In 1896, the federal government deeded to Utah 7.4 million acres scattered throughout the state in a checkerboard pattern, without regard to the value of individual parcels. Over more than a century, some were found to contain minerals, oil or natural gas. Others now are valued by hikers, cyclists and all-terrain vehicle riders, hunters and fishers. Some may be prime real estate for homes.

All are held in trust for Utah schoolchildren and managed - which usually means sold - for maximum profit, by the State Institutional Trust Lands Administration. But the focus of SITLA's mission is too narrow and shortsighted. It should be changed to allow for better stewardship that benefits the state for the long term.

During the agency's first 100 years, nearly half the land was sold, without much to show for it. In 1994, the Legislature reinvented SITLA, giving it authority and autonomy and offering big cash bonuses to its employees for plumping up the endowment.

Since then, the bottom line for SITLA - its mission, its goal, its very reason for existence - is the bottom line. It's all about the money, and real estate and energy developers have the deepest pockets. But some Utah land is priceless and should not be sold, no matter the bid.

Two examples are 365 acres near Little Hole, a scenic blue-ribbon trout fishery on the Green River, and 28,000 acres on Tabby Mountain on the south slope of the Uintas, prime hunting range. State agencies have offered to buy them for public use, but SITLA has declined, holding out for bigger bucks from private developers.

Selling to the highest bidder immediately bolsters the trust lands endowment, the goal of which is $2 billion. But once they are sold, the state loses these irreplaceable recreational lands and the economic boost in tourism they would bring in perpetuity.

Lands with unique scenic, recreational and archaeological value cannot be replaced. The sale of such trust lands, in the long run, does more harm than good to the state and to our children.