Abstract
The federal government owns and manages approximately 62% of land in the state of Idaho. Federal property is exempt from taxation, which can create challenges for county and local government financing. To help compensate counties for the presence of federal lands, the federal government has created several programs broadly termed " county payments. " These programs are comprised of revenue-sharing formulas and payments made through appropriations by Congress in the form of payments in lieu of taxes and stability payments enacted through the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act (SRS).
This report develops and analyzes two county payment scenarios: 1) a single payment program that would replace existing appropriation-based programs, and 2) estimation of revenue-sharing payments if harvest levels double on national forests. We model the impact of each of these scenarios for counties in Idaho and compare the results to the " minimum " payment condition under revenue-sharing, and to a " maximum " payment condition under SRS. Additionally, the county payment scenarios and policy reforms explored in this report were developed to address: the uncertain future of SRS, the exclusion of acquired wildlife refuge system lands in the current PILT formula, an alternative distribution formula that incorporates a county-level economic performance adjustment, and the application of an extra compensation payment for designated Wilderness.
Findings from our analysis suggest that adjustments to existing formulas affect payments to counties in different ways depending on federal land ownership, population, designations and related activities on those lands. Doubling harvest levels on national forests will fall far short of historic SRS payments in most counties. A single payment program offers an avenue for stabilizing county payments that addresses concerns about Wilderness designation and relative economic performance.