Western Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke celebrated the release of $53,889,068 in Payments in Lieu of Taxes funding for Montana counties, an increase of more than $7.3 million over 2025 disbursements. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, Zinke said he played a major role in securing the funds.
“Public lands are meant to be managed by a multiple-use mandate that allows for public access for recreation, economic development, and conservation. But with years of declining timber sales and economic activity, the counties that host them have been forced to bear the financial burden of management and lost tax revenue,” Zinke said. “Western Montana is nearly 80% federal land. The counties cannot shoulder this burden alone. I fought nonstop to permanently and fully fund PILT and ensure full funding to counties to maintain roads, support law enforcement, fund emergency services, and keep property taxes affordable for local families.”
Montana is home to millions of acres of federal land, including national forests, national parks, wildlife refuges and Bureau of Land Management land. While those public lands underpin much of the state’s economy and way of life, they also reduce the local tax base available to county governments.
PILT payments help offset the loss of property tax revenue in counties where large portions of land are federally owned and therefore exempt from local taxation. Montana counties rely on the funding to support law enforcement, road maintenance, emergency response, schools and other local infrastructure.
The increase comes as many rural Montana counties continue to face rising costs for public safety and infrastructure maintenance. PILT payments provide a steady source of revenue for local governments managing those pressures, while supporters of the program say it ensures the federal government remains a responsible partner to communities hosting large amounts of public land.