76-22-105. Montana sage grouse oversight team -- duties -- powers. (1) The oversight team shall:

(a) cooperate with organizations to maintain, enhance, restore, expand, and benefit sage grouse habitat and populations;

(b) identify and map core areas, connectivity areas, and general habitat, subject to the approval of the governor;

(c) evaluate grant applications. As part of its evaluation, the oversight team shall solicit and consider the views of interested and affected persons and entities, including local, state, tribal, and federal governmental agencies, and boards, commissions, and other political subdivisions of the state;

(d) subject to the provisions of 76-22-109, select grant applications to receive funding from the sage grouse stewardship account. The oversight team has the discretion to determine the amount of each grant in accordance with the provisions of this part and may attach conditions of use to the grant.

(e) review and decide whether to approve proposals for the transfer to or acceptance by the state of a fee simple interest in real property. The oversight team shall recommend an approved proposal to the board of land commissioners for a final determination. Prior to making a recommendation, the oversight team shall publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the real property is located and provide an opportunity for public comment.

(f) review and decide whether to accept offers, from any source, in the form of grants, gifts, transfers, bequests, or donations of money, personal property, or an interest in real property other than a fee simple interest; and

(g) review and act upon compensatory mitigation plans proposed under 76-22-111 with a goal of no net loss of habitat and a net gain preferred. If a plan includes a financial contribution to the sage grouse stewardship account established in 76-22-109, the oversight team shall, using the habitat quantification tool, determine how to secure enough credits with the financial contribution to offset the debits of the project.

(h) semiannually review the number of requests made by project developers for review of proposed projects for compensatory mitigation requirements. This semiannual review must include information on:

(i) how much time elapsed between the date the initial request was received and the date a proposed compensatory mitigation plan was referred to the oversight team for consideration;

(ii) how many projects did or did not proceed after the initial request; and

(iii) if a project did not proceed or a proposed compensatory mitigation plan was not referred to the oversight team, the reason why it did not proceed or was not referred.

(i) work with stakeholders to streamline the compensatory mitigation review process, including calculation of reduced mitigation costs for low-impact projects such as trenchless excavation; and

(j) monitor long-term staffing needs to effectively implement this part, as well as the costs and benefits of doing so.

(2) If a habitat exchange is authorized in Montana by the United States fish and wildlife service, the oversight team may transfer credits it is tracking pursuant to 76-22-104(3) to the habitat exchange, provided that:

(a) the habitat exchange uses the habitat quantification tool to quantify and calculate the value of credits available for purchase; and

(b) if the United States fish and wildlife service revokes authorization of the habitat exchange, the balance of the credits held by the exchange that were transferred to it by the oversight team are transferred back to the oversight team or to another habitat exchange authorized by the United States fish and wildlife service.

(3) The oversight team shall retroactively calculate and make available credits for leases and conservation easements purchased with funds disbursed pursuant to this part after May 7, 2015, but prior to the adoption of rules under 76-22-104.

(4) The oversight team shall seek a depredation order from the United States fish and wildlife service under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, as necessary, to control common raven (Corvus corax) or black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia) to reduce depredation on sage grouse populations and their nests.

History: En. Sec. 6, Ch. 445, L. 2015; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 267, L. 2019.