Letter to the Editor

Open Letter on Public Lands

Dear Governor Bullock,

There has been a lot said and written about retaining public lands in Montana. Most folks come out strongly in favor of this. I am writing you about what I think to be something wrong or unfair about Montana State Land ownership. I hope you and the legislature can change this unfairness.

I am a County Commissioner in Daniels County. We have 24 percent State Land ownership in our county. The enclosed colored map [not pictured] from the upcoming State Oil & Gas Lease Sale illustrates the concentration of this ownership in our county. The state does not pay property tax on this land, nor do we receive any PILT payment from the state. The state does receive rental income on these acres, crop shares and grazing leases, the state also leases the land for minerals. In the case of crop production, these crops must be delivered on roads financed and maintained by the county. The county finances and maintains the roads.

I mention roads because this often comes to mind when people think of local taxes. Local property taxes fund much more. Daniels County has a 50-mil local tax on property to help fund the local hospital. Property taxes fund the local library, senior center, law enforcement, dispatch center and more.

The state land rental income benefits the various state trusts, much of it education. When the state land does not pay any local taxes, this leaves other taxable property in the county on the hook for all the local contribution.

I emailed my local state representatives, Austin Knudsen and Senator Mike Lang, about this, but got no reply.

If the state and it[s] citizens want to keep ownership of these state lands, it is time they pony up and pay their share and be good landowners and neighbors.

-Lee Humbert

Scobey