IDL to auction 8 Priest Lake lots

PRIEST LAKE — The Idaho Department of Lands is auctioning eight state endowment-owned lots on Priest Lake appraised at $10,878,720 at a public auction in Coeur d'Alene today.

The eight lots are all located in Coolin, with sites on Bull Trout, N. Mackinaw, Cape Horn, Cutthroat, N. Two Creeks, Camp Cudge, Indian Creek and Rosalia Bay roads.

The auction starts at 10:30 a.m. at the Best Western Coeur d'Alene Inn.

All lots are under lease with cabins on them. The land is held in trust by IDL for Public Schools beneficiaries, but the cabins and other improvements on the land are owned by the leaseholders as personal property.

The current leaseholders applied to participate in the auction, state officials said. If the high bid is from someone other than the current leaseholder, the winning bidder must pay the leaseholder the appraised value of the home and personal property on the land at the time of the auction.

The Idaho Constitution requires a public auction for the sale of endowment lands managed by the State Board of Land Commissioners and IDL. The Land Board previously voted to auction the lots over time instead of continuing to lease them.

Under the direction of the Land Board, IDL manages 2.5 million acres of state endowment trust land held in trust for nine beneficiaries. The board is under a constitutional mandate to maximize long-term financial returns for the beneficiaries.

In 2010, the Land Board approved a plan to divest the state’s ownership of cottage sites over time. The Land Board authorized IDL to offer the remaining residential lake lots for auction through 2039. When available, IDL will be auctioning un-leased lots at both Priest and Payette Lakes.

The Land Board is comprised of Idaho’s governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state controller, and superintendent of public instruction.