A PROBLEM li\ lOREST FIRE PROTECTION IN MONTANA 

 Gai'th C. Moon 

 Slate Forester 



The disastrous liilO fire clearly showed the need for protection on privately-owned lands as well as 

 public lands. 



In 19 39 the Legislature created the State Boai-d of Forestry and gave it the authority to provide forest 

 fire protection to private forest lands. This legislation permitted the Board to create forest fire districts. 

 After a district was created, the State Board of Foresty designated one protection agency to protect 

 all the lands within the district boundaries regardless of ownership. Landowners paid their share of the 

 cost of protection through either direct contributions to the protection agency or through assessments 

 on the tax roll which were collected by the State Forester and distributed to the protection agency. 

 Gradually from this emerged the present excellent forest fire protection system found in the area west 

 of the Continental Divide. Here we find in some areas the National Forest Service protecting all lands, 

 both public and private, witliin the boundaries of a certain district. In other areas we find a private 

 protective association or it might be the State Foresty organization providing this service. In every case, 

 the boundaries are determined, the protection provided, and each landowner pays his fair share of the 

 costs. 



The area east of the Continental Divide is an entirely different story. These forest lands have never 

 received organized forest fire protection excepting those lands lying adjacent to or within the boundaries 

 of the National Forest or those lands located near or within the public domain. 



There are millions of acres of forest land under private ownership which will and does support disastrous 

 wild fire. In order to assist the landowner, the U. S. Forest Service has for many years accepted 

 protection responsibilities on private lands within and adjacent to the National Forests. Protection was 

 provided only on voluntary application by the landowner. In many areas this resulted in extending forest 

 service protection boundaries several miles beyond the National Forest boundaries. 



As a part of an over-all program that has been conducted during the past years over the United States, 

 protection of large areas of State and private land, outside of the National Forests, has been turned 

 over to the States. During 1960 the Forest Service substantially reduced the state and private lands 

 under their protection in eastern Montana. The Forest Service now finds it necessary to further reduce- 

 this acreage. This additional reduction will result in the discontinuance of fire protection on state and 

 private-owned lands Ijdng generally outside the National Forest boundaries. This change is being made for 

 several reasons, among which are: 



1. The Forest Service must reduce the tort claim liability of protection of large acreages of non-federal 

 lands. 



2. The President has delcared that all Federal Agencies shall decrease the work done for others so 

 that, in the case of U. S. Forest Service, they may redeem their own basic charter of protection and 

 managing National forest lands. 



The State Board of Forestry was notified in 1962 that this .change was going to take place As this 

 meant that 1,700,000 acres would no longer receive organized protection, the Board then stepped up 

 its activities to classify the forest land throughout the State for forest purposes. We warned the people 

 and the Legislature of this impending action and started to create forest fire protection districts in the 

 affected area. As a result of this and other activities, the landowners viewed the action of the Board 

 in creating fire districts as overly aggressive. An amendment to the fire laws was introduced and 

 passed. This amendment took away the powers of the Board to form a fire district unless the landowners 

 in the area voted favorably for the establishment of such a district. This amendment automatically 

 changed the position of the State Forester. He is no longer responsible for the fire protection on 

 private land. He is given the authority to provide protection if requested by landowners to do so. 



The Forest Service has now notified all landowners with whom they previously had cooperative agreements 

 that they will withdraw all protection to lands lying within or adjacent to the National Forests. However, 

 the Forest Service will continue to attack fires on adjacent and private land that pose a direct threat to 

 the National Forest. This will be determined on a fire by fire basis rather than as a general policy. 



(OVER) 



