State Trust Land Revenue Diversification through Conservation

Western states oversee tens of millions of acres of state trust lands granted to them by the federal government more than a century ago to fund public education and other public services. Traditionally, these lands have been leased for energy development, timber harvesting, livestock grazing, and other consumptive uses to generate income for the trust’s beneficiaries. However, evolving markets and societal values present both novel opportunities and challenges for state trust land managers. This Article finds that states are not only permitted but obligated to consider revenue generation through conservation or other nonconsumptive uses to meet their enduring trust responsibilities. This finding is not a reinterpretation of state trust land mandates to make preservation and biodiversity a top-down priority, but instead, an opportunity to leverage bottom-up interest in conservation use of state lands to generate additional and more diversified income. The Article then describes the obstacles that often hinder conservation use of state trust lands and examines practical considerations for integrating conservation uses into existing trust land management frameworks, offering insights into the future of state trust land management.