Reporting on Public Lands: Records, Documents and Numbers

A public lands story rests on four kinds of paper. Plans say what an agency intends over many years. Project documents say what it will do on a specific piece of ground. Contracts and permits say who has the right to do it and at what price. Meeting records say who voted. A reporter who learns to find the one document of each kind can check almost any claim a press release, a candidate or a lobbyist makes. This lesson goes through each document, the two records laws that get them, the online tools that hold them, an invented example from request to published story, and the number mistakes that sink otherwise good reporting.

Reading the documents

Document	Who writes it	What it proves	What it does not prove
Forest plan	Forest Service, under the planning rule	Long-range direction for a national forest: desired conditions, standards, suitability of land	That any particular project will happen; projects are decided separately
Resource management plan (RMP)	BLM field or district office	Long-range direction for BLM land in a planning area	A grazing permit, a lease or a right-of-way on a particular parcel
Schedule of Proposed Actions (SOPA)	Forest Service, quarterly	That a project is planned, under analysis or decided, and which analysis type it uses	That it will be approved; a SOPA entry is a list, not a decision
Environmental assessment (EA)	Agency (or a sponsor under agency supervision)	The agency's analysis of effects and alternatives for an action that may or may not need an impact statement	The final decision; the EA is the analysis, not the choice
Decision notice and FONSI	Forest supervisor or district ranger	The decision, the reasons, the alternatives considered and that no significant impact was found	That contracts are signed or work has begun
Environmental impact statement (EIS) and record of decision	Agency	The detailed analysis, then the final choice among alternatives	That all objections or lawsuits are resolved
Objection or protest file	Reviewing officer or BLM	Who objected on what grounds and how the agency responded	That the objector is right
Allotment management plan and grazing permit	BLM or Forest Service	Which operator, which allotment, how many animal unit months, which season	What was actually grazed in a year; that is in the use records
IDL lease file	IDL area office	Applicant, management plan, notice, auction record, Board review, lease terms, rent	What the Board debated in the room
Land Board agenda packet and minutes	IDL staff, Board secretary	What staff recommended, what the Board voted and the tables of revenue and sales	The terms of an individual lease unless it is attached

A decision notice and FONSI, line by line

Under the Forest Service's process, an environmental assessment ends in a decision notice and a finding of no significant impact. The notice has a few parts worth finding on the first read.

• The decision: which alternative was chosen, the acres, miles of road, board feet, units. This is the number to quote, with its unit.
• The rationale: the reasons given. A story about why should quote this, not the reporter's guess.
• Alternatives considered: including the no-action alternative and any that were rejected.
• Findings required by law: the FONSI, and statements about consistency with the forest plan and about species and consultation.
• Implementation date and objection or appeal information: which tells you whether the decision can be challenged and by when. The Forest Service pre-decisional objection process is in 36 CFR part 218, which lesson 8 covers.
• The signature: the responsible official, by title. That is the person to name.

The levels of NEPA analysis set the length and the clock. Under 42 U.S.C. 4336a, the lead agency must complete an EIS within 2 years and an EA within 1 year of the triggering event, subject to extension. The same section limits an EIS to 150 pages, or 300 pages for a proposed action of extraordinary complexity, and an EA to 75 pages, excluding citations and appendices. The department-level rules changed in 2026: USDA's final rule on NEPA procedures at 7 CFR part 1b was published in the Federal Register on April 3, 2026 (91 FR 17062, effective that day), and it rescinds, among others, the Forest Service's former regulations at 36 CFR part 220. Lesson 7 explains the levels in full. For a reporter, the practical point is to ask which procedures governed the project in question, since a project begun in 2024 and decided in 2026 may sit across the change.

The previous Part 218 rule, still in force for projects whose legal notice came before the new rule's cutoffs, sets the comment periods in 36 CFR 218.25: for projects with an EA, comments are accepted for 30 days after the legal notice is published and that period may not be extended; for an EIS, the comment period is a minimum of 45 days after the notice of availability of the draft EIS. Periods are counted in calendar days, and if one ends on a weekend or federal holiday, comments are accepted until the end of the next federal working day. Objections follow under 218.26: within 45 days after the legal notice of the EA or final EIS, with a written response from the reviewing officer within 45 days after the filing period ends, extendable by up to 30 days. The Forest Service published a final rule rewriting Part 218 on October 13, 2026 (91 FR 64760), effective November 12, 2026: 15 and 30 day comment opportunities for EA and EIS projects, objection filing periods of 10 and 20 days after the draft FONSI or draft ROD is posted, responses in 15 and 20 days (the EIS response extendable to 35), page limits of 15 and 30 pages, and no separate reviewing officer or resolution meetings. If the legal notice was published before February 6, 2026, the previous rule governs the whole review; for notices from February 6 to November 12, 2026, the previous rule governs unless the notice said the revised rule may apply; for notice and comment starting after November 12, 2026, the revised rule applies. Lesson 8 has the full comparison.

An IDL lease file

An IDL grazing, farming or conservation lease file, under IDAPA 20.03.14, contains the application on the Department's form with the fee, the proposed management plan, any compatibility finding, the notice mailed at least 14 days before an auction under Idaho Code 58-310, the auction record, the Board's review, the signed lease with attachments, annual rent notices and any approvals for improvements. Read the lease for the term, the AUM count, the rent and the conditions. Read the management plan for the promises made. Read the rent notice for the year and rate. See lesson 4 for the rules behind each item.

A Land Board packet

The Land Board meets in Boise on the third Tuesday of each month at 9:00 a.m. Mountain time, according to its page, with dates and locations subject to change. The October 20, 2026 regular meeting was held in the State Capitol's Lincoln Auditorium (the next listed are November 17 and December 15), in person and virtual, livestreamed through IDPTV. The page lists the Board as the Governor (chairman), the State Controller, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, with the IDL director as secretary. Meeting notices can be subscribed to through Townhall.Idaho.gov. A packet is a set of staff memos with tables. The September 15, 2026 packet on timber sales, for example, gives FY2027 harvest receipts to date of $20,281,347.07, August auction results by sale, five unsold sales with reasons, volume sold by fiscal year and a six-month average stumpage price of $258.79 per MBF against $292.43 a year earlier. A packet tells you what staff recommended. The minutes tell you what the Board did. Compare them.

Records requests: federal FOIA

The Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, covers federal agencies, so it reaches the Forest Service, BLM, the Interior and Agriculture Departments, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Park Service. It does not reach the Idaho Department of Lands or the Land Board, which fall under the Idaho Public Records Act instead.

Question	Federal FOIA answer
How long does the agency have?	20 days excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays to determine whether to comply; unusual circumstances can extend by no more than ten working days (552(a)(6)(A)(i), (B))
What fees can a news reporter be charged?	For a representative of the news media, only reasonable standard charges for duplication; no charge for the first two hours of search time or first 100 pages (552(a)(4)(A)(ii), (iv)(II)). The statute defines the term by gathering information of potential interest to a segment of the public and using editorial skills to turn it into a distinct work
Can I get it faster?	Expedited processing is available on a showing of compelling need; for a requester primarily engaged in disseminating information, that includes urgency to inform the public about actual or alleged federal government activity. The agency must decide on the expedition request within 10 days (552(a)(6)(E))
What if they miss the deadline?	The requester is deemed to have exhausted administrative remedies (552(a)(6)(C))
How long do I have to appeal a denial?	The statute requires an appeal window of not less than 90 days after the adverse determination (552(a)(6)(A)(i))
Where do I file with the Forest Service?	From October 1, 2026, requests to regional offices and stations must go by email to SM.FS.WOFOIA@usda.gov, through USDA's Public Access Link (securefoia.usda.gov, with a login.gov account) or the national portal, foia.gov
Where do I file with BLM?	Electronically only, through the DOI FOIA request form (securefoia.doi.gov) or foia.gov. A request sent to a state office is presumed to cover only that office's records. National FOIA Office: 202-912-7650
BLM fee rules	BLM says fees are waived if total costs are under $50 and you may be asked to pay in advance if costs will exceed $250. Denial letters explain how to appeal to the Interior Department's FOIA Appeals Officer

Agency pages say to check the FOIA reading room first, since frequently requested records are posted. For the process of writing a request that works, see the public records course on writing a request and its federal FOIA lesson. A federal request for a project file should name the project, the forest or field office, the date range and the document types: scoping comments, specialist reports, the administrative record, the objection responses, the contract or permit.

Records requests: the Idaho Public Records Act

Question	Idaho answer
How long does the agency have?	Residents: grant or deny within three working days; if more time is needed to locate or retrieve records, written notice and production no later than ten working days after the request (74-103). Different, longer periods apply to non-residents (21 days, or 35 if more time is needed, per the statute's text)
What if they miss it?	The request is deemed denied
Whom do I ask?	The designated custodian of the records, with a request that clearly indicates it is a public records request
What must a denial say?	It must cite the statutory authority for the denial and explain appeal rights and deadlines, and state whether an attorney reviewed the request
What are the fees?	Residents get the first two hours of labor and the first 100 pages of paper records free; the agency may charge only actual labor and copying cost, itemized, with no lump sums; the custodian may require advance payment; a fee waiver is possible if the request contributes significantly to public understanding, is not primarily in the requester's individual interest and would not occur if fees were charged (74-102(10) through (12))
How does IDL take requests?	By an online form, one request per submission, with a topic selection and a residency declaration under penalty of perjury, and a declaration that contact information will not be used for a mailing list (Idaho Code 74-120). IDL says fees are not charged unless the total exceeds $40.00; paper copies or scans are $0.10 a page and a USB drive is $5.00. Boise: (208) 334-0200; Coeur d'Alene: (208) 769-1525

IDL can fulfill only requests for records it holds. A request about a lease contest goes to IDL. A request about a federal grazing permit on adjoining land goes to BLM or the Forest Service. A request about a county's receipt of PILT goes to the county clerk or treasurer. Who holds what sorts records by office, and the fees lesson explains the Idaho fee rules in depth.

The online tools and what each holds

Tool	What it holds	Best use
Forest Service SOPA	Quarterly list of planned, ongoing and decided projects for each forest	Finding a project before the comment clock starts
BLM ePlanning and the National NEPA Register	BLM planning and NEPA documents, comment opportunities	Finding RMP amendments, EAs and project notices
regulations.gov and the Federal Register	Dockets, proposed and final rules, notices of intent and availability	Rulemakings and EIS notices; the legal start of many clocks
GovInfo and the U.S. Code and CFR sites	Public laws, the Code, the CFR	Quoting the actual text of a statute or rule
USAspending.gov	Federal contracts, grants and agreements	Dollars paid under federal contracts and agreements, including some land management agreements
PACER and CourtListener	Federal court dockets and opinions	Lawsuits over federal decisions; the complaint states the claims
Interior PILT pages	County-by-county PILT payments	Checking a county's payment line
IDL leasing application and maps; Land Board page	Endowment land available for lease, auction notices, agendas, minutes and archive	Finding parcels and the Board's record
transparent.idaho.gov (IDL financial reports)	State financial reports	IDL spending and revenue lines
County assessor and GIS	Parcel ownership and taxable status	Seeing which parcels are taxable and which are public or exempt
Idaho Secretary of State business search	Registration of businesses and officers	Learning who stands behind an LLC that holds a lease

The IDL pages, the agency FOIA pages, the CFR and Idaho Code pages and the CRS report were read this session. The Forest Service SOPA page and the BLM ePlanning page did not load when checked, and PACER's pricing page did not load either. Interior's PILT payment tables (pilt.doi.gov) were read. Confirm the current address and any fee on the other tools before citing them.

What an administrative record is

When an agency decision is challenged in federal court, the court reviews the administrative record, the set of documents the agency considered. A reporter can ask for the project file at any time, by FOIA, without waiting for a lawsuit. Ask for the specialist reports, the comment letters, the objection responses and the decision. Some deliberative material may be withheld under FOIA's exemptions, which the Forest Service lists on its FOIA exemptions page. Check what was withheld and on what basis, because a denial letter must say so and give appeal rights.

A worked example, from record to published story

The names below are invented: the Tamarack National Forest, the Granite Pass Ranger District, the Hollis Creek Fuels Project, the Willow Bench lease and Willow Bench Land and Cattle, LLC. No real project or person is meant.

Part one: an invented timber project

Step and document	What it says (invented)	What it proves
1. SOPA entry	Hollis Creek Fuels Project, Granite Pass Ranger District, EA, decision expected in spring	The project exists and which analysis level it uses
2. Legal notice and EA	Published Tuesday, March 3; 30-day comment period; EA proposes treatment on 1,800 acres and 14 million board feet	The start of the comment clock and the scale
3. Comment letters (by FOIA)	212 letters; 4 raise a specific road issue	Who commented on what
4. Draft decision notice and FONSI	Chooses the proposed action with a road closure added; finds no significant impact	The decision and the reasoning
5. Objection period	45 days from the legal notice of the EA or final EIS (previous rule; this invented notice predates the new rule's cutoff. Under the rule effective November 12, 2026 it would be 10 days after the draft FONSI is posted)	The last day to object
6. Reviewing officer's response	Written response due 45 days after the period closes, extendable by 30 days	When the decision can become final

The arithmetic a reporter should do before writing a single sentence:

• Volume per acre: 14,000,000 board feet divided by 1,800 acres is about 7,778 board feet an acre. In IDL terms that is 14,000 MBF, or 14 MMBF. If a source says "14,000 board feet," it dropped three zeros.
• Objection date: the legal notice ran March 3. March 3 plus 45 days is April 17.
• Response date: April 17 plus 45 days is June 1. With the full 30-day extension, July 1.
• Value: at the August 2026 IDL endowment net price of $170.00 per MBF, 14,000 MBF would be about $2,380,000 (14,000 times 170). This applies a state endowment price to a federal sale, which is not how a federal sale is priced; it is a way to check scale, not a forecast. State that in the story if you use it.

Part two: an invented lease

An invented lease, G-1234, covers the 960-acre Willow Bench allotment, 240 AUMs a year, leased to an LLC. A reporter obtains the file from IDL.

• 2026 rent: 240 times $8.98 is $2,155.20.
• 2027 rent: 240 times $10.80 is $2,592.00.
• Increase: $436.80, or 20.3 percent.
• Rent per acre in 2027: $2,592.00 divided by 960 is $2.70.
• The file shows a conflict auction in which a second applicant bid against the LLC. The premium paid was $9,000 (invented), paid at the close of the auction under IDAPA 20.03.14, section 105.05, and the Board reviewed it at a later meeting.
• The Secretary of State search shows the LLC's registered agent and its officers by title. A real story would name the entity and the public officials involved.

Document	Claim it supports in the story	Caution
Rent notice	The rent rose 20.3 percent for 2027	The rate is a formula result for all lessees, not a decision about this lessee
Auction record	A second applicant bid and the premium was $9,000	The premium is not the annual rent
Board minutes	The Board reviewed and approved the result on a date and by a vote	Minutes record the vote, not every reason
Management plan	The lessee promised specific practices	A plan is a promise, not a record of what happened
Registration record	Who the entity is	Registration does not show who profits

The published story, in outline

• A lede with the decision, the number and the unit: "The Forest Service plans to treat 1,800 acres and sell about 14 million board feet in the Hollis Creek project, with objections due April 17."
• A second paragraph with the signer by title and the document name.
• The objection route and date, so a reader can act.
• A sentence on what the document does not settle: a decision notice is not a contract.
• For the lease story: the rent, the arithmetic, the auction premium and the Board vote date, each attributed to its document.

Number mistakes that wreck stories

Mistake	Example	Fix
Acres versus board feet	"The sale covers 14 million acres"	Acres measure ground; board feet measure wood. Report both when the document gives both
MBF versus MMBF	"334,362 million board feet" copied from a table that lists MBF (an illustrative figure; I did not confirm it against an IDL plan)	334,362 MBF is about 334 million board feet (334 MMBF). A table headed MBF lists thousands
AUM versus head	"The lease allows 240 cows"	240 AUMs is 240 cow-months. Six months with 40 cows is 240 AUMs
Fiscal year versus calendar year	Comparing IDL FY2025 (July 2024 to June 2025) with calendar 2025 prices	Name the period; IDL runs July to June, the federal year runs October to September and grazing lease years are calendar years
Owned versus managed	"The Forest Service owns Idaho"	The Forest Service administers 20,451,561 Idaho acres per CRS; it manages national forests for the public
Federal versus public	"Public land" for state endowment land	Endowment land is state-owned trust land with a duty to beneficiaries. It is public in access terms and different in purpose
Percent of state versus percent of federal	"The Forest Service holds 62 percent"	The Forest Service holds 38.6 percent of Idaho and 62.4 percent of Idaho's federal land (20,451,561 divided by 32,785,766)
Staff numbers	"Fewer than 200 will relocate" versus "about 500"	The Forest Service page says fewer than 200; the Capital Sun reported about 500 in April. Cite the date and source

Questions and answers

Which law do I use to get Land Board records?

The Idaho Public Records Act, Idaho Code Title 74, chapter 1. IDL takes requests through an online form.

Which law do I use to get Forest Service records?

Federal FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552. From October 1, 2026, the Forest Service says regional office and station requests go by email, through the USDA Public Access Link or through foia.gov.

How fast must a federal agency answer?

The statute gives 20 working days to determine whether to comply, with up to ten more working days in unusual circumstances. Expedited processing has a ten-day decision on the request to expedite.

How fast must IDL answer?

Three working days to grant or deny for a resident, or written notice and production no later than ten working days when more time is needed. A missed deadline is a deemed denial.

What does a reporter pay?

Federal: duplication only for news media, with the first two hours of search and the first 100 pages free. Idaho: the first two hours and 100 pages are free for residents, then actual labor and copying, itemized. IDL says fees are not charged unless the total exceeds $40.00.

How do I tell whether a Forest Service decision can still be challenged?

Read the decision notice or record of decision for the objection or appeal statement, then count the days from the legal notice date. Under the previous rule, objections are due 45 days after the legal notice of an EA or final EIS (36 CFR 218.26). Under the final rule effective November 12, 2026 they are due 10 days (EA) or 20 days (EIS) after the draft FONSI or draft ROD is posted. Which rule applies depends on the date of the legal notice, so read it.

Where is the actual grazing rate?

In IDL's April 28, 2026 letter: $10.80 per AUM for 2027 and $8.98 for 2026.

Why do two sources give different Forest Service relocation numbers?

The Forest Service reorganization page says fewer than 200 employees are expected to relocate. The Idaho Capital Sun reported in April that about 500 were expected. They are different dates and possibly different counts. Report both with their dates.

Hard questions

"Should reporters get records for free?"

Federal law limits news media fees to duplication and waives the first two hours and 100 pages. Idaho law gives all residents the first two hours and 100 pages and has a three-part fee waiver test. The statutes already state the compromise: free allowances, limited fee categories, itemized charges and a waiver test. The reporter's job is to cite the correct provision.

"Does a shorter comment period mean a weaker record?"

Under the previous 36 CFR 218.25 the EA comment period is 30 days and cannot be extended (the rule effective November 12, 2026 sets 15 days for EA projects and 30 for EIS projects), and the Idaho Capital Sun reported a 2,500-acre Sawtooth project proceeding under an emergency authorization with no official comment period. What the record shows is the legal basis stated in the project documents, which a reporter should read and quote.

"Is the agency's own press release a fair source?"

It is a source for what the agency says. The decision notice, contract and minutes are sources for what it did. Use the press release for the agency's framing and attribute it. Check the number against the primary document.

"Should a lease contest be public before the Board votes?"

Idaho law requires notice to applicants and an auction, and IDAPA 20.03.14 requires Board review of the result. Open meetings law governs the vote. What parts of a lease file are public before the vote is a records-law question for IDL's custodian, answered request by request under Idaho Code 74-103.

Pictures, Numbers and Infographics

The table below collects the figures used in this module that were checked this session against the named source. If a figure is not in the table, it was not verified, and the lesson that uses it says so. Dates matter: IDL figures are for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, CRS figures are FY2024 data as of September 30, 2024 in a report dated September 14, 2026, and PILT is the federal FY2026 payment.

Figure	Value	Source and date
Idaho total land acres	52,933,120	CRS R42346, Sept. 14, 2026
Federal acres in Idaho (five agencies)	32,785,766 (61.9%)	CRS R42346, FY2024 data
Forest Service acres in Idaho	20,451,561 (38.6% of the state)	CRS R42346
BLM acres in Idaho	11,768,027 (22.2%)	CRS R42346
National Park Service acres	512,086 (0.97%)	CRS R42346
Fish and Wildlife Service acres	51,002 (0.10%)	CRS R42346
Defense Department acres	3,090 (0.006%)	CRS R42346
Endowment land managed by IDL	2,503,572 acres (4.7% of the state)	IDL 2025 Annual Financial Report
Endowment acres by class	Timberland 1,046,696; rangeland 1,433,486; farmland 19,702; commercial 3,493; residential 195	IDL 2025 Annual Financial Report
Endowment revenue to the earnings reserve, FY2025	$91,772,231, of which timber $84,663,213	IDL 2025 Annual Financial Report
Distributions to beneficiaries, FY2025	$103,471,600, of which Public School $63,039,600	IDL 2025 Annual Financial Report
Permanent fund balance, end of FY2025	$2,542,791,593	IDL 2025 Annual Financial Report
PILT to Idaho's 44 counties, FY2026	$49,562,605	Interior PILT state table (pilt.doi.gov); county table via Idaho Capital Sun, July 2026. FY2025 was $42,973,738
Secure Rural Schools to Idaho counties	$24 million (2025); $27 million (2024)	Rep. Fulcher, Apr. 20, 2026; Idaho delegation release, Apr. 16, 2026. Authorized through FY2026 by Public Law 119-58 (S. 356), enacted Dec. 18, 2025
State grazing rate per AUM	$8.98 (2026); $10.80 (2027)	IDL letter, Apr. 28, 2026
August 2026 endowment timber auctions	10 sales; 10,860 MBF; net $1,846,178.66; $170.00 per MBF	Land Board packet, Sept. 15, 2026
Forest Service employees (approx.) and land managed nationally	About 30,000 employees; 193 million acres	Forest Service reorganization page, Oct. 15, 2026

Checks on the arithmetic: the five federal agencies sum to 11,768,027 plus 51,002 plus 512,086 plus 20,451,561 plus 3,090, which is 32,785,766. The federal share is 32,785,766 divided by 52,933,120, or 61.9 percent. Endowment land is 2,503,572 divided by 52,933,120, or 4.7 percent. The remainder, 17,643,782 acres or 33.3 percent, is private, tribal, other state and local land; this lesson did not itemize it. The endowment and federal figures come from different sources and dates, so the bar below is a scale picture, not a survey.