Idaho Land Fast Facts
Idaho is our country's 13th largest state in terms of land, with nearly 53 million acres of land. The management of that land is divided among federal, state, private, county, tribal and municipal entities.
About 64% of the land in Idaho is managed by various agencies of the federal government; approximately 25% of all land in the U.S. is administered by the federal government. At times, the federal government has owned as much as 80% of the nation's land. There are only two other states in which federal land exceeds 60% of the state: Nevada at 77% and Utah at 63%. Of the 50 states, Idaho has the largest proporition of its land (almost 39%) in the National Forest System of lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service.
Idaho has a high percentage of federal lands because of the way people settled the country. Until a century ago, federal land was used to encourage individuals to settle various areas. Fewer people settled in Idaho than in most of the other states, so federal land ownership remained high during the time when the state was being settled and developed.
Idaho Land Management
Description |
Acres |
% of Total |
||
---|---|---|---|---|
Federal Land | 33,412,277 |
63.1% |
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
State Land | 2,693,260 |
5.1% |
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
Private Land | 16,271,679 |
30.7% |
||
Tribal Land | 464,077 |
0.9% |
||
County Land | 96,311 |
0.2% |
||
Municipal Land | 22,972 |
0.0% |
||
Total | 52,960,576 |
100.0% |
Idaho land use is divided as such:
- Rangeland: 41%
- Forest: 39%
- Agricultural: 15%
- Barren, wetland, urban, tundra: 5%
Source: Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor, County Profiles 2002.