At statehood in 1859, the federal government granted Oregon 3.4 million acres of land - two sections out of every township - to finance public schools. As Oregon marks its 150th birthday in 2009, the Land Management Division still manages land to generate revenue for Oregon's 197 K-12 public school districts.

The division oversees more than 600,000 acres of range and agricultural lands; approximately 130,000 acres of forestlands; 6,800 acres of industrial, commercial and residential land; and mineral rights on 753,000 acres of surface and subsurface land. It also manages 800,000 acres of submerged and submersible land on Oregon's navigable and tidally influenced waterways.

All land management revenues from leases and other authorizations are deposited in the Common School Fund.