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Senate committee hears bill to parcel small state trust lands for homesteads (SB 381)
Summary
Sen. Daniel Emmerich introduced SB 381 to allow the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to sell small, undeveloped state trust tracts as five‑acre homesteads. Farmers, ranchers, tribes and wildlife groups told the committee they oppose the bill, citing impacts to grazing leases, habitat and tribal treaty rights.
Senator Daniel Emmerich, sponsor of Senate Bill 381, told the Senate Natural Resources Committee the bill would direct the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) to identify and sell qualifying state trust lands in parcels of about five acres for homesteading.
"The bill you have before you today is Senate Bill 381, an act making certain state lands available for homesteading," Emmerich said, describing limits in the draft that parcels would be taken only from undeveloped tracts of fewer than 100 acres and that buyers must be Montana residents for 10 years.
The bill would require purchasers to demonstrate a bona fide homestead within about five years by building a home on a permanent foundation, require the department to sell homestead deeds at full market value, and give DNRC rulemaking authority for implementation.
Proponents framed the bill as a response to Montana’s housing shortages. Emmerich said the measure would "give Montanans the opportunity to own a chunk of land themselves" and generate state revenue from land sales.
Opponents urged the committee to reject the proposal. Nicole Rolfe, representing the Montana Farm Bureau…
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