Agricultural News
Oklahoma School Land Auctions Rapidly Approaching
Fri, 27 Sep 2013 16:51:07 CDT
October is just around the corner and, in Oklahoma, October is the time for the auctions which will grand school land leases. Harry Birdwell, Secretary of the Commissioners of the Land Office, recently spoke with Radion Oklahoma Network Farm Director Ron Hays about the state's school lands and the upcoming auctions. (You can hear their full conversation by clicking on the LISTEN BAR at the bottom of this story. Birdwell will also appear on this weekend's "In the Field" segment on News 9 about 6:40 a.m. Saturday.)
He says the last couple years have been difficult for land owners due to the drought. The state owns 750,000 surface acres and owns mineral rights on 1,100,000. Though the drought in western Oklahoma has been tough, he said the land office hasn't been hit nearly as hard. He said prudent management has been very helpful in lessening the impact.
"It has been important for us to monitor the grazing activity and the amount of water that we have that is a part of each of our leases around the state and effectively managing that so that we are good stewards and the land is as productive and valuable 50 years from now as it is today. It is an awfully important part of our role."
Birdwell says his office employs ten people who assess the commission's parcels each year to determine such things as proper grazing counts and any special conservation requirements that may need to be addressed.
One example of how these acres are managed can be found in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Birdwell says there are several parcels of land that are now only being leased for three years instead of the customary five due to concerns about grass recovery from possible overgrazing.
Birdwell says another responsibility of the commission's field staff is to work with lessees to ensure they know what the requirements are for the land they are leasing. He says the different parameters that apply to each individual lease also help determine its price at the lease auctions.
As more discussions are occurring over preservation efforts of the Lesser Prairie Chicken in northwest Oklahoma, Birdwell says those considerations are impacting school lands and how they are managed.
"We've been working with the department of agriculture and the governor's office, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies to try, in areas where we can, to improve the habitat for the Lesser Prairie Chicken such that that offsets the need in other areas. Concentrating the habitat and wildlife management and that sort of thing seems to be a way that we have been successful in getting federal approvals so far."
He said the land office is constantly involved in a balancing act of responding to environmental laws while at the same time ensuring the maximum return possible from activities on school lands to support education.
"Despite the fact that there has been drought over the last couple of years, our income from leases hasn't really diminished. As a matter of fact, in some areas, it's gone up because much of our land has associated water. And when there's a shortage of water people are looking for it. And where there is grass people are looking to lease it to graze.
In addition to the income from properly-managed surface acres, Birdwell says minerals have also been good for the state. Oklahoma has about 6,100 producing oil and gas wells. He says the school land office currently invests about $2 billion dollars of income received from its properties.
School land lease auctions are coming up in October. Birdwell says about 1/5 of the school lands are leased each year on a rotating basis. Auctions will be held at nine different locations. Those locations can be found online at www.clo.ok.gov or by calling 1-888-35LANDS. The auctions begin October 14th and end October 29th. This year, 574 tracts of land will be offered in 34 counties.
"We hope people will access our website. The auction brochure is there. It lists any special requirements on any piece of land you might be interested in."
Birdwell said those interested in bidding on the leases can then go to the particular auction site for the lease they are interested in and participate. The state constitution requires open auctions for these leases instead of sealed bids.
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