The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages a number of different categories of land, each for a specific purpose and under different management requirements.  These include approximately 3 million acres of federally-granted lands and state forest lands, which DNR manages to support common schools, counties, and other public institutions.

The DNR has the authority to lease state lands for various purposes, including commercial, industrial, residential, agricultural, and recreational uses, in order to obtain a fair-market rental return to the state or appropriate trust.  The DNR also manages more than 600,000 acres of state forest lands, which were acquired primarily through tax foreclosures in the 1920s and 1930s, and to a lesser extent through purchases by the state or gifts to the state. State forest lands are managed for the benefit of the counties in which the lands are located.

The Board of Natural Resources (Board) sets policies to guide how DNR manages the state's lands and resources. The Board has several responsibilities including (1) approve or disapprove trust land timber and mineral sales, (2) establish the sustainable harvest level for forested trust lands, (3) approve or disapprove sales or exchanges of trust lands, and (4) guide DNR's stewardship of state Natural Area Preserves, Natural Resources Conservation Areas, and aquatic or submerged lands.

Except for agricultural or grazing leases, any lease involving 250 acres or more of state lands or state forestlands is subject to approval by the Board.