Criteria for land exchange.

85-04-06-02. Criteria for land exchange. The department shall consider the criteria listed below in any land exchange. Land exchanges are not required to satisfy all criteria outlined below. Criteria must be considered in a cumulative manner. Meeting certain criteria may not guarantee approval. 1. A land exchange must result in the board receiving equal or greater asset value to the trusts. Any appraisals considered by the department must include appraised values for the trust lands' highest and best use as well as the current use. The department may consider features not reflected in the market price to which it is difficult to assign a monetary value, including location, proximity to public lands, recreational opportunities, scenery, other amenities, and results of cultural resources inventories in evaluating the relative value of trust lands to be exchanged. 2. A land exchange must result in the board receiving equal or greater income to the trusts. The projected income for the proposed exchange land must be estimated using the board's minimum lease rate. The minimum lease rate for the proposed exchange land must be compared to the present income received by the trusts from the trust lands to be exchanged, including all current and potential future revenue streams from surface leases, encumbrances, development of natural resources, and other sources, and any tax liability. 3. Land exchanges must result in the board receiving equal or greater acreage, except the board may consider receiving less acreage in return for one or more of the following: a. Improved dedicated access; b. Substantially higher value in relation to the amount of acres lost; or c. Substantially higher income in relation to the amount of acres lost. 4. The proposed land exchange may not fragment trust land holdings by creating isolated parcels of trust land. 5. The proposed exchange land must have similar as or greater than income and value potential compared to the trust lands to be exchanged. 1 6. A land exchange may not diminish access to trust lands. Accessible trust lands must be exchanged with lands that offer equal or improved access. 7. In connection with any exchange of trust land, the department may consider all available information, including information provided by the applicant or the department's own knowledge, regarding lands and resources to estimate value for purposes of a preliminary evaluation, including completion of an environmental assessment. 8. In all exchanges, the board shall reserve all minerals underlying the trust lands to be exchanged pursuant to section 5 of article IX of the Constitution of North Dakota subject to applicable law. History: Effective January 1, 2021; amended effective April 1, 2026. General Authority: N.D. Constitution article IX, § 6; NDCC 15-01-02, 28-32-02 Law Implemented: NDCC 15-06-19.1, 15-06-22, 15-07-02