Land Board Rejects Bitterroot-Lincoln Land Swap

Sometimes it just doesn't matter how long you spend on a project, how complex it is, or how much money is involved – for some reason, like the hero in a Greek tragedy, some fatal flaw exists and the deal simply goes down. In a nutshell, that's exactly what happened to a years-long effort to swap state land with the Bitterroot's Miller Ranch near Sula in return for former Plum Creek acreage near Lincoln.

The story is long and began back during the administration of former governor Judy Martz with a proposal by the Miller Ranch to acquire 800 acres of state lands abutting the ranch in exchange for 1458 acres of timber and range land near Lincoln. From there, however, the simplicity ends and the complications begin, including land values, hunting access, snowmobile trails, bull trout streams and endangered species. Eventually, legislators, citizens, and hunting and conservation groups from both Lincoln and the Bitterroot came before the Land Board to either praise or damn the proposal.

First there was the issue of appraisals, which are growing in importance as western Montana's lands skyrocket in value. An initial 2004 appraisal of the state lands in the Bitterroot pegged their value at $1,331/acre – which assumed the Department of Natural Resources' (DNRC) existing access -- to value the lands at $1,065,000. However, soon after the initial appraisal, another one was done which assumed access through the Miller Ranch - - since they would be getting the land -- which booted the value to $3,731/acre for a total of $2,985,000. Almost a year later, the same land was re-appraised with the same assumption of access through the ranch and came in at $4,331/acre bringing the total value of the state lands under consideration to a whopping $3,465,000. The lands near Lincoln, however, were only appraised at $1,360/acre, amounting to $1,982,500 total.

As repeatedly pointed out by Governor Schweitzer early in his tenure on the Land Board, the state's Constitution requires that: "Any public land may be exchanged for other land, public or private, which is equal in value and as closely as possible, equal in area." [Art. X, Sec. 11 (4)] After the Board gave the proposal preliminary approval in April of 2005, the real bargaining began.

Miller, through his agent Bruce Bugbee, offered a $160,000 donation to DNRC in addition to the Lincoln area lands which he had purchased from Plum Creek, which would have allowed the department to purchase an additional 160 acres in the Lincoln area. Moreover, he entered into an easement option just before the December 2005 Land Board meeting to put the 800 acres of state land he wished to acquire into his existing ranch conservation easement to limit future development on the lands since, as Bugbee told the Board, there was certainly access that would have made the lands suitable for subdivision.

But then a whole set of other issues flared up. Elk hunters in the Bitterroot suddenly realized that they could wind up losing hundreds of acres of prime elk habitat if the swap went through – and perhaps had access blocked. In a remarkable example of just how precious such hunting resources are to Montanans, the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association mobilized area members, legislators, and even the Ravalli County Attorney to oppose the swap.

Meanwhile, similar actions were being taken to mobilize proponents in Lincoln and Lewis and Clark County because snowmobilers would have gained a safe access to a groomed snowmobile trail system while conservationists from the Blackfoot Challenge hoped to see the state acquire key spawning stream segments for endangered westslope cutthroat and bull trout.

When the two sides met before the Land Board in December, the fireworks began.

The proponents led off with Lewis and Clark County Commissioner Ed Tinsley strongly urging the Board to approve the exchange and saying: "To get our Commission together to support anything 3-0 is miraculous – but we stand together on this and appreciate your support."

Hank Goetz, of the Blackfoot Challenge, added that there were a dozen meetings held throughout the Blackfoot Valley and, "without exception, people approved DNRC's acquisition of the land and are comfortable with its ownership." Bob Bushnell, of the Ponderosa Snow Warriors, urged the Board to approve the proposal "primarily as a safety issue" because the current access required snowmobilers to get out on the highway – an issue echoed by Montana Snowmobile Association member Jim Hurst, who added that the area was used by dogsledders, cross-country skiers and ATVs, and was "a vital part of the Lincoln economy."

But then came the opponents, who all said they had no problem with the state acquiring the Lincoln lands, but opposed the loss of the Bitterroot land and asked the Board to postpone its decision pending further investigation. Bitterroot state senators Jim Shockley and Rick Laible closely questioned the policies, timelines, adequacy of public notice, and appraisal values and methods. Roger Bergemeier of MonTRUST told the Board that DNRC's estimate of future timber revenues from the Lincoln lands could be wildly optimistic given the restrictions that might be placed on the lands because of the presence of threatened and endangered species such as grizzly, lynx, cutthroat and bull trout.

Ravalli County Commissioner Greg Chilcott said their commission "stands unanimously opposed" to losing 800 acres of public land in the Sula basin "that is prime hunting and habitat and has been accessed by our citizens for generations."

Dale Burke of the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association told the Board that although his group had been communicating with Bugbee, they hadn't heard about the most important issue – which was losing access on an eastern section where elk migrate. "14,275 elk hunters checked through the station and 10-12,000 use this land to access the herd" he said. Perhaps summing up the fatal flaw in the proposal, Burke then asked: "What kind of policy takes away from some citizens to give to others?"

Secretary of State Brad Johnson led off for the Board, which was obviously pained at the level of conflict the proposal had caused. "The shelf life of this property is fine," Johnson said. "It's not going anywhere. And if we err, it ought to be on the side of caution." Attorney General Mike McGrath, Governor Brian Schweitzer, State Auditor John Morrison and Superintendent of Public Instruction Linda McCulloch, after a long series of questions, eventually favored caution to be their chosen path and supported Johnson’s motion to postpone the decision for another month.

The January 2006 meeting brought a host of new proposals before the Board in an effort to mollify concerns over price, access, and hunting. First, the Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks (DFWP) announced that it would seek approval from the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission to use Habitat Montana funding for the acquisition of other land in the Bitterroot (Wetzstoene property) to ensure elk habitat and access for hunters. Then Miller Ranch offered to "sweeten the pot" by adding another $160,000 in donations to DNRC, prohibit future domestic sheep grazing on the 800 acres of state land they hoped to acquire to protect wild Bighorn sheep, and allow public walk-in hunting through the parcel they would acquire that connects to the state section.

But the new proposals didn't sway the opponents, many of whom restated their former arguments to the Board and questioned why the Habitat Montana money couldn't simply be used to purchase the Lincoln lands if they were so important and leave the Bitterroot lands in public ownership. Complicating the issue was Miller's position that the Board either move on the proposal or it would be withdrawn because so many of the issues were "in flux."

In the end, the Board once again postponed the decision for another month to see what the FWP Commission did with the Wetzstoene acquisition and to take a closer look at the values and acreages in light of the new proposals.

Finally, at the February meeting the Board decided once and for all to kill the proposal. Ravalli County Attorney George Corn told the Board: "Don't let wealth dictate state policy. This is an acquisition to insulate a trophy ranch that was bought knowing that it was surrounded by public land. If this goes forth, what justification is there to stop him from buying up the rest of the surrounding lands? Under this precedent, no state lands would be safe."

State Auditor John Morrison said: "When this matter first came before the Land Board my reaction was that it was the first time in five years that I've seen a transaction that pits one county against another and it seems to me like its gotten worse...I'm going to vote against this transaction." Secretary of State Brad Johnson called the proposal "fatally flawed" and said he would join Morrison in opposing it. Governor Schweitzer, after lauding the organization and planning of the Blackfoot area proponents, told the Bitterroot contingent that they should follow that example and proactively plan the future of their region instead of being reactive. He closed, however, by summing up the feeling of many, saying: "Since I've been in business here I haven't seen this level of discontent about a particular land swap and I believe it is probably good logic, so on balance, I'm going to vote against it and see if we can't accelerate another option for the Lincoln area.

The proposal died, once and for all, on a split vote with McGrath and McCulloch voting aye and Schweitzer, Johnson and Morrison voting no.