School Trust Land Infomational Overview

	SCHOOL TRUST LAND INFORMATIONAL OVERVIEW

LAND GRANT

Lands granted to the state of North Dakota, and which are collectively referred to as school trust lands, are special use lands dedicated by Congress and the North Dakota Constitution to the support of schools and public institutions in the State.

On February 22, 1889, Congress passed "An act to provide for the division of Dakota into two states, and to enable the people of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington to form constitutions and state governments . . ." This Act is commonly known as the Enabling Act. The Enabling Act also granted sections 16 and 36 in every township to the new states "for the support of common schools." In North Dakota, this grant of land totaled over 2.5 million acres.

Congress provided further land grants to the state of North Dakota for the support of colleges, universities, the state capitol and other public institutions. These additional grants totaled approximately 668,000 acres, bringing the grand total of Enabling Act land grants to nearly 3.2 million acres.

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY

North Dakota's Constitution, adopted on October 1, 1889, entrusted the management of these lands to the "board of university and school lands". By statute, the Land Board’s agent is the Office of Commissioner of University and School Lands (the State Land Department).

CURRENT LAND ASSET MANAGEMENT

From statehood to the mid 1970s, the grant lands have been sold until there now remains approximately 714,000 surface acres. The proceeds from these sales were added to the Land Board’s permanent investment portfolio and are currently invested in common stocks, bonds and farm loans. Along with its other responsibilities, the State Land Department leases and manages this land in trust for the benefit of the various schools and institutions. The major source of income from these lands is grazing and agricultural leases, with additional revenue being generated from rights-of-way, and gravel and scoria mining.

By Land Board policy, school trust lands are open to non-vehicular public access, unless specific authority has been granted by the Department to close the land for management purposes. In 1998, 97% of school trust lands were open to non-vehicular public access.

While school trust lands are found in 50 counties statewide, they are concentrated in the state's livestock producing regions. Ninety-seven percent of the land is pasture and three percent is crop or hay. Leasing is done at public auctions with maximum lease terms of 5 years. Currently, trust lands produce about $3.8 million in income annually.