Elephant Eating 101

State School Trust Land Legislative Updates

Tammi Fladager, Peerless Rancher

Let’s recap. Over 100 years ago, the State of Montana had to claim School Trust Lands given to them by the federal government to sustain public schools. By the time they finally got around to it, three decades had passed and little land was available for the selection.

There were various excuses or reasons why the State delayed its decision, but the result is, Daniels County got saddled with an inordinate amount of State School Trust lands.

What’s the big deal then? The people and citizens of Montana need places to recreate and the schools need to be funded. All true. However, the intent of Uncle Sam was not to have it all in one county. Several directives were i...