Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) is accepting applications for its new Habitat Conservation Lease Program.
The program is a voluntary, incentive-based agreement between FWP and private landowners for a 30- or 40-year term to preserve at-risk landscapes and to pay landowners a one-time fee for conservation efforts.
FWP hopes to enroll 500,000 acres in the first five years, and they will prioritize prairie habitats, with an emphasis on sage grouse core areas to restore the grouse population and keep the bird off the endangered species list. In addition to sage grouse habitat, FWP aspires to enlist lands that contain Montana’s “species of concern,” including mixed grass (lowland) prairies, wetland grasslands, intermountain shrubs and grasslands, and riparian flood plain habitats.
“Beyond protecting important habitat, this program will also be another tool to help keep family farms and ranches on the landscape, which will ensure our vital open spaces stay that way well into the future,” said FWP Director Hank Worsech.
Except for tillage, farmers and ranchers will be able to maintain their current operation, including noxious weed control. Activities not allowed include herbicide treatment on native vegetation, wetland filling or draining, building construction or energy development.
Landowners can enroll all or a portion of their land and cancel the habitat lease program before the end of the term. However, the landowner would be subject to paying FWP a prorated value of the original lease payment and an additional cost for liquidated damages equal to 25% of the initial payment.
Landowners are paid a fixed rate per acre, ranging from 7.5% to 10% of the fee simple value. According to the program’s FAQs, FWP will offer lease payments for prairie grassland and sagebrush habitats in eastern and southwest Montana using the following formulas:
• 30-year lease — 7.5% of average fee title value.
• 40-year lease — 10% of average fee title value + 5% as an incentive for
the longer term.
Based on these formulas and fee title estimates for 2022, the lease value would be:
• East — A grazing fee title of $567/acre. With a 30-year term, $42.50/acre. With a 40-year term, $56.70/acre + 5%.
• Southwest — A grazing fee title of $1,560/acre. With a 30-year term, $117/acre. With a 40-year term, $156/acre + 5%.
Public access for hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing for a minimum number of days based on enrollment size will also be part of the lease, but the details would be specific to each agreement.
To expedite the process of enrolling conservation acres, Ken McDonald, wildlife administrator for FWP, told WLJ in an email he is hoping the Fish and Wildlife Commission would give programmatic approval for the projects rather than approving individual projects.
“That just adds time to the process, and since most agreements should be pretty ‘cookie cutter,’ we figured the programmatic approach would save everyone time,” McDonald said.
The commission was initially set to decide on the matter at their hearing on Aug. 25, but according to McDonald, they postponed the agenda item to become familiar with the program.
The application deadline is Sept. 30, and McDonald hopes to have projects to approve when the committee reconsiders the lease program.
More information and applications for the program are available on the FWP website at fwp.mt.gov by clicking on the tabs “conservation” and then “habitat.” — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
