In recent years, Montana has sold more state trust land than it’s purchased due, in part, to a fast-moving real estate market. Seth Goodwin, Land Section Supervisor with the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, told the state Land Board Monday morning that ballooning real estate v alues and the state’s lengthy land-procurement process are thwarting the agency’s attempts to buy land using Montana’s land-banking program. The concept of land banking arose from a bill the Montana Legislature passed in 2003 to modernize the state’s management of its trust land, improve access for public-land users, increase revenue for K-12 schools and other public trust beneficiaries, and consolidate public land with an eye toward “enhancing management and stewardship activities.”  This map produced by Montana’s Department of Natural Resources and Conservation shows every tract of trust land throughout the state. Much of the revenue generated by these lands for Montana schools comes from timber sales, livestock grazing and natural resource extraction. Credit: Courtesy Montana DNRC DNRC hasn’t struggled to find buyers for the agricultural, forested and residential trust land it’s made available for sale. But it’s had a hard time acquiring “replacement” land to make up for the acres it has sold, Goodwin told the all-Republican Land Board. “After COVID-19, the real estate market has changed and has become increasingly competitive,” Goodwin said. “As a result, property owners often receive multiple bids above asking price and we are seeing a shortened window of properties being listed for sale.” Goodwin added that constraints on the program preventing the state from paying more than the appraised value compound the challenges he and his colleagues at the DNRC are facing.  “When a private landowner is receiving multiple bids above asking price, it’s hard to compete,” he said. The last time the Land Board purchased replacement land to offset parcels sold was in 2018, when DNRC purchased 10,200 acres of Flathead County property suitable for timber production. Meanwhile, business on the other side of the ledger has been booming. Since 2018, the state has sold 225 parcels for cabins and homesites under the Cabin and Home Site Sale Program, which arose out of the land-banking program that preceded it.  Most of the cabin and home sites are located in the northwestern corner of the state. According to DNRC spokesperson Moira Davin, the properties sold through that program are about two acres on average. Cabin and homesite sales have funneled nearly $32 million into the land-banking account, which is currently flush with more than $40 million. DNRC’s report on the program notes that about three-quarters of the land sold in the past two decades has involved isolated acreage that’s inaccessible to the public. In that regard, the program has stayed true to one of the core issues it sought to address.  Viewed over a longer timeline, the program has added more acres to the trust-land cohort than it has helped sell. Since 2006, the Land Board approved the sale of 91,000 acres as compared to 98,000 acres it has purchased.  Kevin Farron with Montana Wildlife Federation urged the Land Board to start using the land-banking fund to purchase additional state trust land before it’s shunted out of the land-banking account. “There are some things that have changed in the last 10 years in terms of real estate values,” Farron told the Land Board at their Monday meeting. “But this is a really, really good tool that we have to increase recreational access, to increase revenue for the state trust … and to consolidate a lot of the lands that are inaccessible right now, which is a big deal for all stakeholders.” Farron said the Land Board, which includes the state’s top elected officials, should act with urgency to prevent $5.5 million from being routed out of the land-banking fund in 2028. According to state law, money from land sales that isn’t used to purchase new land, acquire easements or improve existing state trust land within a decade is funneled into the larger account that supports K-12 schools and a dozen other public trust beneficiaries. Andy Rahn, founder of Montana Land Source, told Montana Free Press on a Tuesday afternoon phone call that the “frothy” market for properties 200 acres and larger has settled down. But the top-tier parcels with significant amenities are still generating plenty of buyer interest. He added that Montana isn’t an ideal buyer or seller. “The state does move slower,” he said. “It has to get an appraisal. It’s bureaucratic.” Credit: courtesy DNRC During discussion of the topic at Monday’s Land Board meeting, State Auditor James Brown said he hopes to identify improvements that could be made to the program. “It’s pretty clear to me as a trustee, as a Land Board member, that this program isn’t working as intended,” he said. Four land-acquisition proposals are currently in the approval pipeline. One, involving 520 acres in Cascade County, on Monday received preliminary approval from the Land Board. Another proposal involving land in Yellowstone County is in the approval pipeline and is joined by a pair of purchases in Daniels County, according to an email Davin wrote to MTFP. The post Montana is selling more state trust land than it’s buying appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less