1. (1) History and Purpose. The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation was established under the Executive Reorganization Act of 1971 by executive order of the Governor on December 20, 1971. It was extensively reorganized by the 1995 Legislature and is provided for in 2-15-3301, MCA. The department works to help ensure Montana's land and water resources provide benefits for present and future generations. It directs a wide variety of programs in meeting these and related goals and objectives.

2. (2) Organization.

   1. (a) Director. The department is headed by the director, who is appointed by the Governor. The director is responsible for the administration of all the functions vested by law in the department and for establishing policy to be followed by the department across its divisions. The director is supported by a deputy director, the offices of legal services, information technology, fiscal support, human resources, strategic communications, critical incident management, and the office of administrative hearings.

   2. (b) Divisions. The department consists of the following three divisions:

      1. (i) Conservation and Resource Development Division.
      2. (ii) Forestry and Trust Lands Division.
      3. (iii) Water Resources Division.
3. (3) Functions of the Department Divisions. The divisions are divided into bureaus, programs, or sections, headed by chiefs, managers, and supervisors, with some programs administered by regional or area office staff.

4. (4) Department Organizational Units. The organizational structure and allocation of functions is as follows. The various boards, commissions, and advisory councils are also listed, as they are units of the department, pursuant to 2-15-102, MCA.

   1. (a) Conservation and Resource Development Division. The division is responsible for delivering conservation finance in the form of grant and loan programs to conserve and develop the natural resources of the state. It provides administrative, financial, technical, and legal assistance to the state's 58 soil and water conservation districts in their efforts to protect the state's natural resources. The division staffs the Sage Grouse Habitat Conservation Program for the Montana Sage Grouse Oversight Team (MSGOT) attached to the Governor's Office and five agencies administratively attached to the division.

      1. (i) CARDD Finance. This office administers the division’s finance and loan programs.
      2. (ii) Resource Development Bureau. This bureau administers several grant programs that assist communities and local governments to improve, protect, enhance, or develop renewable resources or that otherwise benefit natural resources through reclamation, planning, research, and education.
      3. (iii) Conservation Districts Bureau. This bureau is responsible for providing administrative, financial, technical, and legal guidance and assistance to conservation districts in their work to encourage proper land use practices.
      4. (iv) Sage Grouse Habitat Conservation Program. This program performs the duties assigned to the Montana Sage Grouse Oversight Team in the Montana Greater Sage-Grouse Stewardship Act and Executive Orders 12-2015 and 21-2015.
      5. (v) Administrative Attachments. Staff reporting to the division administrator perform the statutory duties assigned to the Montana Invasive Species Council, the Western Montana Conservation Commission, the Rangeland Resources Committee, and the Montana Grass Conservation Commission.

   2. (b) Forestry and Trust Lands Division. This division is responsible for ensuring the sustainability and protection of Montana forests, rural lands, and communities through cooperative wildland fire protection, sound forest management practices, and by promoting a viable forest-based economy. This division is also responsible for managing the surface and mineral resources of forested, grazing, agricultural, and other classified state trust lands to produce revenue for the benefit of state public schools and other endowed institutions.

      1. (i) Fire Protection Bureau. This bureau protects lives, property, and natural resources from wildfire by providing safe and effective services to Montana's citizens as well as leadership, coordination, and resources to the state's wildfire organizations. To the extent possible, the bureau embraces effective wildfire response, fire adapted communities, and resilient landscapes.
      2. (ii) Forestry Assistance Bureau. This bureau promotes the implementation of the Montana Forest Action Plan: working across boundaries building resilient forests, sustainable economies, and fire-adapted communities. This program also connects landowners with technical guidance and cost-share programs to actively manage forests, provides seedlings for conservation projects statewide, and is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Streamside Management Zone Law, the Timber Slash and Debris Law, and the Forest Practice Notification Law on non-federal lands.
      3. (iii) Good Neighbor Authority Bureau. This bureau is organized around the existing federal Good Neighbor Authority (16 U.S.C. §2113a), to increase forest restoration and management, and to address forest health and resiliency, wildfire risk, and insect and disease infected forests through active management. This is accomplished through partnerships with federal land management agencies, conservation organizations, and collaboratives. In addition to improving forest heath and reducing wildfire risk, these efforts provide a consistent commercial timber volume, retain forest industry jobs, and improve wildlife habit and recreation opportunities on federal lands.
      4. (iv) Agriculture and Grazing Management Bureau. This bureau is responsible for leasing and managing surface leasing for crop and rangeland uses on state trust land throughout the state.
      5. (v) Forest Management Bureau. This bureau manages forested state trust lands to maximize long-term revenue while promoting healthy and diverse forests. Revenues are derived mainly from the sale of forest products. Several resource management sections provide support and program direction by developing resource management standards, conducting site-specific reviews, and formulating recommendations as members of interdisciplinary teams that develop land management proposals.
      6. (vi) Minerals Management Bureau. This bureau is responsible for leasing, permitting, and managing state-owned minerals. These duties include oil and gas, metalliferous and non-metalliferous, coal, and sand and gravel agreements on state trust and other state-owned land. The bureau contains a royalty auditing and accounting section.
      7. (vii) Real Estate Management Bureau. This bureau is responsible for all activity on state trust lands that is not classified as grazing, agriculture, or timber. This includes commercial and residential leasing, short-term licenses, land exchanges and sales, and right-of-way agreements.
      8. (viii) Recreational Use and Public Access Program. This program works with all surface bureaus and area offices in overseeing and coordinating public access and recreational uses of state trust land.

   3. (c) Water Resources Division. This division promotes and coordinates the beneficial use, conservation, protection, and development of state water resources. Through coordination of the development and utilization of the state's water, the division protects existing uses and promotes adequate future supplies for domestic, industrial, agricultural, and recreational uses, as well as for the conservation of water for wildlife, aquatic life, and other beneficial uses.

      1. (i) State Water Projects Bureau. This bureau administers the operation and maintenance of state-owned water projects which include dams, irrigation canals, and a hydropower facility. The bureau also assists the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks with their dam safety issues.
      2. (ii) Water Sciences Bureau. This bureau provides scientific information and conducts studies associated with Montana’s water resources. This bureau develops and analyzes policies on statewide water resource issues and represents Montana's basin interests regionally and internationally.
      3. (iii) Water Operations Bureau. This bureau administers the Board of Water Well Contractors, regulates dam safety, assists locally administered floodplain management programs, and provides technical information and water measurement requirements regarding stream diversion where chronic dewatering has caused disputes.
      4. (iv) Water Rights Bureau. This bureau ensures the orderly appropriation and beneficial use of Montana's waters through the administration of the Montana Water Use Act, Title 85, chapter 2, MCA.
      5. (v) Adjudication, Enforcement and Distribution Bureau. This bureau assists the Montana Water Court in the adjudication of all claims to pre-July 1, 1973, water rights. The bureau examines all claims pursuant to Supreme Court rules and provides a summary report to the Water Court on each of the basins in the state. The bureau also provides post decree assistance to the Water Court as requested and to district courts as Water Court decrees are placed under enforcement. This bureau also leads water rights distribution and enforcement efforts.
      6. (vi) Planning, Implementation, and Communications Bureau. This bureau represents Montana's interests with respect to reserved water right compacts between the state of Montana, tribal nations, and the federal government and is responsible for leading the implementations of the individual compacts. The bureau also provides education, assistance, and outreach for the public, department, and other governmental entities, as well as communications for the division.

   4. (d) Field Offices.

      1. (i) Conservation and Resource Development Division Field Offices. The division has four field offices in Missoula, Glasgow, Miles City, and Bozeman. The staff at Miles City report to the Conservation District Bureau chief. The staff at Glasgow report to the Resource Development Bureau chief. The staff at Missoula and Bozeman report to the division administrator.
      2. (ii) Forestry and Trust Lands Division Area and Unit Offices. The division has six area offices: Central Land Office (Helena); Eastern Land Office (Miles City); Northeastern Land Office (Lewistown); Northwestern Land Office (Kalispell); Southern Land Office (Billings); and Southwestern Land Office (Missoula). The managers report to the division administrator and are responsible for integrating and implementing the programs across the division. Area offices have associated unit offices whose managers report to the appropriate area manager. The unit offices are located in Bozeman, Conrad, Dillon, Helena, Lewistown, Glasgow, Kalispell, Libby, Olney, Plains, Swan Lake, Anaconda, Greenough, Hamilton, and Missoula.
      3. (iii) Water Resources Division Regional Offices. The division has eight regional offices in Billings, Bozeman, Glasgow, Havre, Helena, Kalispell, Lewistown, and Missoula. The managers report to the regional operations manager and are responsible for integrating and implementing the policies and programs of the division.

5. (5) Boards, Commissions, and Councils.

   1. (a) Board of Land Commissioners. The five-member board is comprised of the Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Auditor, and Superintendent of Public Instruction. Under the Constitution and statute, the department's administration of state trust land in Montana is subject to review and approval by the board. Under the direction of the board, the director is responsible for the administration of state trust land management functions vested in the department under the Forestry and Trust Lands Division. The board has rulemaking authority.
   2. (b) Board of Oil and Gas Conservation. The seven-member board is appointed by the Governor and is attached to the department for administrative purposes only. 2-15-3303, MCA. The board’s responsibilities include promoting conservation of oil and gas; preventing waste, contamination, and damage to land and underground strata from oil and gas activities; establishing well spacing units and protecting the correlative rights of mineral owners; and, subject to approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, regulating all Class II injection wells. The board has rulemaking authority.
   3. (c) Board of Water Well Contractors. The seven-member board is attached to the department for administrative purposes only. 2-15-3307, MCA. Three of the members are appointed by the directors of their respective agencies for indefinite terms, and four Governor-appointed members represent the water well industry. The board adopts administrative rules regulating licenses and establishing minimum construction standards for water wells and monitoring wells; inspects wells upon request or complaint, and at other times as deemed necessary; and licenses well drillers, contractors, and monitoring well constructors.
   4. (d) Drought and Water Supply Advisory Committee. This committee is chaired by the Governor's representative and consists of members appointed by the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the Department of Military Affairs, the Department of Environmental Quality, and the Department of Livestock. 2-15-3308, MCA. The committee’s purpose is to serve as a clearinghouse for the sharing of water supply and moisture conditions among state and local agency officials with responsibility to manage natural resources and support constituents most likely affected by drought.
   5. (e) Western Montana Conservation Commission. The sixteen-member commission consists of nine members appointed by the Governor and is attached to the department for administrative purposes only. 2-15-3311, MCA. The commission’s purpose is to protect the existing high quality of western Montana's aquatic resources.
   6. (f) Montana Grass Conservation Commission. The five-member commission is appointed by the Governor and is allocated to the department for administrative purposes only. 76-16-112, MCA. The commission’s mission is to conserve, protect, restore, and facilitate the proper utilization of grass, forage, and range resources in the state.
   7. (g) Rangeland Resource Committee. The six-member committee is appointed by the Governor and is allocated to the department for administrative purposes only. 2-15-3305, MCA. The committee provides guidance to the Rangeland Resources Program in the Conservation and Resource Development Division.
   8. (h) Montana Invasive Species Council. The twenty-two member council is appointed by the Governor and is allocated to the department for administrative purposes only. 2-15-3309, MCA. The purpose of the council is to advise the Governor on a science-based, comprehensive program to identify, prevent, eliminate, reduce, and mitigate invasive species in Montana and to coordinate with public and private partners to develop and implement statewide invasive species strategic plans.
   9. (i) Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission. The Montana Legislature established the Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission in 1979 to help integrate reserved water rights into the state adjudication process. The commission is attached to the department for administrative purposes only. 2-15-212, MCA. The commission is charged with negotiating water rights “compacts for the equitable division and apportionment of waters between the state and its people and the several Indian tribes and federal agencies claiming reserved water rights within the state.” 85-2-701(2) and 85-2-702, MCA.
6. (6) Information and submissions. General inquiries regarding the department, boards, commissions, or advisory councils may be addressed to the director or e-mailed to dnrc_publicinfo@mt.gov. Specific inquiries regarding the functions of a division may be addressed to the division administrator. All requests for department policy, hearings, declaratory rulings, and participation in rulemaking should be addressed to the director unless the notice in the Montana Administrative Register makes specific provisions for submissions.
7. (7) Personnel Roster. The director and division administrators can be contacted at 1539 11th Avenue, Helena, Montana 59601 or by phone at (406) 444-2074. Information regarding the department and its personnel can also be found at https://dnrc.mt.gov.

8. (8) Chart of Agency Organization. An organizational chart of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation is attached and incorporated into this rule.

   

Authorizing statute(s): 2-4-201, MCA

Implementing statute(s): 2-4-201, MCA

History: Eff. 12/31/72; AMD, Eff. 7/5/73; AMD, Eff. 4/15/74; AMD, Eff. 12/5/74; AMD, Eff. 10/5/75; AMD, Eff. 10/24/77; AMD, Eff. 7/27/78; AMD, Eff. 7/2/79; AMD, Eff. 3/31/80; AMD, Eff. 7/1/81; AMD, Eff. 4/82; AMD, Eff. 9/30/88; AMD, Eff. 9/30/90; AMD, Eff. 7/1/95; AMD, Eff. 6/30/12; AMD, Eff. 6/30/13; AMD, Eff. 9/30/20; AMD, Eff. 9/30/22; AMD, Eff. 1/1/25.