The Crow Revenue Act requires a coordinated set of property transfers between the federal government, the Crow Tribe of Montana, the Joe and Barbara Hope Mineral Trust (the Hope Family Trust), Musselshell Resources LLC, and the existing lessee of a Bull Mountains lease. Within 60 days of enactment the bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to accept a lessee’s relinquishment of a specific Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease, complete a swap that conveys about 4,660 acres of Hope Family minerals to the Tribe and conveys federal Bull Mountains mineral interests to the Hope Family Trust, and swap identified surface tracts between Musselshell Resources LLC and the United States.
The statute makes the mineral interests conveyed to the Tribe eligible to be held in trust by the United States, exempts those mineral interests from State of Montana taxation, requires the parties to have a revenue‑sharing formula in place before the exchanges, and withdraws the identified tracts from public land and mining entry pending the transfers. For practitioners this creates a narrowly targeted, statutory land‑title reallocation with a tight implementation timeline, explicit tax immunity for the conveyed minerals, and potential administrative and jurisdictional questions about existing rights and future development.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill directs a single, 60‑day, statutory transaction that (1) accepts relinquishment of Bureau of Land Management Lease MTM–97988 if the lessee offers it; (2) conveys roughly 4,660 acres of Hope Family mineral interests to the Crow Tribe and allows the United States to hold those minerals in trust; and (3) swaps specified surface tracts between Musselshell Resources LLC and the United States. It conditions conveyances on ‘valid existing rights’ and requires a revenue‑sharing formula between the Tribe and the Hope Family Trust before transfer.
Who It Affects
Directly affected parties are the Crow Tribe of Montana, the Hope Family Trust (Joe and Barbara Hope Mineral Trust), Musselshell Resources LLC, the existing Bull Mountains lessee, the Department of the Interior/BLM (for implementation), and the State of Montana and local taxing jurisdictions (because of the tax exemption). Future mineral developers and holders of any existing rights on the listed tracts will also be implicated.
Why It Matters
The bill uses an explicit statute to reallocate specified mineral and surface rights rather than relying on ordinary administrative processes; it creates a quick, binding transfer mechanism and an explicit state tax exemption for tribal mineral interests — a combination that can materially change local revenue, jurisdictional authority, and how future resource development is regulated on those lands.
More articles like this one.
A weekly email with all the latest developments on this topic.
What This Bill Actually Does
The Act sets up a compact series of property trades and title changes aimed at putting certain mineral interests into federal trust for the Crow Tribe while reallocating other federal and private surface and mineral interests. It identifies the affected parcels by legal township/section descriptions and acreage, and it requires that the Secretary of the Interior carry out the exchanges in a single transaction within 60 days of enactment.
The bill explicitly authorizes the Secretary to accept the lessee’s relinquishment of the identified Bull Mountains lease "notwithstanding any other provision of law," which short‑circuits routine regulatory steps that otherwise govern lease relinquishment and exchange procedures.
Mechanically, the statute requires three linked moves: the Hope Family Trust conveys its mineral interests (the Hope Family Tracts) to the Tribe; if the Bull Mountains lessee offers to relinquish Lease MTM–97988 the Secretary accepts that relinquishment and conveys the United States’ mineral interests in the Bull Mountains Mineral Tracts to the Hope Family Trust; and, separately, Musselshell Resources LLC conveys specified surface interests to the United States while the Secretary conveys particular federal surface tracts to Musselshell Resources LLC. The Act conditions all conveyances on ‘‘valid existing rights’’ and requires the Tribe and the Hope Family Trust to have a revenue‑sharing formula in place before the exchanges proceed.The bill also provides two administrative and jurisdictional results: first, mineral interests conveyed to the Tribe at the Tribe’s request are to be held in trust by the United States and those tribal mineral interests are expressly exempt from State of Montana taxation (including political subdivisions); second, the listed tracts are withdrawn from public land entry, mining location and patent rights, and operation of mineral leasing/mineral materials/geothermal leasing laws pending the conveyances.
Finally, the statute confirms that receiving the mineral interests or other benefits under the Act does not reduce or negate any federal services or benefits to the Tribe or its members to which they are otherwise entitled.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The Secretary must complete the entire set of conveyances in a single transaction no later than 60 days after enactment.
The bill identifies roughly 4,660 acres of Hope Family mineral interests to be conveyed to the Crow Tribe and about 4,530 acres of Bull Mountains mineral tracts that the United States will convey to the Hope Family Trust upon lease relinquishment.
The statute requires the Secretary to accept the Bull Mountains lessee’s relinquishment of BLM Lease MTM–97988 "notwithstanding any other provision of law," effectively overriding ordinary administrative regulatory requirements for that relinquishment.
Mineral interests conveyed to the Tribe under the Act shall be held in trust at the Tribe’s request and are expressly not subject to state or local taxation.
Pending the exchanges, the listed tracts are withdrawn from public land entry, mining laws, and operation of mineral and geothermal leasing laws—restricting new claims or disposals while the swap is implemented.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
Defined parcels, parties, and terminology
Section 2 supplies the bill’s working definitions: it names the Bull Mountains Lease (MTM–97988), maps the Bull Mountains Mineral and Surface Tracts, lists the Hope Family Tracts and Trust, identifies Musselshell Resources LLC’s tracts, and defines the Secretary, State, Tribe, and Lessee. Practically, these definitions lock the transaction to the specifically described parcels and parties; any implementation dispute will begin by comparing BLM land records and the referenced maps dated March 19, 2025 and January 30, 2024 to the statutory descriptions.
Completion of mineral conveyances in one transaction
Subsection 3(a) is the operational core: it requires that, within 60 days of enactment and in a single transaction, (1) the Secretary accept the Bull Mountains lessee’s relinquishment if offered, (2) the Hope Family Trust convey its listed mineral interests to the Tribe, and (3) subject to valid existing rights and lease relinquishment, the United States convey the Bull Mountains mineral interests to the Hope Family Trust. The single‑transaction mandate tightens timing and sequencing: the exchanges are interdependent, so any delay or defect in one element can affect the entire swap.
Trust status, tax immunity, and revenue‑sharing precondition
Subsection 3(b) permits the Tribe to have the conveyed Hope Family minerals held in trust by the United States at the Tribe’s request, which brings the parcels under federal trust administration and tribal regulatory influence. Subsection 3(c) provides an explicit bar to State of Montana taxation of the minerals conveyed to the Tribe. Subsection 3(d) conditions the exchanges on the Tribe and the Hope Family Trust notifying the Secretary that they have agreed on a revenue‑sharing formula for any future development of the mineral interests the Hope Family Trust would receive—meaning the parties must have a prearranged allocation of future receipts before the statutory transfer occurs.
Interim withdrawal from public entry and mining laws
Section 3(e) withdraws the identified tracts from all forms of entry, appropriation and disposal under the public land laws; from mining location, entry and patent; and from operation of mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws, pending the conveyances. This creates a temporary legal freeze on new claims, leases, or disposals on the listed tracts while the statutory swap is implemented and can affect public access and third‑party activity during that interim period.
Surface‑rights swap to 'unlock' public access
Section 4 requires Musselshell Resources LLC to convey specified surface interests to the United States and requires the Secretary, subject to valid existing rights, to convey specified federal surface interests to Musselshell Resources LLC—also within 60 days and in a single transaction. The exchange is presented as a way to ‘‘unlock’’ public access, but it is effectively a title exchange altering which party holds surface control and which holds subsurface/mineral control on nearby parcels.
Federal benefits unaffected
Section 5 clarifies that amounts or benefits provided to the Tribe under the Act shall not reduce or deny any federal services, benefits, or programs the Tribe or its members are otherwise eligible for because of their tribal status. This is a protective clause intended to ensure the statutory transfers do not have adverse means‑tested or eligibility consequences for tribal members.
This bill is one of many.
Codify tracks hundreds of bills on Indigenous Affairs across all five countries.
Explore Indigenous Affairs in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Crow Tribe of Montana — Gains federally held mineral interests that can be placed in trust, strengthening tribal control over subsurface resources and future royalties or development revenues.
- Hope Family Trust (Joe and Barbara Hope Mineral Trust) — Receives the United States’ Bull Mountains mineral interests in exchange, giving it a consolidated mineral asset package potentially valuable for development or sale.
- Musselshell Resources LLC — Receives specified federal surface tracts in exchange for conveying its surface interests, which can improve its operational footprint and access to infrastructure.
- Federal government/BLM (implementation) — Lawsuit risk and protracted negotiations could be reduced because Congress prescribes the transfers and timeline rather than leaving settlement to extended administrative process.
- Future developers under agreed revenue‑sharing terms — The requirement that parties adopt a revenue‑sharing formula before transfer clarifies financial expectations for future mineral development, reducing one layer of uncertainty.
Who Bears the Cost
- State of Montana and local taxing jurisdictions — Lose the ability to tax the tribal mineral interests conveyed under the Act, which reduces local and state revenue streams tied to mineral production on those tracts.
- Bull Mountains lessee (current leaseholder) — Must relinquish Lease MTM–97988 if it offers to do so; accepting relinquishment ’notwithstanding any other law’ can force a faster termination of its lease rights and potential economic loss.
- Federal agencies (Interior/BLM) — Must execute the rapid, legally precise transfers and manage withdrawals and title updates within 60 days, imposing administrative and legal workload and potential litigation exposure if boundaries or rights are contested.
- Third‑party claimants and potential miners/developers — Face an interim freeze on claims while tracts are withdrawn and may encounter ambiguity about the survival of existing rights labeled as ‘valid existing rights,’ creating rights‑certainty costs.
- Local communities relying on mineral tax income — Will need to adjust budgets and service planning to account for lost taxable resource base if tribal trust status reduces traditional revenue streams.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is between a statutory, fast‑moving transfer that finalizes long‑standing title disputes and a need for careful administrative review and rights‑clearing: the bill solves ownership uncertainty and advances tribal control and revenue quickly, but it does so by compressing the procedural safeguards and leaving ambiguous how existing third‑party rights, map discrepancies, and fiscal impacts on state and local governments will be reconciled.
The Act resolves ownership through statutory conveyance rather than an administrative land exchange or negotiated settlement, which accelerates title changes but raises several implementation questions. The 60‑day single‑transaction deadline is administratively tight: the Secretary must both accept a relinquishment that the bill says may be accepted "notwithstanding any other provision of law" and complete multiple title transfers and withdrawals.
In practice that could force compressed surveying, title clearance, and coordination among private parties and the Department of the Interior, increasing the risk of clerical errors or disputes about map accuracy and parcel boundaries referenced by date.
The bill repeatedly conditions transfers on "valid existing rights," but it does not define that term beyond its common usage. That leaves open litigation risk over which preexisting rights survive the statutory swaps (for example, outstanding leases, easements, or federal rights of way).
The revenue‑sharing requirement creates a substantive economic precondition, but the statute does not set standards for what counts as an adequate formula or how the Secretary will verify or enforce it. Finally, the express state tax exemption for minerals conveyed to the Tribe protects tribal revenue but shifts the tax burden or service funding shortfall to state and local governments and may prompt legal or political challenges from those jurisdictions.
Try it yourself.
Ask a question in plain English, or pick a topic below. Results in seconds.