Ellen Engstedt - December 19, 2005
Montana Wood Products Association
School Money
KUFM COMMENTARY – DECEMBER 19, 2005
The wrangling over school funding ended, at least for now, with special session legislative actions last week. While the funding issue can be complex, some of the base budget for Montana K-12 schools and other beneficiaries such as the University of Montana and the School for the Deaf and Blind comes from revenue derived through activities on our State trust lands. Through the 1889 Enabling Act Montana was granted trust lands to help provide funding for education. There are about 5.2 million acres of those lands currently producing revenue through timber harvesting, oil and gas leases, commercial development, and grazing leases.
While the dollars produced from these trust lands go directly into the base budgets, there is another pot of money distributed to K-12 schools that is over and above any appropriated amount. The State Technology and Depreciation Fund, or as we like to call it, the Timber Technology Account, was established by the Montana Legislature a few years ago because they recognized the disconnect that exists between the use and production of commodities. The Timber Technology Account draws a direct connection between the harvest of trees, consumption of wood products, and revenue for education.
This statute directs that any amount of money produced from the sale of over 18 million board feet of timber annually will go into this fund. A sustained yield study for timber harvest on State trust lands was authorized and conducted following the 2003 legislative session and the number determined sustainable for harvest was increased to 53.2 million board feet annually.
The sole purpose of the money derived from the harvest between 18 and 53 million board feet is for the purchase, rental, repair and maintenance of technology equipment such as computers and computer network access.
A check for this account was presented today to Superintendent of Public Instruction Linda McCullough in the amount of $4.8 million, representing a $1.7 million increase over last year, a direct result from the increased harvest level.
The active management of Montana’s trust lands ensures not only revenue for education of our kids but also ensures the health of those lands for generations to come.
What a difference could be made in the health of the national forest land in Montana if the management attitude of the State was adopted by the Forest Service, an agency established by President Theodore Roosevelt. The vision of Roosevelt, called the Conservation President, was not to gridlock the management of federal lands but quite the opposite. Both he and the first Chief of the Forest Service Gifford Pinchot recognized that “without natural resources life itself is impossible. Without abundant resources prosperity is out of reach.” Unfortunately for Montana citizens and national public lands somewhere along the line the mission has been lost. President Roosevelt would be appalled with the lack of care and management on lands he so highly regarded for their production and usefulness.
The difference in land management between the State and the Forest Service is the State timber sales program produces profits for the trust and therefore directly benefits Montana children and education. One reason is that hard target of 53 million board feet for the State to attain each and every year to be done in a sustainable manner.
This target provides the agency with the incentive to harvest fiber to maintain the State’s infrastructure, produce a value-added product, and meet the mandate of the Enabling Act to maximize revenues to the trust. And, they take their charge seriously.
The Board of Land Commissioners has been steady in its stance of timber sale approvals for responsible, active management on trust lands so important to Montana’s school children. The check for $4.8 million into the Timber Technology Account to help Montana kids attain the skills they need in a fast moving society is something the timber community helps to provide and we are proud of the role we play.
On behalf of the families of the Montana Wood Products Association wishing each of you a Merry Christmas, I am Ellen Engstedt. Thanks for listening.
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