I have to comment on the recent comments about the state
control versus control of lands and want to put some fact into the argument no
matter which side of the matter you are on.
One argument is that this process is unconstitutional. The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments each
contain a Due Process Clause, they Federal Government followed Due Process and
the courts have ruled against Mr. Bundy.
You can look in each paper and see that Due Process has been applied to
personal property for people that have not paid their property tax or
mortgage. Simply, Mr. Bundy has not paid
a debt, and the court has ruled against him.
The argument that the
State owns the land, if you take this argument, then Utah, Spain, and Native
Americans could have a claim to the land before Mr. Bundy, since Mr. Bundy only
has 160 deeded acres. Nevada was carved
out of the Utah Territory in 1861 and the land area became part of the United
States through the United States victory in the Mexican-American War. Mexico
ceded the territories of Alta California and New Mexico for $15 Million. Alta California included the current states
of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Western Colorado and Southwestern
Wyoming. There was not a state Army that
defeated Mexico, it was the United States Army and Navy that defeated Mexico. The land was ceded to the United States, and
not a state and the states were formed from the contiguous land mass of the
United States by Acts of Congress. The
Homesteading Act provided a means of transfer from the Federal Government to
private owners. In Montana, east of the
continental divide was part of the Louisiana Purchase and the Western portion
the Treaty of Oregon, between the United States and Britian.
There is the argument concerning grazing fees and the states
could manage the federal property better. Do you know what the grazing fee is
for an Animal Unit Month (AUM)? It is the Animal Unit Month for one cow and her
calf, one horse or five sheep or goats for a month. The cost is $1.35 per AUM for Federal
Land. The state of Montana charges
$9.94, that would be an increase of $8.59, who does not believe that this would
be an impact for the local rancher. (https://dnrc.mt.gov/Trust/AGM/Default.asp)
The counties would have a deficit of $26.5 million in
Payment in Lieu of Taxes that the Federal Government currently pays to counties
for the loss of tax revenues. Nevada
received $23 million in payments in lieu of taxes. http://www.doi.gov/pilt/county-payments.cfm
|
COUNTY
|
PAYMENT
|
TOTAL
ACRES |
|
ANACONDA DEER LODGE COUNTY
|
$386,440
|
215,181
|
|
BEAVERHEAD COUNTY
|
$679,159
|
2,046,632
|
|
BIG HORN COUNTY
|
$13,750
|
41,433
|
|
BLAINE COUNTY
|
$813,876
|
451,657
|
|
BROADWATER COUNTY
|
$553,314
|
288,781
|
|
CARBON COUNTY
|
$796,238
|
574,660
|
|
CARTER COUNTY
|
$190,948
|
593,361
|
|
CASCADE COUNTY
|
$419,841
|
214,475
|
|
CHOUTEAU COUNTY
|
$342,023
|
156,184
|
|
CUSTER COUNTY
|
$792,469
|
333,580
|
|
DANIELS COUNTY
|
$0
|
200
|
|
DAWSON COUNTY
|
$21,225
|
63,960
|
|
FALLON COUNTY
|
$38,461
|
115,901
|
|
FERGUS COUNTY
|
$1,089,117
|
484,948
|
|
FLATHEAD COUNTY
|
$2,173,745
|
2,438,965
|
|
GALLATIN COUNTY
|
$1,461,043
|
732,997
|
|
GARFIELD COUNTY
|
$204,576
|
814,977
|
|
GLACIER COUNTY
|
$934,215
|
401,497
|
|
GOLDEN VALLEY COUNTY
|
$56,945
|
31,537
|
|
GRANITE COUNTY
|
$232,970
|
702,050
|
|
HILL COUNTY
|
$106,035
|
47,718
|
|
JEFFERSON COUNTY
|
$984,131
|
553,147
|
|
JUDITH BASIN COUNTY
|
$125,158
|
308,427
|
|
LAKE COUNTY
|
$382,783
|
173,937
|
|
LEWIS & CLARK COUNTY
|
$2,184,611
|
1,081,937
|
|
LIBERTY COUNTY
|
$62,392
|
33,656
|
|
LINCOLN COUNTY
|
$580,059
|
1,747,997
|
|
MADISON COUNTY
|
$656,474
|
1,055,265
|
|
MCCONE COUNTY
|
$271,831
|
274,105
|
|
MEAGHER COUNTY
|
$160,294
|
483,044
|
|
MINERAL COUNTY
|
$211,977
|
638,789
|
|
MISSOULA COUNTY
|
$1,464,787
|
826,979
|
|
MUSSELSHELL COUNTY
|
$186,472
|
87,517
|
|
PARK COUNTY
|
$1,044,257
|
953,524
|
|
PETROLEUM COUNTY
|
$82,901
|
335,040
|
|
PHILLIPS COUNTY
|
$456,938
|
1,376,973
|
|
PONDERA COUNTY
|
$196,745
|
107,919
|
|
POWDER RIVER COUNTY
|
$198,029
|
596,756
|
|
POWELL COUNTY
|
$265,751
|
742,655
|
|
PRAIRIE COUNTY
|
$142,521
|
429,486
|
|
RAVALLI COUNTY
|
$1,959,799
|
1,115,675
|
|
RICHLAND COUNTY
|
$17,988
|
54,206
|
|
ROOSEVELT COUNTY
|
$1,421
|
4,284
|
|
ROSEBUD COUNTY
|
$108,140
|
325,876
|
|
SANDERS COUNTY
|
$303,664
|
915,087
|
|
SHERIDAN COUNTY
|
$591
|
1,781
|
|
SILVER BOW CENSUS CTY
|
$481,305
|
233,605
|
|
STILLWATER COUNTY
|
$355,062
|
191,193
|
|
SWEET GRASS COUNTY
|
$383,994
|
302,039
|
|
TETON COUNTY
|
$583,746
|
284,568
|
|
TOOLE COUNTY
|
$47,723
|
45,779
|
|
TREASURE COUNTY
|
$248
|
748
|
|
VALLEY COUNTY
|
$995,515
|
1,122,580
|
|
WHEATLAND COUNTY
|
$101,177
|
65,924
|
|
WIBAUX COUNTY
|
$8,958
|
26,995
|
|
YELLOWSTONE COUNTY
|
$183,239
|
78,235
|
|
TOTAL
|
26,497,071
|
27,326,422
|
Another
great reference is how much does the Federal Government impact Montana’s
economy. For each dollar Montanans pay in Federal taxes they receive $1.47
back. http://visualizingeconomics.com/blog/2010/02/17/federal-taxes-paidreceived-for-each-state
38.46% of Montana’s general revenue is from the Federal
Government in 2012. http://www.statebudgetsolutions.org/publications/detail/new-data-reveals-amount-of-federal-aid-to-states-in-2012
Do you think the State is ready to absorb the fire fighting
costs the Federal Government pays for?
In 2013 over $1.7 Billion.
|
Federal
Firefighting Costs (Suppression Only)
|
|||||
|
Year
|
Fires
|
Acres
|
Forest Service
|
DOI Agencies
|
|
|
1985
|
82,591
|
2,896,147
|
$161,505,000
|
$78,438,000
|
$239,943,000
|
|
1986
|
85,907
|
2,719,162
|
$111,625,000
|
$91,153,000
|
$202,778,000
|
|
1987
|
71,300
|
2,447,296
|
$253,657,000
|
$81,452,000
|
$335,109,000
|
|
1988
|
72,750
|
5,009,290
|
$429,609,000
|
$149,317,000
|
$578,926,000
|
|
1989
|
48,949
|
1,827,310
|
$331,672,000
|
$168,115,000
|
$499,787,000
|
|
1990
|
66,481
|
4,621,621
|
$253,700,000
|
$144,252,000
|
$397,952,000
|
|
1991
|
75,754
|
2,953,578
|
$132,300,000
|
$73,820,000
|
$206,120,000
|
|
1992
|
87,394
|
2,069,929
|
$290,300,000
|
$87,166,000
|
$377,466,000
|
|
1993
|
58,810
|
1,797,574
|
$184,000,000
|
$56,436,000
|
$240,436,000
|
|
1994
|
79,107
|
4,073,579
|
$757,200,000
|
$161,135,000
|
$918,335,000
|
|
1995
|
82,234
|
1,840,546
|
$367,000,000
|
$110,126,000
|
$477,126,000
|
|
1996
|
96,363
|
6,065,998
|
$547,500,000
|
$153,683,000
|
$701,183,000
|
|
1997
|
66,196
|
2,856,959
|
$179,100,000
|
$105,048,000
|
$284,148,000
|
|
1998
|
81,043
|
1,329,704
|
$306,800,000
|
$109,904,000
|
$416,704,000
|
|
1999
|
92,487
|
5,626,093
|
$361,100,000
|
$154,416,000
|
$515,516,000
|
|
2000
|
92,250
|
7,383,493
|
$1,076,000,000
|
$334,802,000
|
$1,410,802,000
|
|
2001
|
84,079
|
3,570,911
|
$683,122,000
|
$269,574,000
|
$952,696,000
|
|
2002
|
73,457
|
7,184,712
|
$1,279,000,000
|
$395,040,000
|
$1,674,040,000
|
|
2003
|
63,629
|
3,960,842
|
$1,023,500,000
|
$303,638,000
|
$1,327,138,000
|
|
2004
|
65,461
|
8,097,880
|
$726,000,000
|
$281,244,000
|
$1,007,244,000
|
|
2005
|
66,753
|
8,689,389
|
$690,000,000
|
$294,054,000
|
$984,054,000
|
|
2006
|
96,385
|
9,873,745
|
$1,501,337,000
|
$424,058,000
|
$1,925,395,000
|
|
2007
|
85,705
|
9,328,045
|
$1,373,919,000
|
$470,491,000
|
$1,844,410,000
|
|
2008
|
78,979
|
5,292,468
|
$1,458,805,000
|
$392,783,000
|
$1,851,588,000
|
|
2009
|
78,792
|
5,921,786
|
$1,018,329,000
|
$218,418,000
|
$1,236,747,000
|
|
2010
|
71,971
|
3,422,724
|
$897,686,000
|
$231,214,000
|
$1,128,900,000
|
|
2011
|
74,126
|
8,711,367
|
$1,414,379,000
|
$318,789,000
|
$1,733,168,000
|
|
2012
|
67,774
|
9,326,238
|
$1,436,614,000
|
$465,832,000
|
$1,902,446,000
|
|
2013
|
47,579
|
4,319,546
|
$1,341,735,000
|
$399,199,000
|
$1,740,934,000
|
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