Ellen Engstedt - February 12, 2007
Montana Wood Products Association
School Trust Lands
The State of Montana is blessed to have within our boundaries over five million acres of trust lands granted by Congress under the Enabling Act of 1889 for the use of our citizens. The management of these trust lands for the various beneficiaries and Montana’s school children is in the hands of the Board of Land Commissioners comprised of our top five elected officials, and the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.
During fiscal year 2006 the trust lands produced over $65 million in revenue from timber harvesting, oil and gas leases, commercial development, cabin-sites, agricultural and grazing leases and recreational use licenses. This is the largest amount ever provided to education from Montana’s trust land management and the DNRC is to be commended. The amount equates to nearly eleven percent of the state’s share of funding or about $450 per K-12 student per year and is the first piece in the base aide allocated by the Legislature.
While those of us in the timber community are proud to be part of the base aide for education through harvest on state lands, we are extremely pleased to support the contribution timber harvest provides in the form of technology. There is a statutory account with a long name that we call the Timber Technology Account that is a direct link from the harvest of timber on state lands to classrooms filled with Montana children.
The purpose of this money is solely for the purchase, rental, repair and maintenance of classroom equipment such as computers and network access. The 2006 contribution into the Timber Tech Account was $4.6 million statewide. Examples of how much K-12 schools received through this method are $68,000 for Flathead elementary;
$13,000 for Superior; and $11,000 for Bonner. These dollars are not part of the base budget because they are not legislatively appropriated so it is gravy to the schools. Also, these are funds not levied on local taxpayers and that is a good thing!
The statutory language for the Timber Tech Account says that any amount of money produced from the sale of more than 18-million board feet of state timber annually will go into this use. There is a sustained yield figure of 53.2 million board feet annually to be harvested from the trust lands and the DNRC has sustainability produced that amount for the past few years.
One way the sustained yield will be realized over the next three years is by finally managing a large area of the Swan River State Forest with a proposal called the Three Creeks Timber Sale. The alternative selected by the department through the environmental impact statement process would begin to address the severe insect and disease infestations in harvest areas. The EIS projects a significant reduction in sediment loading in Lost, Cilly, and Soup creeks as a result of road improvements, including moving a section of the Lost Creek road to get it away from the streamside management zone.
The removal of old-growth timber on about 1,200 acres is a good move because about half of those acres would continue to meet the definition for old growth but would improve the area as habitat for those species that like that type of forest. The sale would produce approximately 24 million board feet over the course of three years and would enhance public access by road and bridge improvements.
The Three Creeks sale is a much needed management move on this state trust land and would generate $3.5 million for Montana’s school children and classrooms. We appreciate both the Land Board and DNRC’s past actions on state trust lands and encourage future activities like the Three Creeks sale because of the benefits derived economically and environmentally by all of the residents of our State.
In favor of active forest management and representing the members of the Montana Wood Products Association based in Helena, I am Ellen Engstedt. Thanks for listening.
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