Administrative Rules of Montana › Department 12 - FISH, WILDLIFE, AND PARKS › Chapter 12.9 - WILDLIFE DIVISION › Subchapter 12.9.5 - Wildlife Habitat Acquisition › Rule 12.9.512 - IMPLEMENTATION

Current through Register Vol. 13, July 5, 2024
(1) The commission directs the department to
				complete a comprehensive statewide habitat plan and to execute that plan within
				the following parameters:
(a) The department
				will identify specific staff responsible for implementation of Habitat Montana
				and establish procedures for accomplishing program goals.
(b) The department will develop draft
				criteria for identifying important habitats that are seriously threatened. The
				commission will adopt these criteria through a process that includes public
				review and comment.
(c) Utilizing
				the natural heritage database and information from other government agencies
				and cooperators, the department will identify habitat protection priorities
				within each eco-region. This analysis will recognize the contribution of
				habitat protected by other agencies and organizations. Regional habitat
				priorities will then be compiled into a consolidated statewide plan.
(d) The department will develop uniform
				guidelines for the preparation of site-specific management plans. These
				criteria will be applicable to management of lands in which the department
				acquires an interest and to cooperative habitat projects located on lands in
				other ownership.
(e) Prior to
				acquiring any interest in land for the primary purpose of securing wildlife
				habitat, the department will comply with the requirements of
				87-1-241, MCA, by conducting an
				environmental assessment analyzing:
(i) the
				wildlife populations and use currently associated with the property;
(ii) the potential value of the land for
				protection, preservation, and propagation of wildlife;
(iii) management goals proposed for the land
				and wildlife populations and, where feasible, any additional uses of the land
				such as livestock grazing or timber harvest;
(iv) any potential impacts to adjacent
				private land resulting from proposed management goals and plans to address such
				impacts;
(v) any significant
				potential social and economic impacts to affected local governments and the
				state, including but not limited to impacts on:
(A) tax revenue available for the operation
				of taxing jurisdictions within the county;
(B) services required to be provided by local
				governments;
(C) employment
				opportunities within the counties;
(D) local schools; and
(E) private businesses supplying goods and
				services to the community.
(vi) a land maintenance program to control
				weeds and maintain roads and fences; and
(vii) any other matter considered necessary
				or appropriate by the commission.
(f) The department will develop monitoring
				and evaluation systems to track program success as well as the public's
				changing desires.
(g) It is
				preferable to acquire interests in habitat through conservation easement or
				lease. However, the legislature has acknowledged that the willing seller will
				determine the manner by which such interest is obtained and thus has provided
				for acquisition by fee title as well. The most effective use of capital and
				operational funds must be determined on a case by case basis. The commission
				encourages the department to utilize other methods such as land exchanges,
				conservation buyers and easement exchanges to meet the habitat Montana program
				objectives.
(h) The department will
				use certified appraisals or other appropriate analysis performed by department
				staff to determine the value of land or interest in land to be
				acquired.
(i) Funds for wildlife
				habitat acquisition shall be invested in habitat in a timely manner, as
				accrued.
(j) In some cases the
				mission of habitat Montana may be most efficiently accomplished through actions
				of non-profit organizations, landowners, other government agencies, or through
				partnerships with such entities. To gain the greatest value from partnership
				opportunities, the department will establish procedures for working
				cooperatively and non-competitively with them.
(k) The department will establish procedures
				to account for habitat Montana income and expenditures through the state
				accounting, budget, human resource system (SABHRS). In addition to project
				expenditures for which accounting reports are currently available, the
				department will account for administrative costs associated with implementation
				of this policy.
(l) The commission
				directs the department to emphasize continuing communication with the
				legislature, state land board and the public to maintain awareness of, and
				support for, habitat Montana.
(m)
				The commission expects to adopt a comprehensive statewide habitat plan,
				incorporating each of the above elements, prior to October, 1994. The review
				process for this draft plan will include a public comment period of at least 60
				days in length.