A bill calling for the creation of a federal lands task force was approved by the Senate Natural Resources Committee by 7-5 on April 15 despite opposition from conservation groups.

House Bill 496, sponsored by Rep. Kerry White, R-Bozeman, would establish a six-person task force to study public lands management, with a focus on Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands.

Originally the bill called for the task force to study the feasibility of transferring of those lands to the state, but that was taken out in a House committee.

“This is not about the transfer of public lands,” White said during the Senate hearing last week.

The task force would conduct an economic analysis, including finding the high and low costs of managing the land and looking for ways to make it more cost-effective. It also would study noxious weed management on federal lands.

Conservation groups criticized the bill, saying it is narrowly aimed at studying public land transfers, despite the sponsor’s assertion to the contrary.

Clayton Elliott, of the Montana Wilderness Association, said that despite the House amendments, the bill is still about transferring control of public lands.

“This bill is very much about public lands transfer,” Elliott said.

Dave Chadwick, executive director of the Montana Wildlife Federation, also opposed the bill.

“Even the amended bill still gives a platform for transfer,” Chadwick said. He added that there have already been too many studies on land management. “The last thing we need when it comes to federal land management is more studies.”

The House passed HB 496 by 52-47 on March 28. It passed the Senate on a second reading by 28-22 on April 18.