State Rep. Ed Lieser, D-Whitefish, and State Sen. Jennifer Fielder, R-Thompson Falls, on Thursday will debate the effects and ramifications of transferring federal lands to the state of Montana.

Lieser and Fielder have opposite views on the issue. They will take to the stage at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11, at Flathead Valley Community College’s Arts and Technology Building.

Clarence Taber, a U.S. Forest Service retiree and current president of Montanans for Multiple Use, is organizing the debate. He has set some ground rules to keep the debate from getting mired in technicalities.

“I have a position statement to start from,” Taber said. “One item is that wilderness is not one of the topic items. The other caveat is that land turned over to the state cannot be sold off — there is no carrot for the state to sell the lands.”

Despite these limits, Taber said he believes Fielder and Lieser should be able to engage in a spirited debate.

Fielder has proposed that land management would be more effective and useful if federal lands were managed at a state level. She believes Montanans, not bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., should manage Montana’s land.

Lieser, also retired from the Forest Service, said he is for the land being open to the public but the management costs currently paid by the federal government are not burdens Montana could bear.

“Even with the debate rules in place, I still have significant reservations on the concept,” he said. “These are not productive or marginally productive lands. It’s important that these lands remain managed in such a way because the state doesn’t have the luxury of letting them not be productive.”

Fielder sent out a mass email to many of her supporters informing them of the debate.

Both legislators had components of public land use in their last campaign platforms.

The debate will be held in room 139 in the Arts and Technology building. Admission is free.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.