Bullock's parks board nomination OK'd by Senate

The controversial sale of the Milk River Ranch in northern Hill Country resurfaced as a hot political issue in the closing days of the Montana Legislature's 2015 session.

Friday, the Senate confirmed on a 35-14 vote Gov. Steve Bullock's nomination of Mary Sexton of Choteau as a member of the state Parks and Recreation Board, despite concerns about her role in the state's purchase of the property on the Canadian border.

Sexton was the state Department of Natural Resources and Conservation commissioner during the political melee.

In 2012, the state purchased the nearly 4,500-acre ranch despite allegations that it was not worth the $5.8 million the state paid. A total of 2,992 acres was purchased by FWP, while 1,513 acres were purchased by DNRC.

There were charges that then-Gov. Brian Schweitzer put pressure on Fish, Wildlife and Parks and DNRC to support the purchase.

The proposed sale turned into a major political flap, with many neighbors strongly and vocally objecting.

State Sen. Kris Hansen, R-Havre, asked fellow lawmakers to reject Sexton's nomination, citing the Milk River Ranch sale as the main reason.

The sale resulted in considerable ill will in the area, she said, and many fellow ranchers along the Milk River in northern Hill County are still upset, Hansen said. It needlessly raised property values in the area.

But Hansen's fellow conservative Republican, Sen. John Brenden, R-Scobey, said he favored Sexton's nomination, insisting that she cares deeply about parks and was a valuable public servant, though he frequently disagreed with her liberal positions.

Brenden said he too opposed the Milk River purchase, but blamed Schweitzer, not Sexton.

Hansen said that during the Milk River controversy, she met with Sexton only once.

"It did not go well. I'll leave it at that," she said.

In addition to Brenden, the Hi-Line's other state senator, Jonathan Windy Boy, a Democrat from Box Elder, voted for Sexton's nomination.

He praised her as an excellent public servant.

Sexton has served on the board for two years, It was created by the Legislature in 2013 to assume some of the work that was once done by the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission.