HELENA – The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation says it will auction off about 76 acres of state land near Lincoln.
The agency says it’s an isolated parcel of state school trust land with no legal access, surrounded by private property.
A rancher who grazes cattle on the site asked about the possibility of buying the parcel, but balked after an appraiser put the price tag at $153,000.
Money from the sale would go into a special fund to be used to purchase state lands elsewhere.
The state, as with many federal agencies, is trying to consolidate its properties by selling off isolated parcels of land and buying other sites adjacent to public lands because it lowers management costs.