HB 352 forces a state government mandate of public access on new conservation easements created by any public body using any public funds.
This bill is hostile to the core commitment of voluntary cooperation between land trusts and landowners on conservation easements.
House Bill 352 would require every county open land program in Montana…Ravalli, Lewis & Clark, Missoula and Gallatin counties…to force public access upon county landowners who participate within county open land programs. These programs were explicitly created to conserve local farms and ranches. They were explicitly created in response to rapid population growth, rampant housing and industrial development, and with the clearly defined purpose of maintaining an agricultural legacy while enabling a viable agricultural tradition to continue into the future. These county programs incentivize access, but do not mandate it. The purpose of these programs is farm and ranch conservation to help keep farm and ranch families – and local food production – on the local landscape. These open land programs were each created through local support, approved by a public vote, and are managed by county commissions, all of which was done – and is implemented – with the commitment to respect local agriculture, encourage local farm and ranch families to participate, and help maintain sustainable local agriculture production and farm and ranch operations.
HB 352 forces a new state mandate that ignores and disrespects local authority. The four county open land programs were created through local involvement, approved by a local vote, and implemented by local officials. HB 352 imposes a top-down destructive new state government mandate that ignores years and decades of work and accomplishment at the county level.
HB 352’s public access mandate also applies to a USDA Farm Bill program named the Agricultural Land Easement Program. This is a federally funded and federally managed program that protects highly erodible soils, grasslands of special significance, and sage grouse habitat. It is administered by the USDA, in partnership with land trusts and farm and ranch families, to keep farm and ranch lands in agricultural production…to grow food to feed Montana, feed America and feed the world. For obvious reasons there is not a recreational access component within the federal provisions of this agricultural conservation program, no other state has added one, and it makes no sense for the State of Montana to impose one.
Since 1975, when the Montana open land statute was created, the word “voluntarily” has been the touchstone of the statute. The statute reads “The purpose of this chapter is to authorize and enable public bodies and certain qualifying private organizations to voluntarily provide for” …the diverse benefits of conservation easements. There is nothing “voluntary” about the intention of HB 352 to force new public access state government mandates onto farm and ranch families, and onto public agricultural conservation programs.
Montana land trusts work continually with landowners, local governments, legislators and local programs to create vast opportunities for cooperative public access projects. Land trusts continue to help build local parks, create new state parks, expand and improve access to public lands, create nature areas, help create fishing access sites, and have worked with diverse partners to generate large swaths of private and public lands in western Montana that will maintain public access opportunities in perpetuity.
The intent of HB 352 might be laudable, and voluntary, incentive-based public access proposals have a good track record in Montana. But HR 352 is directly hostile and directly contrary to the voluntary principle of conservation easements, fully contradicts local authority of county open land programs, diminishes private property rights, and disrespects Montana farm and ranch families.
Notes for Commissioner Vero's testimony, Feb. 16:
ReplyDeleteHB 352 forces a state government mandate of public access on new conservation easements created by any public body using any public funds.
This bill is hostile to the core commitment of voluntary cooperation between land trusts and landowners on conservation easements.
House Bill 352 would require every county open land program in Montana…Ravalli, Lewis & Clark, Missoula and Gallatin counties…to force public access upon county landowners who participate within county open land programs. These programs were explicitly created to conserve local farms and ranches. They were explicitly created in response to rapid population growth, rampant housing and industrial development, and with the clearly defined purpose of maintaining an agricultural legacy while enabling a viable agricultural tradition to continue into the future. These county programs incentivize access, but do not mandate it. The purpose of these programs is farm and ranch conservation to help keep farm and ranch families – and local food production – on the local landscape. These open land programs were each created through local support, approved by a public vote, and are managed by county commissions, all of which was done – and is implemented – with the commitment to respect local agriculture, encourage local farm and ranch families to participate, and help maintain sustainable local agriculture production and farm and ranch operations.
HB 352 forces a new state mandate that ignores and disrespects local authority. The four county open land programs were created through local involvement, approved by a local vote, and implemented by local officials. HB 352 imposes a top-down destructive new state government mandate that ignores years and decades of work and accomplishment at the county level.
HB 352’s public access mandate also applies to a USDA Farm Bill program named the Agricultural Land Easement Program. This is a federally funded and federally managed program that protects highly erodible soils, grasslands of special significance, and sage grouse habitat. It is administered by the USDA, in partnership with land trusts and farm and ranch families, to keep farm and ranch lands in agricultural production…to grow food to feed Montana, feed America and feed the world. For obvious reasons there is not a recreational access component within the federal provisions of this agricultural conservation program, no other state has added one, and it makes no sense for the State of Montana to impose one.
Since 1975, when the Montana open land statute was created, the word “voluntarily” has been the touchstone of the statute. The statute reads “The purpose of this chapter is to authorize and enable public bodies and certain qualifying private organizations to voluntarily provide for” …the diverse benefits of conservation easements. There is nothing “voluntary” about the intention of HB 352 to force new public access state government mandates onto farm and ranch families, and onto public agricultural conservation programs.
Montana land trusts work continually with landowners, local governments, legislators and local programs to create vast opportunities for cooperative public access projects. Land trusts continue to help build local parks, create new state parks, expand and improve access to public lands, create nature areas, help create fishing access sites, and have worked with diverse partners to generate large swaths of private and public lands in western Montana that will maintain public access opportunities in perpetuity.
The intent of HB 352 might be laudable, and voluntary, incentive-based public access proposals have a good track record in Montana. But HR 352 is directly hostile and directly contrary to the voluntary principle of conservation easements, fully contradicts local authority of county open land programs, diminishes private property rights, and disrespects Montana farm and ranch families.