Cabin site lease issue could head to court

HELENA — Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Monday blasted legislation that reshapes the way the state leases cabin sites, saying it is sending the state toward a certain lawsuit.

Schweitzer, who chairs the Montana Land Board, was reacting to a recent letter from the Montana University System indicating it may indeed launch a lawsuit over the issue.

The rate the state charges leaseholders of prized cabin sites has long been a political sticky wicket, and efforts by the Department of Natural Resources and the Land Board to raise the rates about 40 percent statewide met with stiff resistance from lea...