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U.S. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) announced that 34 Montana counties will share nearly $20.5 million this year to fund schools, roads, search and rescue and other county programs. These are the last payments counties will receive unless the program is reauthorized.

In a press release, Baucus stated that rural counties rely heavily upon the funding which comes from the Agriculture Department's Secure Rural Schools Program. Along with the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program, rural counties are able to invest in construction projects, roads, education and forest conservation to make up for their inability to collect taxes on large swaths of public lands.

Baucus' plan would extend for five years the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act - a program that supports counties that rely economically on national forest lands. The proposal also fully-funds the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program for an additional five years. PILT compensates counties for Federal land that cannot be a source of property taxes. The cosponsors have committed to work together to find offsets to fund the payments that would be made under the bill.

Montana counties received the following payments through the Secure Rural Schools initiative:

Beaverhead $1,304,813.97
Deer Lodge $208,242.49
Gallatin $480,601.29
Granite $788,753.24
Jefferson $353,371.94
Madison $628,104.35
Park $746,191.28
Powell $1,162,653.74
Silver Bow $128,232.16

Montana total $20,486,736.96