Montana House panel hears bill to create land transfer task force
HELENA – A state House committee has heard testimony for and against a bill that would create a task force to study the feasibility of the state assuming ownership or management of federal land now run by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.
Proponents cited loss of access to forests, the increasing threat of wildfires and pests such as mountain pine beetle and other problems under federal management as reasons for supporting the study of state management.
Opponents said the idea of turning over control to the state doesn’t have merit, and a study is a waste of time. They acknowledged that problems do exist on federal land, but added there are collaborative ways to address them.
Rep. Kerry White, R-Bozeman, brought House Bill 496 before the House Natural Resources Committee on Friday, saying the task force would help answer questions about land management in Montana.
White said the task force would study ways Montana could make a difference in getting projects such as fuels reduction accomplished.
The task force would conduct an economic analysis under the assumption that federal public land would remain in public ownership but under state control. Designated wilderness areas would not be part of the study.
Also studied would be options for funding land management activities, including fighting wildfires, and the estimated value of existing resources and production capacity.
The study would look at the potential for incremental transfers of federal land to state control over time, and state entities best suited to carry out the land management functions, as well as the possibilities of conducting pilot projects.
Jack Atcheson Jr., chairman of the Wild Sheep Foundation, testified Friday that state lands are managed to produce revenues and not necessarily access, while federal lands are managed for multiple use.
“For how we’re being managed right now, no, we don’t want new lands managed with heavy-handed rule-making,” he said.