Land Board Page

State Superintendent Linda McCulloch is one of five members of the state Board of Land Commissioners, which oversees the management of 5.2 million acres of school trust land across Montana. The federal government ceded the land to the state in 1889, under the Enabling Act that granted statehood.  The Land Board is responsible for deciding how best to generate revenue from school trust lands for the trust. It considers such options as:

• Grazing and farming leases

• Timber-harvesting

• Leases for oil, wind, gas, coal and mining operations

• Easements for such projects as power lines, roads, and private driveways

• Fees for recreational use

• Cabin-site leases

• Land sales and exchanges

• Commercial development

The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC), specifically the Trust Land Management Division , carries out the management decisions of the Land Board. Income and interest earnings from school trust lands are set aside in a “Guarantee Account” and statutorily appropriated to fund K-12 BASE aid.   The legislature builds these school trust funds into its revenue estimates for schools.   If income and interest earnings from the school trust lands exceed the revenue estimates, the state general fund obligation for schools is reduced.  In 2002, the school trust revenues generated nearly 10% of school funding in Montana, or more than $45 million, for our students and classrooms.