This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

By creating Bears Ears National Monument, President Barack Obama put in limbo roughly 109,000 acres held in trust for Utah's public schools.

Revenue from trust lands is invested in the Permanent State School Fund, which awarded roughly $50 million to Utah's public education system in 2016.

In a prepared statement, Utah Treasurer David Damschen said he was "appalled" by Obama's actions and concerned about the effect it would have on a growing revenue stream for schools.

"By his actions," Damschen said, "the president is showing reckless disregard for Utah's public education system and its funding."

But the acreage in question is a relatively small portion of Utah's school trust lands, amounting to about 3 percent of the 3.3 million acres managed by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA).

The Permanent State School Fund has shown three decades of consistent and healthy growth, swelling from $18 million in 1982 to more than $2 billion today.

And the designation of a new monument creates an opportunity for SITLA to exchange land parcels with the federal government, swapping inaccessible land within Bears Ears for other — potentially more profitable — parcels elsewhere in the state.

That means schools are not at risk of losing money because of Bears Ears, SITLA Deputy Director Kim Christy said, and could see even greater revenue added to the Permanent State School Fund over time.

"It could open up better opportunities for us or it could be neutral to us," Christy said. "We just want to make sure that whatever we do is, obviously, in the best interest of our beneficiaries."

The president's Bears Ears proclamation specifically directs the interior secretary to pursue a land swap with the state to compensate SITLA for its holdings within the monument.

While not a guarantee, Christy said, an intent to exchange acreage follows the custom set by previous executive designations within the state.

"On its face, certainly, it is a relatively encouraging gesture," Christy said. "There are a lot of complications and uncertainties that still stem from it."

Among those complications are overtures of legal and political action by state leaders, according to Tim Donaldson, School Children's Trust director for the Utah Board of Education.

An agreement to exchange land could be made over time, he said, but efforts will be slowed as Utah's elected leaders press for a reversal or reduction of the monument, and if Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes follows through with his pledge to file a lawsuit challenging the Bears Ears designation.

"Any land exchange that we agree to, the Legislature would have to approve," Donaldson said. "It's hard to see an agreement, exchange, sale, what-have-you, being quickly wrapped up. It seems more likely to have prolonged litigation or political fights on this issue."

But even without a land exchange, Donaldson said Utah schools won't see a drop in funding.

SITLA's revenues continue to add to the Permanent State School Fund, Donaldson said, and a recent change to Utah law gives fund managers greater flexibility in distributing earnings.

With or without Bears Ears, the money awarded to schools will increase next year and continue to grow, Donaldson said, but the monument could lead to a slower rate of growth into the future.

"With Amendment B passing, next year it will go from $50 million to $65 million," Donaldson said. "But in the long run, not having all the assets in the trust able to do what they can do will lead to less than it otherwise would."

Salt Lake City Democratic Rep. Joel Briscoe said he was confident a land-exchange agreement will be worked out that pleases both the state and federal government.

The map of current SITLA holdings shows many consolidated areas, he said, because of previous swaps of land within Utah's national parks and national monuments.

"The same will happen again with Bears Ears," Briscoe said. "We need to take a couple of deep breaths and look at the facts."

Briscoe also said it is unlikely Donald Trump's administration would stymie a land swap with SITLA if an agreement cannot be reached before Obama leaves office.

"On my worst days I think the entire world is designed to make money for lawyers, and I'm sure plenty of them will get their fees out of all the various lawsuits over the monument," Briscoe said. "But when it comes to making sure that schoolchildren are benefited with a land exchange, I can't see a Trump administration impeding that."

Donaldson said state land managers were contacted by the Interior Department shortly before Bears Ears was announced, but preliminary discussions of a land exchange were unproductive.

"The terms offered to us were so extreme or unworkable that I'm not very optimistic about our ability to work out an agreement," he said, "at least in the short term."

The state maintains control of its trust lands within the Bears Ears footprint, he said, and has a legal right to access, develop or sell those lands.

But he added that the practical realities of a national monument make it unlikely the 109,000 acres of school trust lands can be put to revenue-generating use.

"If past history is any guide, the federal land managers are not going to allow us that access without a court fight," he said. "If we took out an ad in The Wall Street Journal and offered to sell a 640-acre section right in the middle of Bears Ears, there would be immense political opposition."

Annual school funding through Utah's trust lands currently makes up roughly 1.5 percent of the state's total education budget, Donaldson said.

Under optimal conditions, he said the Permanent State School Fund could grow to provide between 7 percent and 10 percent of public school funding within a generation.

It's a resource worth protecting, Donaldson said, given the state's large number of children, which drives down per-student spending to the lowest in the nation.

"It's just so valuable," he said, "to have this fast-growing, tax-free source of funding to public schools."

Twitter: @bjaminwood