Mont. State Lands Grazing Rules

[Nemont]

Just informational only for those interested in grazing public lands, either pro or con.

September 12, 2004

Let's make a deal: State often gives lease discounts
Associated Press

HELENA - When Big Timber rancher Don Tetlie's state grazing lease was about to expire, the only way he could keep it was to match the high bid of neighbor Horatio Burns, who had offered to pay nearly 10 times more.

Tetlie agreed to meet the bid, but in the end, he didn't have to pay it: The state agreed to charge him just one-third of what Burns was willing to pay.

Similar rate reductions have occurred dozens of times in the past decade, resulting in more than $1.5 million in state lease discounts, according to an Associated Press review of records kept by the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.


Some say forfeiting that money, although authorized by law, is an unconstitutional practice in which the state fails to obtain full market value for use of its land.

"They are using a process that throws the marketplace out the window, and not replacing it with something that can reasonably establish fair market value," said Roy Andes, attorney for Montanans for The Responsible Use of the School Trust.

But advocates say a willingness to give lessees a break results in long-term leasing by reliable farmers and ranchers, which in turn encourages productivity and investment in the leased land.

For 63 years, Montana farmers and ranchers facing competition for their leases of state land had only to match a competitor's high bid to continue using the property. Twenty-six years ago, a law change no longer held lessees to those bids and allowed them to request reductions

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[Ithaca 37]

Whatever happened to the free enterprise system? Sounds like the schools are the ones getting hurt (and taxpayers, too, if they have to pay higher taxes because ranchers get "sweetheart" deals).

"They are using a process that throws the marketplace out the window, and not replacing it with something that can reasonably establish fair market value," said Roy Andes, attorney for Montanans for The Responsible Use of the School Trust.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Just curious as to why they want to encourage "investment on leased lands"?

Do they really want roads, fences, and the same put out on MT Public Lands?