from the appropriate legislative16committees shall use existing studies and available literature to research the potential costs, revenues, and policy impacts of transferring federal lands to state ownership…”

• Look here for a sampling of how sportsmen's groups have opposed the transfer efforts.
• With transfer proposals unpopular in Montana, a Missoula Independent report found that support in the state is linked to Utah.
• Find stories about a report with insight on the motivation for the federal land grabs, plus links to stories looking into the costs to taxpayers.
• Here's a website that looks into funding for ALEC, which is supporting state takeover campaigns.