Montana
Buying Land in Fallon County, Montana
Fallon County, anchored by Baker in far southeastern Montana, has a genuinely deep oil and gas history -- natural gas was struck here in 1915, decades before the Bakken boom -- and today ranks among Montana's most active counties for production. Zoning, by contrast, is concentrated around the City of Baker rather than applied countywide.
A century of oil history, and one of Montana's most active counties today
Fallon County's relationship with oil and gas predates the Bakken shale play by nearly a century. Gas deposits were first identified near Baker around 1912, and the town's defining early event came in 1915, when a driller searching for water instead struck a pocket of natural gas -- the resulting well ignited and burned for years, becoming part of local lore. Baker's population has risen and fallen through multiple subsequent oil boom-bust cycles, including a peak in the 1960s-70s and another wave tied to the 2000s-2010s Bakken-era boom in the broader Williston Basin.
That history shows up in current data: county-wide records show 2,747 wells drilled from January 1986 through October 2025, with Fallon County ranking #4 among all Montana counties for oil-equivalent production in the most recent reported month as of that date -- an order of magnitude more drilling activity than many other eastern Montana counties. If you're buying land here with mineral interests attached, or evaluating surface-use impacts from active or historical wells, this is a county where that diligence is likely to matter in practice, not just in theory. Montana is a split-estate state, so confirm both surface and mineral ownership, and any existing leases, directly with the Fallon County Clerk & Recorder rather than assuming either.
Zoning: built around Baker, not the county at large
Fallon County's planning apparatus -- a Zoning Commission and Planning Board -- has, per county meeting records, spent much of its recent work on zoning regulations and fee structures specific to the City of Baker, under an interlocal planning agreement between the county and the city. The Town of Plevna, the county's other incorporated municipality, separately comes up for specific items like floodplain permits and conditional-use permit requests. This points to a planning function that is real and active, but concentrated on the county's two incorporated communities rather than applied as a uniform code across all unincorporated land.
For land outside Baker and Plevna, don't assume the absence of a robust county-wide zoning code means the absence of all land-use regulation -- Montana's statewide subdivision and sanitation review laws (see the state hub) still apply regardless of local zoning. But do confirm directly with the Fallon County Planning Department (reachable through the Clerk and Recorder's Office) what, if any, zoning district a specific rural parcel sits in, and what the county's Subdivision Regulations (effective 2022, covering the county, City of Baker, and Town of Plevna jointly) require for any proposed land division.
Who to Call Before Buying Land in Fallon County
Fallon County does not appear to have a separately staffed Planning Department phone line -- planning and zoning inquiries are directed to the Clerk and Recorder's Office. An assessor phone number surfaced in public search results ((406) 896-4000) but could not be independently confirmed as Fallon County's own office rather than a shared or regional Montana Department of Revenue line, so it is omitted here rather than risk publishing an incorrect number; verify current assessor contact information directly with the county.
Planning & Zoning
Fallon County Planning Department (via Clerk and Recorder's Office)
Confirming a rural parcel's zoning status (if any), the interlocal planning arrangement with the City of Baker, and floodplain or conditional-use permit questions.
Subdivision & Land Development
Fallon County, City of Baker, and Town of Plevna Subdivision Regulations
Land-division and certificate-of-survey questions under the jointly adopted county/city/town subdivision regulations (effective 2022).
Environmental Health
Fallon County Sanitation / Environmental Health
Septic and well permitting for county land.
Recorder / Clerk / Land Records
Fallon County Clerk & Recorder
Recorded deeds, mineral leases, easements, and plat history for a specific parcel; also the point of contact for planning inquiries.
GIS / Parcel Records
Montana State Library Cadastral Mapping Tool
Pulling a specific Fallon County parcel's boundaries, ownership, and assessment record; Fallon County does not appear to maintain its own standalone public GIS portal separate from the statewide cadastral system.
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Get local guidanceTopics Specific to Fallon County
Sources
- Fallon County — Fallon County, Montana Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Fallon County Planning Department — Fallon County, Montana Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Commission Minutes — Fallon County, Montana Government (accessed 2026-09)
- FALLON COUNTY, CITY OF BAKER AND TOWN OF PLEVNA Subdivision Regulations — Fallon County, Montana Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Sanitation/Environmental Health — Fallon County, Montana Government (accessed 2026-09)
- Baker | Montana History Portal — Montana History Portal (accessed 2026-09)
- Baker, Montana — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-09)
- Fallon County, MT Oil & Gas Activity — MineralAnswers.com (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09