HOW DO I PURCHASE PUBLIC LANDS FROM DNR? DNR sells parcels of state trust land by public auction when the property is no longer suitable to manage for long-term trust revenue. One example might a parcel of forested trust land that becomes surrounded by housing developments and can no longer be managed as a working forest.
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The guidelines for auctions of Washington state trust lands include:
- The land is no longer suitable to be managed for long-term income to the trusts
- Other government agencies and the tribes were given a chance to buy the property but declined
- The market value has been determined by an independent appraiser
- The appraised market value is the minimum acceptable cash bid
- Parcels offered at public auction cannot be larger than 160 acres
The proceeds of trust land auctions are placed in a land replacement account that purchases replacement properties for the trusts. DNR manages nearly 3 million acres of land to provide income for trust beneficiaries, including public school construction, universities, prisons and other state institutions.
Some trust lands can be leased for commercial, farming, grazing, oil, gas and mineral extraction, communications sites, agraculture, and certain other purposes. Read more about leasing state trust lands.