Senators Baucus and Tester Say “No!” to Selling Public Lands

Just this week, Senator Max Baucus introduced a plan to provide a $65 million increase in payments to Montana counties from the federal government, without selling off public lands to do so, which is the roundly criticized proposal of the Bush Administration.

The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act, commonly known as the “county payments program”, expired at the end of 2006. The program compensates counties for lost tax-revenue from federal lands, funds that had paid for education, road construction, and emergency services.

As reported by The Wilderness Society in their report on the rural funding congressional proposals, rural counties and schools historically received 25% of revenues generated by timber sales and other commodity production from national forests.

This revenue-sharing system resulted in an environmentally harmful incentive for rural counties and schools to advocate increased logging in National Forests. But when logging revenues declined on national forests in the 1990s, many counties and schools faced a budgetary crisis.

The Wilderness Society reports that Congress wisely changed the funding system for counties and schools in 2000 with passage of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. The law replaced revenue sharing with a guaranteed level of federal payments, no longer tied to the amount of timber produced from public lands.

Another benefit of the legislation is the provision of millions of dollars each year for stewardship-oriented projects on national forests to improve fish and wildlife habitat, counter noxious weeds, and maintain trails and county roads.

Without Congressional action, 34 Montana counties stand to lose millions in lost payments. The Bush Administration proposed selling off nearly 300,000 acres of public lands to renew the county funding program, a move that has met with vigorous resistance from citizens in states with abundant, prized public lands, like Montana.

Baucus announced his “Funding Montana Counties” proposal to be included in a supplemental spending bill in the Senate. The proposal would change the formula used to distribute funds across the nation in a way that's fairer to all states. Currently, three states, California, Oregon, and Washington, receive 75 percent of the total amount available in the program.

Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, proposes to more equally distribute the monies, with Montana's share increasing by an estimated $65 million starting in fiscal year 2007 through 2011, for an overall total of $150 million to Montana counties.

Baucus stresses that his bill will fully fund the rural schools program without selling one acre of public land – and without driving the U.S. into deeper debt.

For more information on the Baucus plan, please visit his website.

Also this week, Senator Jon Tester joined several western Senate colleagues, to jointly propose a multi-year plan to provide secure funding for rural schools and counties. This similarly important proposal, Senate Bill 380, will provide reliable funding to thousands of schools and support other vital county programs.

The Senators’ plan prevents a drastic cut-off of funding that has threatened many communities, due to the failure of the 109th Congress to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. This law provides consistent funding for county governments and schools located near National Forests and supports beneficial restoration work on our public lands.

Please contact Senators Baucus and Tester and thank them for their efforts to protect Montana rural communities and the public lands precious to Americans!