The federal land sale has been decried by Republicans and Democrats alike, including Montanan’s entire congressional delegation. Sens. Conrad Burns and Max Baucus, as well as Rep. Denny Rehberg, say the sale will hurt Montanans access to public lands, and the one-time cash influx from the sale doesn’t address long-term funding needs for many counties.

In Montana, about 13,900 acres may be offered for sale, including six tracts totaling 336 acres in the Helena National Forest.

“Sen. Burns doesn’t believe it’s wise to remove an important priority from a dedicated line item, where it’s fully funded every year, to being at the mercy of some other funding stream that’s not guaranteed,” Matt Mackowiak. Burns spokesman, said on Tuesday.

He added that the current system works well, and the act should be reauthorized before it expires on Sept. 30. Burns was one of the co-sponsors of both the original SRSA legislation in 2000 and the pending reauthorization bill.

The proposed land sale is part of President Bush’s 2007 budget, and would raise about $800 million during the next five years to help pay rural school and road costs in 41 states. Since 1908, counties’ school and road costs have been aided by 25 percent of revenues raised through timber sales and grazing fees. But as timber harvests declined, so did the sales revenues going to counties.

In 2000, the Secure Rural Schools Act created a formula to try to stabilize the payments for 2001-06. It guaranteed payments, along with a certain amount from timber receipts.

Locally last year, Lewis and Clark County received $446,500 from the national forests; Broadwater got $85,000; and Jefferson County took in $190,700, according to Jerry Meyer, public information officer for the Helena National Forest.

But the federal government wants to wean counties from the guaranteed payments and instead revert mainly to payments from the timber receipts, according to Rey. During the first year, counties would get about the same amount as they do now, but that would be reduced each successive year.

Rey previously said that he expects this will end with counties receiving about half of what they have in the past from the Forest Service, but that loss in federal money could be offset in counties by additional revenues once the public parcels are put on the tax rolls.

The Bureau of Land Management also has been tasked to sell off federal lands to raise about $182 million during the next five years. The list of lands that could be sold hasn’t been finalized yet.

The Forest Service lands that would be sold are a small percentage of the 193 million acres included in the National Forest, Rey said, and typically are isolated parcels that are expensive to manage and aren’t vital to wildlife or recreation. But conservationists and forest officials have pointed out parcels on the list that have been identified as crucial wildlife corridors, winter ranges or habitat for threatened species, as well as possible wilderness areas.

Rey said that as issues like these are discovered, changes may be made to the list of what ultimately will be offered for sale.

“We have removed some tracts from the national list and added others,” Rey said. “We will continue to do this until we submit the list to Congress. I’m certain Congress will want to modify it too, perhaps substantially, before they pass it.”

Comments on the proposed sale of Forest Service lands will be accepted until March 30. Send comments by e-mail to: SRS_Land_Sales@fs.fed.us or by facsimile to (202) 205-1604. Comments also can be sent to: USDA Forest Service, SRS Comments, Lands 4S, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., Mailstop 1124, Washington, DC 20250-0003.

To find out what lands may be listed for sale, go to: www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/rural_schools.shtml