In the late fall, the Montana Department of Revenue announced that more than $57 million from state trust land revenue was invested in public schools.

DNRC allocates revenue generated from Montana State Trust Land to the Office of Public Instruction, and presented two separate checks to OPI at a Land Board meeting in November.

The checks were $48.2 million from the common schools fund for public schools and $9 million for the school facility and technology fund. 

State trust lands serve as a crucial source of revenue to enhance educational programs, facilities, and resources, support educational excellence, and further the development of Montana’s education system.

Brian Patrick, business operations manager for Great Falls Public Schools, told The Electric that the funding helps offset the required state money for schools.

The funds come rental fees and other revenues generated from the sections of land designated for schools.

Public comment opens May 15 on Fox Farm state trust land easement application

He said the funds through the facility and technology fund help GFPS but not significantly since the total amount is shared among all schools in the state.

The allocated funds will be strategically utilized to address specific needs identified by OPI, including technology upgrades, curriculum development, and facility improvements, according to a state release.

In Cascade County, there’s a section of about 80 acres of state trust lands off Fox Farm Road that a local group is attempting to preserve through a Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation easement.

In the spring of 2023, Cascade County submitted an easement application on behalf of Missouri River Open Lands Preservation, the local group that is raising funds to purchase the easement.

County approves application submittal for school trust land easement

The application is for 79.27 acres of the total 85.01-acre state-owned property. The remaining 5.74 acres in the southeast corner is currently leased for commercial purposes and will not be included within the proposed easement, according to DNRC.

MROL has been working to obtain the easement for nearly six years and asked the county to submit the application as the easement as they may only be held by a qualified public entity, such as a local or county government. MROLP will bear all costs associated with the application and maintenance of the property.

MROLP wants to maintain the property as open space used for recreation by dog walkers, bird watchers, hikers and nature enthusiasts. The intend to keep the property it its current natural state, according to Al Rollo of the group.

The U.S. Congress granted the land to the state through the Enabling Act of 1998. Known as state trust lands, DNRC is constitutionally mandated to manage and lease the land to generate revenue held in trust to support Montana common schools and other institutions.

County to consider submitting application for easement on school trust land

In the case of an easement application, a one-time payment for a perpetual easement is paid into the trust. The trust that would benefit from this potential easement payment is the University of Montana.

To obtain an easement, a public entity would have to pay fair market value for the land.

The land was appraised at $1 million, according to Andy Burgoyne, the central land office trust land program manager at DNRC, told The Electric.

DNRC still working with group, county on easement for Fox Farm land [2022]

The effective date of the appraisal was Aug. 31, 2023 and that value is good for one year, Burgoyne said.

DNRC was in the final stages of completing an environmental assessment in December.

According to MROL, they’ve raised about $257,000 toward that amount.

Discussions on Fox Farm land continue with DNRC [2020]

In 2018, DNRC began considering options for the land since it wasn’t generating revenue for the school trust, which is the agency’s mandate, Burgoyne said.

“The first purpose of state trust land is to generate revenue, this isn’t generating hardly any revenue,” Burgoyne said. “Our mission doesn’t allow us to just let land sit vacant.”

The local group expressed an interest in obtaining an easement to keep the primarily vacant land as open space, but has yet to raise the funds required or get the appropriate agreement from either the city or county, as the land can’t be held by a non-profit or private entity, according to DNRC.

Options still being considered for DNRC land in Fox Farm area [2020]

In April 2020, County Commissioners unanimously voted to send a letter to DNRC expressing their interest and willingness to obtain an easement for the school trust land. The property is two parcels totaling about 80 acres.

Fox Farm state land being considered for development, locals seek city help for conservation [2020]

If the easement is approved, the group has one year to raise the fair market value payment, according to DNRC.

If the county was granted the easement, it would also become responsible for maintenance and management of the property, which could include weeds, mowing, pest control and law enforcement, according to Burgoyne.

DNRC still exploring development, sale options for Fox Farm parcel [2019]

The property is currently vacant other than a radio communications tower on the southern end that is under a commercial lease and generating about $3,000 annually for the Montana School Trust Land program, according to DNRC.

Clock starts on Fox Farm DNRC property June 3 for conservation interests [2019]

Since the property isn’t generating anything near its value, DNRC began looking several years ago at options to add conservation options, develop or sell a portion of the land.

DNRC looking at options to develop land on Fox Farm Road [2018]

Conservation options are considered first, but if none are proposed through a letter of intent, commercial, residential or industrial development will be considered. No matter the proposed use, the department is required to get fair market value for the land.

DNRC staff said that the agency will work with the community to develop conservation options if there’s interest from local groups or individuals.

The property is located outside the city limits and is bounded by Fox Farm Road on the west, 45th Avenue Southwest on the south, Grizzly Drive on the north, and the Missouri River and Island View Drive on the east.

The Fox Farm property is divided into two lots. The northern portion of the parcel is roughly 43 acres with 1,500 feet of Missouri River frontage. The southern portion is about 39 acres with no river frontage.

DNRC looking at options to develop land on Fox Farm Road

The north half can’t be sold because of the river frontage, but it could be exchanged for a parcel that is equal or more valuable. That has been interpreted to mean equal or more riverfront on a similar river, DNRC told The Electric in 2019. Past experience has shown there’s a high bar for such a trade.

The north line is the city-county boundary with major utilities stubbed at this line. The property is currently in the county.

“The lands were granted for the sole purpose of generating income for support of the common schools and other public institutions. The Enabling Act mandated that the lands, along with their proceeds and income, would be held in trust for the beneficiaries. As a means of generating revenue, a stipulation in the Enabling Act prohibited the state from disposing of an interest in these lands unless fair market value is received. ‘Disposal of an interest’ is considered to be the sale or exchange of the lands, or the granting of any use of them through issuance of a lease, license or easement, if such use is deemed to have a compensable value. Recreational use has been deemed to have a compensable value,” according to a DNRC fact sheet.

Originally, Sections 16 and 36 of every township were granted as school trust lands, but some of those sections couldn’t be acquired because they were already homesteaded, were within Indian Reservation boundaries, etc., according to DNRC.

The state was able to acquire other lands in lieu of those that couldn’t be acquired. At one time, the Department of State Lands made loans on private lands and held the deed as collateral. If the private landowner defaulted on the loan payments, the state acquired the deed to those lands, so the state trust now holds more than the original sections, according to DNRC.

The state received land to the north and east of the property and sold those parcels around 1920. Those areas are now residential.

DNRC staff identified the tract as having significant development potential about 10 years ago and held a public meeting to gauge interest. At that time, a group of local landowners emerged who were interested in maintaining the parcel as open space, but a formal proposal never materialized and the entire project fell by the wayside, according to DNRC.

Commercial leases are available for up to 99 years and are subject to a competitive bid process. All trust land sales are subject to public auction and Land Board approval, according to DNRC.

A shopping center that includes Cabela’s was opened in recent years on DNRC school trust land through a long-term commercial lease.