77-1-815. Recreational use agreement for hunting, fishing, and trapping on legally accessible state trust land. - Montana Statutes

     77-1-815. (Temporary) Recreational use agreement for hunting, fishing, and trapping on legally accessible state trust land. (1) The board is authorized to enter into an agreement with the department of fish, wildlife, and parks to compensate state trust land beneficiaries for the use and impacts associated with hunting, fishing, and trapping on legally accessible state trust land as defined in department rule. The department may impose restrictions it considers necessary to coordinate the uses of state trust land or to preserve the purposes of the various trust lands. Hunting, fishing, and trapping on state trust land must be conducted in accordance with rules and provisions provided in this part.
     (2) An agreement may be issued to the department of fish, wildlife, and parks for a term of up to 10 years. Through this agreement, the board shall recover for the beneficiaries of the trust the full market value for the use and impacts associated with hunting, fishing, and trapping on legally accessible state trust land. The department may use funds appropriated from the trust land administration account provided for in 77-1-108 to implement and manage the agreement. Except as provided for in 17-7-304, any unexpended amount in the account that resulted from recreational use fees must be apportioned on a pro rata basis to the land trusts, in proportion to the respective trust's percentage of acreage in the total acreage of all state land trusts.
     (3) Any agreement entered into is subject to the following conditions:
     (a) The department maintains sole discretion, throughout the term of the agreement, with regard to identifying legally accessible parcels, coordinating uses on state trust land, and making any other necessary state trust land management decisions.
     (b) An agreement between the department and the department of fish, wildlife, and parks may not convey any additional authority to the department of fish, wildlife, and parks.
     (4) During any period that the department of fish, wildlife, and parks and the department have reached an agreement as provided in subsection (1), an individual recreational use license under 77-1-801 or 77-1-802 may not be required for a member of the public to hunt, fish, or trap upon legally accessible state trust land. (Void on occurrence of contingency--sec. 8, Ch. 596, L. 2003.)

     History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 596, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 17, Ch. 465, L. 2009.