State land disappearing
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Editor,
It seems there’s a new game in town and no one is paying any attention: the BIA, on behalf of the CS&KT, is removing Montana state public property from the tax rolls and putting it in “trust” (non taxable) status utilizing a little known (to the general tax-paying public) Code of Federal Regulations: “Title 25 CFR 151.” I guess “ceded, relinquished or conveyed” means something different to the Feds than to us.
The Medicine Tree Falls property in Ravalli County is the latest to fall if the Board of Commissioners fails to respond. It’s only 58 acres, but it will now be a part of the reservation, although 87 miles away; patchworking the relinquished aboriginal territory back under tribal control while the State of Montana sleeps.
Eight acres at Kootenai Falls near Libby was the most recent aboriginal land mass to be absorbed back into trust. Does anybody care? Will you enjoy your increased property taxes to make up for the transference of state land to federal land by an agency of the federal government? Our state is disappearing, piece by piece, acre by acre, without a shout.
The radar must be set really high these days – there seems to be a lot of room beneath it for all of this covert stuff to fly under. Ever higher taxes and fees to make up for the designed loss in revenue, coupled with the continual inflation (devaluation of our buying power) is driving me nuts; how about you?
Michael Gale
Ronan
