BigHornRam
Well-known member
Bitterroot, Blackfoot land exchange rejected
By JENNIFER McKEE of the Missoulian State Bureau
HELENA - Montana's top five elected officials on Tuesday narrowly turned down a state lands exchange that has inflamed passions from Hamilton to Lincoln for weeks.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer cast the final, deciding vote against exchanging 800 acres of state lands near Sula for 1,458 privately owned acres near Lincoln.
Bitterroot Valley landowner J.R. Miller Ranches, which would have obtained the 800 acres as part of the deal, also had agreed to kick in $320,000 as a donation.
The exchange was part of a broader deal between Plum Creek Timber Co., which is divesting some of its wooded lands, and the Blackfoot Challenge, a group of private landowners along the Blackfoot River.
The Millers bought the Lincoln-area parcel in order to trade it for the 800-acre Bitterroot piece adjoining its ranch.
All such land exchanges must be approved by the state Land Board, the five-person panel made up of the state's top elected officials: Schweitzer, State Auditor John Morrison, Secretary of State Brad Johnson, Attorney General Mike McGrath and Superintendent of Public Schools Linda McCulloch.
Morrison and Johnson sided with Schweitzer in quashing the swap, on a 3-2 vote.
Schweitzer said he decided to vote against the measure, however, because an accompanying land deal to expand public access in the Bitterroot Valley is far from guaranteed. He also said he opposed it because the issue caused so much heartache in the Bitterroot Valley.
State Land Commissioner Mary Sexton said the vote signals the end of the line for the swap. The Millers, if they still want to acquire the state land in the Bitterroot, would have to come up with a different package.
And she said she's not sure if that will happen. The swap quashed Tuesday was years in the making and isn't the only land exchange the agency is considering.
“We'd have to analyze (a new proposal) given our workload and where we put our priorities,” said Sexton, who also directs the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, which oversees state lands.
Montanans from both sides of the debate packed a meeting room in the Capitol to watch the board make its final decision. The board had twice postponed a decision on the issue.
The Blackfoot Challenge, working with private groups like the Nature Conservancy and state and federal land managers, wants to protect the Blackfoot Valley from piecemeal subdivision development.
The Miller land exchange was part of a larger effort to prevent subdivisions on 88,000 acres of industrial timberlands in the area.
But Ravalli County hunters, recreationists and local officials said while they support adding public lands near Lincoln, they thought it wasn't fair to do so at their expense.
Many also questioned how the state came up with the $2,725-an-acre price for the Bitterroot land and suggested the state was giving up more valuable land than it was getting.
Partly in response to those concerns, state land managers began looking at a second land acquisition for the Bitterroot involving lands owned by the Wetzsteon ranching family. That plan would have purchased 360 acres near the Miller property that separate two pieces of state land.
“Is this good for Montana? Absolutely,” said Ed Tinsley, a Lewis and Clark County commissioner who supported the swap.
Tinsley said the swap would be good for Lincoln, too, a town that is trying to make the switch from an economy based on logging to an economy based on recreation. Tinsley said the swap would be a “shot in the arm” for Lincoln and encouraged the board to approve it because folks in Lincoln “have played by rules” and deserve some rewards.
Hank Goetz, of the Blackfoot Challenge, also said if the deal didn't go through, the 1,458 acres near Lincoln will be sold with conservation easements to private landowners. Such a move would preserve the wildlife habitat of the lands, but would not guarantee public access.
George Corn, Ravalli County attorney, testified that the swap just isn't fair. The Blackfoot Challenge has already attracted millions of state and federal dollars, while the Bitterroot has attracted little such attention. What's more, he said, two state employees instrumental in the exchange are also on the board of Blackfoot Challenge.
“It is an obvious conflict of interest,” Corn said.
State Sens. Jim Shockley and Rick Laible, both Bitterroot Valley Republicans, questioned how the state set the price for the Bitterroot Valley land and why the landowner was kicking in extra money.
A landowner offering cash on a state land swap looks like an outright purchase of state lands - something that can take place only at public auction, Laible said.
“Is it a donation or is it a purchase?” he asked.
Schweitzer also took a swipe at Ravalli County residents faulting the Blackfoot Challenge for harnessing state and federal resources in planning for the future of their valley. The Bitterroot Valley, which is studded with unplanned subdivision development, could use a little planning, he said.
“That's called deciding your destiny in advance so you're not reactive,” Schweitzer said. “Plan your community in a way where your children and grandchildren will be proud of what you've done.”
Sexton said the department, which supported the swap, wasn't disappointed with the outcome.
“It's been a healthy debate and it certainly shows the interests Montanans have in their public lands,” she said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By JENNIFER McKEE of the Missoulian State Bureau
HELENA - Montana's top five elected officials on Tuesday narrowly turned down a state lands exchange that has inflamed passions from Hamilton to Lincoln for weeks.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer cast the final, deciding vote against exchanging 800 acres of state lands near Sula for 1,458 privately owned acres near Lincoln.
Bitterroot Valley landowner J.R. Miller Ranches, which would have obtained the 800 acres as part of the deal, also had agreed to kick in $320,000 as a donation.
The exchange was part of a broader deal between Plum Creek Timber Co., which is divesting some of its wooded lands, and the Blackfoot Challenge, a group of private landowners along the Blackfoot River.
The Millers bought the Lincoln-area parcel in order to trade it for the 800-acre Bitterroot piece adjoining its ranch.
All such land exchanges must be approved by the state Land Board, the five-person panel made up of the state's top elected officials: Schweitzer, State Auditor John Morrison, Secretary of State Brad Johnson, Attorney General Mike McGrath and Superintendent of Public Schools Linda McCulloch.
Morrison and Johnson sided with Schweitzer in quashing the swap, on a 3-2 vote.
Schweitzer said he decided to vote against the measure, however, because an accompanying land deal to expand public access in the Bitterroot Valley is far from guaranteed. He also said he opposed it because the issue caused so much heartache in the Bitterroot Valley.
State Land Commissioner Mary Sexton said the vote signals the end of the line for the swap. The Millers, if they still want to acquire the state land in the Bitterroot, would have to come up with a different package.
And she said she's not sure if that will happen. The swap quashed Tuesday was years in the making and isn't the only land exchange the agency is considering.
“We'd have to analyze (a new proposal) given our workload and where we put our priorities,” said Sexton, who also directs the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, which oversees state lands.
Montanans from both sides of the debate packed a meeting room in the Capitol to watch the board make its final decision. The board had twice postponed a decision on the issue.
The Blackfoot Challenge, working with private groups like the Nature Conservancy and state and federal land managers, wants to protect the Blackfoot Valley from piecemeal subdivision development.
The Miller land exchange was part of a larger effort to prevent subdivisions on 88,000 acres of industrial timberlands in the area.
But Ravalli County hunters, recreationists and local officials said while they support adding public lands near Lincoln, they thought it wasn't fair to do so at their expense.
Many also questioned how the state came up with the $2,725-an-acre price for the Bitterroot land and suggested the state was giving up more valuable land than it was getting.
Partly in response to those concerns, state land managers began looking at a second land acquisition for the Bitterroot involving lands owned by the Wetzsteon ranching family. That plan would have purchased 360 acres near the Miller property that separate two pieces of state land.
“Is this good for Montana? Absolutely,” said Ed Tinsley, a Lewis and Clark County commissioner who supported the swap.
Tinsley said the swap would be good for Lincoln, too, a town that is trying to make the switch from an economy based on logging to an economy based on recreation. Tinsley said the swap would be a “shot in the arm” for Lincoln and encouraged the board to approve it because folks in Lincoln “have played by rules” and deserve some rewards.
Hank Goetz, of the Blackfoot Challenge, also said if the deal didn't go through, the 1,458 acres near Lincoln will be sold with conservation easements to private landowners. Such a move would preserve the wildlife habitat of the lands, but would not guarantee public access.
George Corn, Ravalli County attorney, testified that the swap just isn't fair. The Blackfoot Challenge has already attracted millions of state and federal dollars, while the Bitterroot has attracted little such attention. What's more, he said, two state employees instrumental in the exchange are also on the board of Blackfoot Challenge.
“It is an obvious conflict of interest,” Corn said.
State Sens. Jim Shockley and Rick Laible, both Bitterroot Valley Republicans, questioned how the state set the price for the Bitterroot Valley land and why the landowner was kicking in extra money.
A landowner offering cash on a state land swap looks like an outright purchase of state lands - something that can take place only at public auction, Laible said.
“Is it a donation or is it a purchase?” he asked.
Schweitzer also took a swipe at Ravalli County residents faulting the Blackfoot Challenge for harnessing state and federal resources in planning for the future of their valley. The Bitterroot Valley, which is studded with unplanned subdivision development, could use a little planning, he said.
“That's called deciding your destiny in advance so you're not reactive,” Schweitzer said. “Plan your community in a way where your children and grandchildren will be proud of what you've done.”
Sexton said the department, which supported the swap, wasn't disappointed with the outcome.
“It's been a healthy debate and it certainly shows the interests Montanans have in their public lands,” she said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
