Your Voice Counts

A legislative study of conservation easements on school trust lands needs your consideration!

The Montana Environmental Quality Council (EQC) has been assigned to study the issue of expanding the circumstances under which conservation easements can be granted on school trust lands for the next legislature to consider. 

The mandate for a study resulted after the demise of SB 391 (see State Lands Legislation Round-Up), a bill supported by conservation groups that would have removed restrictions regarding easements on school trust land. Currently, easements can only be granted on school trust lands under three circumstances: to the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks; for the Owen Sowerwine Natural Area outside Kalispell (under license to Montana Audubon); and for certain parcels managed by The Nature Conservancy.

By removing existing restrictions, communities like Whitefish could have purchased easements under the Whitefish Neighborhood Plan to preserve public access and traditional land uses.  (See related article on Whitefish Plan)  Statewide easements could also help preserve wildlife habitat or other land uses.

HJ 57 requests that the interim study:

• evaluate the benefits to the various trusts of granting easements;
• assess appropriate entities to hold conservation easements on state trust land;
• analyze whether conservation easements can ensure multiple use management or continued traditional uses, including recreational uses; and
• evaluate opportunities for DNRC to partner with other organizations to acquire state trust lands that have restricted development rights.

You can access information about this study - and how to participate in the evaluation and development of legislative recommendations -  at the EQC’s web site at http://leg.mt.gov/css/lepo/2007_2008/. 

Senate members of the EQC are Sens. Hawks (D-Bozeman), Kaufmann (D-Helena), McGee (R-Laurel), Shockley (R-Victor), Story (R-Park City), and Wanzenried (D-Missoula).  House Speaker Scott Sales had not made his House appointments to the EQC at the time of publication, although Montana law required they be made by March 9.