Good Trustees?
The state Board of Natural Resources recently made decisions which will result in lower returns on state trust lands by $4 million to $10 million dollars. I agree with the decision, which will protect old growth timber, but I can’t help but wonder if they are doing the full duty as trustees. The lands are to be managed to provide large, consistent returns which are largely for the benefit of education in the state. Education is currently underfunded in a strict sense, the amount of money the state is spending is less than it is required to by citizen intiative. Given a state of underfunding, it seems unlikely that the legislature will step up and pay for the loss in trust income in order to protect those lands. The Board is making a poor gamble. The money may be a small percentage of total revenue (about 1%) but a few million dollars can really make a difference given the tight budgets statewide. The legality of the trustees’ decision is something I hope to learn in law school.
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