Title 77, Title 77

(1) The rental payment to the state for a wind resource development lease may not be less than the full market value of the interest described in the approved lease. (2) Rentals are credited to the income fund of the grant to which the lands under each lease belong.

The board may adopt rules governing the issuance of leases under this part.

All lands at present owned by the state and all that may hereafter be acquired by the state through escheat, exchange, purchase, grant, or devise which are principally valuable for the timber that is on them or for the growing of timber or for watershed protection are hereby clas…

The following state forest units are hereby established, primarily to secure through forestry management a continuous supply of timber and the performance of watershed covers: (1) A state forest containing lands owned or hereafter acquired by the state, now comprising about 90,00…

(1) The department shall, under the direction and control of the board, do all the field work in the selection, location, examination, appraisement, and reappraisement of state timberlands. (2) The department shall do all acts required of it by the board, and under the direction …

The board and the department are prohibited from designating, treating, or disposing of any interest in state forest lands for the preservation or nonuse of these lands prior to obtaining funds for the affected beneficiary equal to the full market value of that designation, treat…

(1) Under the direction of the board, the department may sell the timber crop and other crops of the forests after examination, estimate, appraisal, and report and under any rules established by the board. Timber or forest products sold from state trust lands may be sold by a stu…

(1) Upon award of sale the purchaser shall execute a formal agreement, approved by the board, which describes the area on which the timber is to be cut, the approximate quantity to be cut by species, and the rate for each product of each species. The agreement shall stipulate tha…

For breach of timber sale agreement, the department may suspend cutting or removal of the timber and take such steps as are advisable upon advice and counsel of the attorney general to adjust the breach or to liquidate the state's claim for damages or it may submit the case with …

(1) The board may sell timber on state lands or other forest products removed from state lands, as provided in 77-5-214 through 77-5-219, at a per-unit price when, in the board's judgment, it is in the best interest of the state, provided that live timber is not sold for less tha…

All sales of timber on state lands shall be subject to the approval and confirmation by the board, and no sale shall be deemed completed until after such approval and confirmation. The board shall have the power and it shall be its duty to disapprove any sale which in its opinion…

(1) The department shall supervise all the management of timber before it is cut and secure the most complete utilization of all forest products consistent with the current forest management practices. (2) It shall instruct and supervise the cruisers, forest wardens, and scalers …

(1) The department shall establish a salvage timber program that provides for the timely salvage logging on state forests of dead or dying timber or timber that is threatened by insects, disease, fire, or windthrow. In managing the harvest of salvage timber, the department shall …

(1) Permits for quantities of 500,000 board feet or less may be issued to citizens of the state for commercial purposes, at commercial rates, without advertising, and under restrictions and rules that the board may approve for the sale of timber. (2) To apply for a permit under t…

(1) The application of contract harvesting on Montana's trust lands provides an opportunity to improve forest health and long-term productivity, increase options for managing forests in environmentally sensitive areas, and provide potential revenue benefits for trust beneficiarie…

As used in this part, unless the context indicates otherwise, the following definitions apply: (1) "Contract harvesting" means a timber harvest or timber sale occurring on state trust lands by which: (a) the department solicits bids and contracts with a firm or individual awarded…

(1) Under direction of the board and after submitting the various portions of the sale for bid, as described in 77-5-201, the department is authorized to sell timber and forest products from contract harvesting sales through the competitive bidding process pursuant to 77-5-201(1)…

All contract harvesting sales meant to address specific forest health concerns must be designed to: (1) improve the overall health, productivity, and long-term revenue potential for the timber stand; (2) be consistent with the state forest land management plan; and (3) comply wit…

(1) (a) The board may adopt rules to implement the contract harvesting program. The board shall evaluate each proposed contract harvest to determine if, in the board's judgment, contract harvesting will fulfill its duty to prudently obtain the maximum long-term revenue for the tr…

(1) An account, called the contract harvesting account, must be created as a subaccount of the trust land administration account established in 77-1-108, in which to deposit gross revenue and for the payment of expenditures associated with contract harvesting sales. All proceeds …

As used in 77-5-222, 77-5-223, and this section, "annual sustainable yield" means the quantity of timber that can be harvested from forested state lands each year in accordance with all applicable state and federal laws, including but not limited to the laws pertaining to wildlif…

(1) (a) On July 1, 2013, the department, under the direction of the board, shall commission a new study by a qualified independent third party to determine, using scientific principles, the annual sustainable yield on forested state lands. The department shall direct the qualifie…

The annual sustainable yield constitutes the annual timber sale requirement for the state timber sale program administered by the department. This annual requirement may be reduced proportionately by the amount of sustained income to the beneficiaries generated by site-specific a…

(1) There is a forest improvement account in the state special revenue fund. (2) Forest improvement fees collected pursuant to 77-5-204 must be deposited in the forest improvement account and accounted for by trust. (3) Funds in the forest improvement account must be invested. An…

(1) The legislature finds that the streamside management zone: (a) acts as an effective sediment filter to maintain water quality; (b) provides shade to regulate stream temperature; (c) supports diverse and productive aquatic and terrestrial riparian habitats; (d) protects the st…

As used in this part, the following definitions apply: (1) "Alternative practices" means forest practices that are: (a) conducted in the streamside management zone and that are different from practices required by rules adopted under this part; (b) designed for site-specific cond…

(1) The following practices are prohibited in a streamside management zone: (a) broadcast burning; (b) the operation of wheeled or tracked vehicles except on established roads; (c) the forest practice of clearcutting; (d) the construction of roads except when necessary to cross a…

(1) The department may inspect forest practices on any federal, state, or private land in this state to assess compliance with the provisions of this part and rules adopted pursuant to this part. (2) The department may conduct an onsite consultation with an owner or operator to r…

(1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b), it is the responsibility of the owner to ensure compliance with the provisions of this part and rules adopted pursuant to this part. (b) If a written contract between an owner and an operator specifies that the operator is responsi…

The department shall adopt rules: (1) implementing each of the management standards provided in 77-5-303; (2) providing specific direction necessary for owners and operators to understand and comply with the management standards, including additional definition of the streamside …

This part may be cited as the "Community and Urban Forestry Act". The purpose of the act is to: (1) encourage the planting, maintenance, and management of trees in municipalities and counties; (2) maximize the potential of trees and vegetative cover in improving the quality of th…

As used in this part, the following definitions apply: (1) "Community and urban forestry" means the planning, establishment, protection, care, and management of trees and associated plants individually, in small groups, or under forest conditions within municipalities and countie…

(1) The department may establish and maintain a program in community and urban forestry to accomplish the purpose set forth in 77-5-401. The department may assist local governments in establishing and maintaining community and urban forestry programs and in encouraging persons to…

(1) There is an account in the state special revenue fund. The department shall deposit in the account money received from gifts, grants, bequests, or endowments from public or private sources, and the funds must be used to carry out the provisions of this part. The money in the …

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state, that in the interest of accomplishing a sustained income for the school and other trust funds to be derived from land grant and other state lands, agricultural and grazing lands and town and city lots shall be appraised from ti…

Under the general direction and control of the board, the department shall lease all agricultural and grazing lands and all town lots, city lots, and lands valuable for commercial development open to leasing upon proper application.

The board, when it considers it in the public interest, may lease to the United States for military purposes any state land, whether such land was received by the state through federal land grants or whether such land consists of so-called "mortgage lands", on such terms and cond…

(1) All lands shall be leased in as compact bodies as possible, and care shall be taken not to separate parts of any section from the section lines or public highways or from any available water supply or in a form that will make it more difficult to lease the remaining state lan…

If there are applications or bids for renting certain land for grazing purposes and also applications or bids for renting the same land for agricultural purposes, an inspection of the land shall be made by the department at the earliest practical opportunity and a determination m…

A person may not lease state lands, except one who is the head of a family, unless the person has attained 18 years of age. An eligible person and an association, company, or corporation authorized to hold lands under lease may lease state lands and may hold more than one lease t…

Except as provided in 77-6-116, a lease for agricultural or grazing lands may not be for a period other than 5 or 10 years.

Except as provided in 77-6-116, all leases for agricultural lands, grazing lands issued after February 27, 1939, no matter on what date issued, shall expire on February 28 within 10 years from the date on which the lease becomes effective.

(1) The state has a lien upon all crops growing upon any of its land and upon the crops after they have been separated from the land for any rentals and penalties due or delinquent under the lease on the land or becoming due during the calendar year in which the crops are harvest…

(1) It is a condition of all leases of agricultural or grazing state lands that: (a) in the case of agricultural lands, the lessee shall observe the ordinary rules for good management of agricultural lands and shall handle the leased land with the view of maintaining its producti…

(1) Subject to subsection (4), the lessee of state lands may at any time prior to 1 year before the expiration of the lease make application to the board for permission to secure a water right to the land under the lease. The application must be in writing and must show how much …

(1) A lessee of state land who wishes to enter the state land in the federal conservation reserve program may request voluntary termination of the remainder of the lease prior to scheduled expiration in order to seek a renewal lease that will run concurrently with the federal pro…