The Trust Lands Management program oversees Montana’s state trust lands managing timber, surface, and mineral assets to benefit public schools and other endowed institutions statewide. Guided by the Montana State Board of Land Commissioners (Land Board), the programs management is organized by five key programs: Agriculture and Grazing Management, Forest Management, Minerals Management, Real Estate Management, and Recreational Use.
Agriculture and Grazing Management
The Agriculture and Grazing Management Bureau is responsible for leasing and managing approximately 9,000 agreements for crop and rangeland uses on 4.76 million acres of school trust lands throughout the state. Administrative staff and specialists in the department's Helena office and staff in field offices statewide manage the program.
Real Estate Management
The Real Estate Management Bureau manages all activity on trust lands not classified as grazing, agriculture, or timber. These "other" surface tracts are administered for the benefit of the trust through leasing, short-term licenses, land exchanges and sales, and through issuing right-of-way agreements.
Forest Management
The Forest Management Bureau manages Montana's forested trust lands to maximize long-term revenue while promoting healthy and diverse forests on over 780,000 acres. Revenue from forested trust lands is mainly derived from the sale of forest products.
Minerals Management
The Minerals Management Bureau, is responsible for leasing, permitting, and managing approximately 5,301 oil and gas, metalliferous and non-metalliferous, coal, sand and gravel agreements on 2.1 million acres of the available 6.2 million acres of school trust lands and approximately 5,632 acres of other state-owned land throughout Montana.