Increased development of former mining claims and other large remote land tracts are a concern for those in charge of key county services.
These types of properties are gaining in popularity, according to Jefferson County Planner LaDana Hintz.
A few old mining claims are currently being marketed on Realtor.com as possible housing sites, as well as larger tracts of residential property, both of which tend to be more remote than lots in planned developments.
“These are what people are coming in and buying right now,” said Hintz.
The larger tracts being sold are those that were created prior to the county’s subdivision regulations were enacted, and many of those are further subdivided through family transfers, which are allowed by the state, said Hintz.
The county’s subdivision regulations were initially formed in 1974 when state law required that they be adopted, said Hintz. The current version was adopted in 1996, but parts of it have been amended since then, she said.
Meanwhile, people see these properties online — the larger tracts and former mining claims — and think they’re cheap land, but not realizing there are no roads, no services, said Hintz.
The often remote location of these properties, or lack of access to services, can cause problems — compounded by the fact new home construction requires very little, to no oversight, by the county, as compared to those located in a planned subdivision, which goes through a set review process.
Many of these parcels are also outside existing fire districts, begging the question of who is responsible for providing those services, said Hintz.
“We have a lot of those out there,” said Hintz of remote, singular structures.
Real Estate Broker Bill Bahny has been selling old patented mining claims for years, including parcels in Jefferson County.
Mostly they are purchased by dedicated off-the-grid types or those who want to build a cabin for recreational purposes, he said. Recently, he’s seen interest from out-of-state folks who are looking to escape from the more COVID-19 intense areas.
They want to live off the grid, so to speak, but they don’t really know what that means, said Bahny referring to access, as well as services, such as fire suppression or emergency services.
From a fire service perspective, former mining claims, if developed, are going to be a big problem for everyone, said Bruce Suenram, president of Fire Logistics Inc. Suenram is currently working on Jefferson County’s fire assessment report, which is part of the county’s capital improvement plan.
The Montana City Volunteer Fire Department has struggled with rapid growth in its unincorporated corner of Jefferson County for years, with water and road access being top concerns.
The struggle has in the past centered on getting subdivision developers to put in access to water for fire suppression and fire apparatus, but in many cases, the fire department ends up maintaining the water tanks, said former Montana City VFD Chief Rick Abraham.
Jefferson County has begun to respond to this problem by ordering a fire needs assessment as part of its capital improvement plan, both of which are in the works. Subdivisions also go through a county review and adhere to set regulations, which provides another level of oversight, said Suenram.
Not so for these more remote properties, such as old mining claims, he said.
As there are many of these types of parcels in certain pockets of the county, such as Wickes, High Ore and Elkhorn, as well as Montana City, someone could potentially buy several parcels and develop a whole community with no services, said Suenram.
Because there are some mining claims now being developed in the High Ore area around the Bull Mountain Volunteer Fire Department, there were recommendations for adding a water source there as part of the fire assessment report, but generally these properties are not considered because they are located outside any existing fire district, said Suenram.
Basin Volunteer Fire Department Chief Brian Gasch said that in the event of a fire outside a district, the county dispatch center will send the closest department, as well as federal and state resources, such as the U.S. Forest Service, although that is primarily for wildland protection.
Gasch said there have been independent fire “companies” that charge residents for the service in remote areas, but the established departments do not work with them.
Efforts to reach Ed Betka, who is listed online as chief of the Cataract Fire Company in Basin, were unsuccessful.
Cory Kirsch is the chief of the Bull Mountain Volunteer Fire Department and a Jefferson County Commissioner.
Kirsch said that when a call comes in for one of these remote properties, the department then has to determine if it can respond or not — and sometimes it cannot do so without damaging its equipment, or worse.
People need to know when they’re buying these properties what the risks are, and that a fire department may not be able to respond. The subdivision process takes on these concerns, but there is no regulatory mechanism — other than the individual buyer being aware of the issues — for these types of properties in terms of services, said Kirsch.
Even family transfers — another popular property option — has the same problem.
“Family transfers throw us under the bus all the time,” said Kirsch, adding that they also often lack services, such as road plowing.
Kirsch said that at the county level, there isn’t much that can be done other than add more zoning, and no one likes that option. Currently, the Jefferson County Commissioners are working on its subdivision regulations and that is a standing struggle between the fire departments and developers.
When it comes to regulating the random properties, be it former mining claims or large tracts subdivided through the family transfer process, “It’s a project for another decade,” he said.
Suenram thinks there needs to be some legislation at the state level that would add a review process for these properties, and Kirsch agrees.
There is another risk too, said Suenram.
A structure fire on a remote property could spread into the wildlands. Also a wildland fire could threaten and/or destroy homes built on the mining claims. With no access requirements, the owners may not be able to get out and the fire department may not be able to get into them, said Suenram.
Another issue with an old mining claim used for a residence is that it’s hard to say what type of mining occurred there, especially in the late 1800s or early 1900s, said Hintz.
“A purchaser could be stuck cleaning up hazardous materials that they did not cause or they could have trouble reselling the property. Most people wouldn’t even think to run a soil test to check for hazardous materials before they purchase a property,” said Hintz.
Bahny said buyers need to be careful when buying an old claim in terms of legal access and other services.
“You’re on your own,” he said.
Mining claims are either patented or active, with the former privately owned and the latter on federal land. Both can be bought and sold, but only patented mining claims can be used for building permanent, non-mining related structures, said Bureau of Land Management Geologist Joan Gabelman.
However, there has been a federal moratorium on patented mining claims for more than 20 years and they will likely never be allowed again, said Gabelman.
