Title 77, Title 77

(1) The board shall sell lands under 77-1-102(1) in the same manner as other school lands of the state are sold. (2) The board may sell the lands under 77-1-102(1) or lease the lands under 77-1-102 without having them surveyed unless the board considers it to be to the best inter…

If the board considers it necessary that any of the lands mentioned in 77-1-102 be surveyed, it must have the lands surveyed by the county surveyor of the county in which the lands are located. If there is no county surveyor, if the county surveyor is unable to make the survey, o…

The board may take all proper proceedings for the purpose of determining the title to the beds of lakes and other bodies of water and of streams within the state and to that end may bring or defend suits or other proceedings in court or before other proper tribunals.

(Temporary) Setting of rates or fees -- rules. (1) In setting the lease rental rates, agreement rates, or fees for the use of state lands and cabin sites, the board shall consider the impact of the uses on the school trust asset, lessee expenses for management, water development,…

If a historic easement or right-of-way for access to private land exists across state land, the person owning the private land may purchase the nonexclusive easement as a permanent, nonexclusive easement. Upon receipt of the fair market value of the easement and proof of the exis…

(1) There is a trust land administration account in the state special revenue fund. Money in the account is available to the department by appropriation and must be used to pay the costs of administering state trust lands. This includes the cost of managing assets, including but …

(1) The amount of money that is deposited into the trust land administration account established in 77-1-108 may not exceed an amount equal to 25% of distributable revenue generated in the fiscal year completed prior to the legislative session that will appropriate money for the …

(1) The purpose of this section is to advance the legitimate state interest in the protection of state trust assets as provided for in Article X, section 11, of the Montana constitution. (2) In any civil action seeking an injunction or restraining order concerning a decision of t…

(1) The legislature finds that: (a) Article IX, section 3, of the Montana constitution provides that the use of all water that is or may be appropriated for sale, rent, distribution, or other beneficial use, the right-of-way over the lands of others for all ditches, drains, flume…

(1) All actions for the recovery of money due under this title or for the cancellation of leases or for the cancellation of certificates of purchase or patents or for the recovery of state lands, actions of forcible entry and detainer, actions for ejectment, and all other actions…

Solely for the purposes of this part, the following definitions apply: (1) "Footprint" means a structure or other constructed interruption or modification to the bed of a navigable river below the low-water mark as provided in 70-16-201. (2) "Full market value" means an amount ca…

The board or the department may require a lease, license, or easement under this part only for a footprint on the bed of a navigable river.

(1) A person using the bed of a navigable river below the low-water mark without written authorization from the department prior to October 1, 2011, who wants to continue use of the bed of a navigable river after October 1, 2011, shall file for authorization of the use on a form …

(1) There is an account in the state special revenue fund into which the application fees collected pursuant to 77-1-1112 must be deposited. (2) The funds in the account may be used only for administering the provisions of 77-1-1112.

(1) Before July 1, 2016, the department shall provide notice of the requirements of this part to owners of property adjacent to rivers that were navigable rivers on October 1, 2011, and provide notice pursuant to subsection (3). (2) For a river determined to be a navigable river …

(1) (a) After October 1, 2011, the department shall require a person who proposes to use the bed of a navigable river up to the low-water mark to obtain a lease, license, or easement pursuant to the provisions of this title. (b) The requirements of subsection (1)(a) do not apply …

(1) An easement granted pursuant to 77-1-1112 or 77-1-1115 runs with the benefited land and may be transferred or assigned. (2) (a) Pursuant to rules adopted under 77-1-1117, the holder of a lease, license, or easement under 77-1-1112 or 77-1-1115 may relocate or increase the siz…

To fulfill the requirement of this part, the board shall adopt rules to: (1) determine the full market value for the use of the bed of a navigable river and establish a minimum payment for leases and easements; (2) allow an applicant to choose to apply for a lease, license, or ea…

(1) Any officer, employee, or representative of the state who directly or indirectly accepts any money or any other valuable thing, except the officer's, employee's, or representative's regular and lawful compensation, for performing or not performing an official act under the pr…

It is unlawful for any member of the board, any person appraising lands or in the employ of the state for the selection, classification, appraisal, sale, or leasing of any state lands or the timber on state lands, or any officer or employee of the department to purchase or lease,…

(1) Whenever an arrest is made for any violation of the provisions of this title or whenever any information of a violation is given to the the county attorney of the county in which this act was committed, the county attorney shall prosecute the offender or offenders if in the c…

(1) An officer, employee, or representative of the state who is found guilty of a felony as defined in 77-1-112 is punishable by imprisonment in the state penitentiary for not less than 1 or more than 10 years, by a fine that may not be less than $500 or less than twice the amoun…

In addition to the penalties provided for in this code against those committing trespass upon any of the lands owned or held in trust or otherwise by the state, the board is hereby authorized and empowered, without legal process, to seize and take or cause to be seized and taken …

(1) Unless otherwise provided, all money received as fines, fees, and forfeitures under this title or as penalties for the violation of any of the land laws of this state, except money received by a justice's court, must be paid to the department of revenue for deposit in the gen…

(1) The use of exploding targets on properties managed pursuant to this title is prohibited when the department of natural resources and conservation determines that fire danger is high, very high, or extreme. (2) For the purposes of this section, "exploding targets" means commer…

(1) Except as provided in 77-1-122, 77-1-1112, and subsection (2) of this section, the department and board are required to comply with the provisions of Title 75, chapter 1, parts 1 and 2, when implementing provisions within this title only if the department is actively proposin…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), the scope of any environmental review under Title 75, chapter 1, parts 1 and 2, for a proposed action on state land is limited to the impacts of the proposed action within the boundaries of the state land parcel or parcels in which the pr…

(1) A person, other than the lessee of the affected state trust land, may not, after September 30, 1997: (a) install or construct a road, pipeline, ditch, utility line, fence, building, or other facility or structure on state trust land without obtaining an easement, lease, licen…

(1) When the department finds that noxious weeds on leased state land or on state land subject to a license or permit have not been controlled as required by 7-22-2116, the lease, the license, or the permit, the department shall contact the lessee, licensee, or permittee and requ…

(1) If the lessee, licensee, or permittee fails to take corrective action or if a request for an administrative hearing is not made within the time specified in the notice, the department may enter state land covered by the lease, license, or permit and institute appropriate weed…

(1) A person adversely affected by any notice, action, or order of the department may, within the timeframe stated in the notice of noncompliance provided for in 77-1-126, request an administrative hearing before the director or the director's designee. The director or the direct…

The department may adopt rules to implement 77-1-126 through 77-1-128.

(Temporary) Recognition of historic right-of-way -- criteria for right-of-way deed -- conditions -- fees. (1) A person or a county may apply to the department for a historic right-of-way deed to provide access to the applicant's private property, to provide continuation of a coun…

(Temporary) State lands historic right-of-way account. There is a state lands historic right-of-way account in the state special revenue fund. The application fee collected by the department pursuant to 77-1-130(1)(a) must be deposited in the account. Money in the account must be…

(1) There is an earnings reserve account in the state special revenue fund. (2) Funds are deposited in the earnings reserve account in accordance with the provisions of 77-1-108(4)(a) and must be accounted for by trust. (3) The balance of this account may not exceed two times the…

(1) If an irrigation structure, a utility structure, or a bridge was placed on land that consists of the bed of a navigable river or stream, the irrigation structure, utility structure, or bridge remains the property of the original owner or the original owner's successors in int…

The date of delivery for a lease, license, permit, or agreement issued by the board or department under this title or under a rule implementing this title or for a document or payment required by the terms of the lease, license, permit, or agreement is: (1) for mailing by means o…

(1) The legislature finds that: (a) section 13 of The Enabling Act requires that 5% of the proceeds from public lands in Montana sold by the United States, after deduction of expenses, must be paid to the state for the support of the common schools; (b) the United States incorrec…

(1) The board shall hold regular meetings at least once each month and may hold special meetings whenever considered necessary upon call of the president or a majority of the members. (2) Three members of the board constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The governor…

(1) The board shall exercise general authority, direction, and control over the care, management, and disposition of state lands and, subject to the investment authority of the board of investments, the funds arising from the leasing, use, sale, and disposition of those lands or …

(1) The board shall manage state lands under the multiple-use management concept defined as the management of all the various resources of the state lands so that: (a) they are utilized in that combination best meeting the needs of the people and the beneficiaries of the trust, m…

(1) The board is authorized to lease state trust lands for uses other than agriculture, grazing, timber harvest, or mineral production under terms and conditions that best fulfill the duties of the board as specified in 77-1-202 and 77-1-203. The lease period for these leases, ex…

The board shall correct errors, mistakes, and misdescriptions in deeds and conveyances of property to the state. Deeds or other conveyances shall be made and executed in the manner provided for the execution of patents by the state. The board may also correct errors in leases, ce…

The board shall prescribe such further rules for the appraisal of state lands as it may deem necessary, not inconsistent with the provisions of this title or the state constitution.

For the purpose of determining the title to any property seized and taken under the provisions of 77-1-116, the board is hereby authorized and empowered to defend, in the name of the state, any and all actions that may be brought for that purpose and to do and perform all things …

(1) The board shall set the annual fee based on full market value for each cabin site and for each licensee or lessee who at any time wishes to continue or assign the license or lease. The fee must attain full market value based on one of the following methods: (a) appraisal of t…