(BILLINGS, Mont.) - The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is seeking public input on a proposal to transfer certain lands to the State of Montana to satisfy the obligation made by Congress to the State of Montana under its Enabling Act of 1889. The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) filed a State Indemnity Selection application with BLM in December 2015. Lands identified in the State’s application total approximately 16,000 acres located in Chouteau, Custer, Fallon, Hill, Prairie, Richland, and Yellowstone counties. It is not expected that the total acreage will be needed in order to fulfill the obligation to the State of Montana and complete the project. The lands are administered by the BLM’s Billings, Havre, and Miles City Field Offices.
Open house meetings to share information with the public will be hosted by the BLM and the DNRC at the following locations:
November 9, 2016, 5-7 p.m.
BLM Miles City Field Office Main Conference Room
111 Garryowen Road Miles City, Montana 59301
Nov. 10, 2016, 5-7 p.m.
BLM Billings Field Office Main Conference Room
5001 Southgate Drive Billings, Montana 59101
Nov. 16, 2016, 4-6 p.m.
BLM Havre Field Office Main Conference Room
3990 Highway 2 West Havre, Montana 59501
You do not need to attend a meeting in order to comment. Written comments should be submitted to the Montana State Office, Branch of Realty, Lands and Renewable Energy, 5001 Southgate Drive, Billings, MT 59101 on or before Dec. 16, 2016.
If you do not want your personal contact information to be viewed by the public, then do not include it directly in your comment. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment - including your personal identifying information - may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold from public review your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee we will be able to do so. Therefore, do not include information you want to remain private.
Background information regarding the State Indemnity Selection application and project can be found on the web at http://bit.ly/2dqd7rR. For more information, contact Jim Ledger, Realty Specialist, at (406) 329-3733 or Chris Pileski, DNRC Eastern Area Manager, at (406) 232-2034.
- BLM -
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
