Idaho US Rep. Russ Fulcher seeks input on federal land management in survey

Idaho Republican U.S. Rep. Russ Fulcher is seeking Idahoans’ input on management and use of the state’s federal lands.

Fulcher’s office on Tuesday released an online survey regarding recreational activities, maintenance, wildlife, roads, permitting and other topics related to federal public lands in Idaho. 

“Feedback from this survey is intended to ensure Idahoans have a voice and seat at the table as policy in Washington, D.C., on federal lands is evaluated,” Fulcher said in a press release. 

Nearly two-thirds of Idaho’s land is federal public land. Fulcher has previously supported selling or transferring large swaths of federal land to local control.

Fulcher said in Tuesday’s press release that, “from 2020 to 2025, nearly 2.7 million of those acres experienced some sort of closure to the public.” 

“This extensive federal footprint restricts our access, poses challenges to economic stability, and has exacerbated wildfire devastation due to inadequate stewardship,”  Fulcher said. “I am actively working on identifying policy solutions that ensure Idahoans have more say in our land management practices. Together, we can ensure Idaho’s public lands remain accessible, safe, and sustainably managed for generations to come.”

 In Boise State University’s 2026 public policy survey, just over 46.4% of respondents said they would oppose transferring management of Idaho federal lands to the state, knowing that it could “cost the state millions per year in taxpayer dollars.” 

Around 35% of respondents said they supported transferring management, and around 18% were not sure. 

Critics of transferring management, including Idaho’s other Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, have argued that state and local entities could not afford to manage large swaths of federal lands. They have said a transfer could lead to a sale to private interests. 

Amid an unsuccessful push in Congress in 2025 to sell off large tracts of federal land, Simpson co-sponsored a bill to ban the sale or transfer of large federal public land parcels except under certain conditions. 

Fulcher voted in favor of the failed amendment to what became the “big beautiful” law that would have sold thousands of acres of federal land in Nevada and Utah. 

Fulcher in December wrote to Idaho lawmakers last December to convene meetings and explore the potential transfer of management of federal lands to local entities, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.