If your holiday plans call for a trip to the Idaho woods, the Idaho Department of Lands is reminding you to satay on designated trails. The IDL said unauthorized trail usage or creating unauthorized trails increases the amount of damage that is occurring on Idaho Endowment Land.

While the actions of a single person going off designated trails may seem harmless, each time it happens the amount of ground that becomes compacted increases.

Endowment lands are different than other types of managed land:They were given to Idaho at statehood for the sole purpose of financially supporting specific beneficiaries, primarily Idaho schools. The Idaho Constitution requires endowment land to be managed to maximize revenue for the beneficiaries.

One of the biggest revenue sources for the beneficiaries is timber sales, which require careful forest management. For this resource to continue to thrive, trees must be able to grow. Unauthorized trails create a compacted surface on the forest floor, making tree growth on the trails impossible without restoration efforts.

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