US Land Life

Montana

Buying Land in Treasure County, Montana

Montana's second-least populous county (762 residents at the 2020 census) runs along the Yellowstone River between Billings and Miles City, with a farm-and-ranch economy and a county government sized for a very small tax base. No public record checked for this page confirms whether Treasure County has adopted zoning -- that status needs a direct call to the county, not an assumption either way.

Zoning Status

Could not confirm

No zoning ordinance for Treasure County turned up in any public record checked for this page. The county does have a Planning Board that administers subdivision review and presumably a growth policy, but that is not the same thing as confirming zoning is or isn't in place. Call the Planning Board directly (currently reachable by email at planning@treasurecountymt.com) before assuming either freedom from zoning or the presence of it.

County Government Scale

Case-by-case / verify locally

This is a genuinely small county government: several offices are combined (the Treasurer's office also serves as County Superintendent of Schools), and the Montana Department of Revenue's local field presence at the Ryegate courthouse runs only one day a month. Expect slower turnaround on records requests and permit questions than in a larger county, and plan calls accordingly.

Yellowstone River Agriculture

Generally favorable

The Yellowstone River runs through and effectively divides Treasure County into a north and south half, and agriculture -- irrigated hay, row crops, and cattle -- is the county's primary economic driver. Treasure County shares its Montana State University Extension office with neighboring Rosebud County rather than staffing its own, which is worth knowing if you're looking for local agronomy or 4-H/noxious-weed support.

Regional Flood Map Update in Progress

Could not confirm

Treasure County is one of four counties (with Big Horn, Yellowstone, and Rosebud) in a joint DNRC/FEMA flood-map remapping project covering the Yellowstone, Bighorn, and Tongue Rivers and several tributaries, underway since kickoff meetings in September 2021. Most existing FEMA maps in the project area predate this effort by decades. If a parcel is anywhere near the river or a drainage, ask the county's floodplain administrator whether it falls under the current effective map or new data from this update.

A county sized for 762 people, not a development pipeline

Treasure County's 2020 census population of 762 makes it the second-least populous county in Montana, ahead of only Petroleum County. That scale shows up directly in how the county is run: the Treasurer's office doubles as the office of County Superintendent of Schools, the Clerk and Recorder handles elections as well as deed and survey recording, and the Montana Department of Revenue -- which handles property valuation statewide rather than leaving it to a county assessor -- sends staff to the Ryegate courthouse only on the first Monday of each month rather than maintaining a full-time local office. None of this means services don't exist; it means a buyer should expect a smaller staff wearing more hats and plan for a slower back-and-forth than in a larger county.

The county's Planning Board is the office most relevant to a land buyer, and it's the one this page can say the least about with confidence. Public sources identify a Planning Board reachable through a shared county email address, but no subdivision regulations, growth policy document, or zoning ordinance for Treasure County turned up in the research for this page. That absence of evidence is not evidence of absence -- it may simply mean the documents aren't posted online -- so treat Treasure County's zoning and subdivision-review status as an open question to resolve with a phone call, not as either a green light or a red flag.

Yellowstone River agriculture and a shared Extension office

The Yellowstone River runs through Treasure County and effectively splits it into a north and south half, and the local economy is built on the irrigated hay, row-crop, and cattle operations that river corridor supports, alongside energy development and the county's rail history. If you're evaluating a parcel's irrigation status, the practical starting point is still the water right itself (see the state hub on DNRC's prior-appropriation system) -- proximity to the Yellowstone doesn't establish a right to use its water.

One detail worth knowing before you go looking for local agricultural support: Treasure County does not staff its own Montana State University Extension office. Instead, it shares a Rosebud-Treasure Counties Extension office, funded jointly by the two counties' taxpayers. That's a normal arrangement for small, adjacent Montana counties, but it means Extension programming, 4-H, and agronomy contacts may route you toward Forsyth (the Rosebud County seat) rather than Hysham.

A flood-map update years in the making

Treasure County is part of a joint Big Horn-Yellowstone-Treasure-Rosebud flood-map update, run by DNRC in partnership with FEMA and the affected counties, cities, and towns. The project is studying and updating floodplain data along the Bighorn, Yellowstone, and Tongue Rivers, Sarpy and Tullock Creeks, and a number of tributaries -- more than 3,000 miles of waterway in total -- because most of the existing FEMA floodplain maps in the area are based on data from the 1970s and 1980s. DNRC held project kickoff meetings with the four counties in September 2021, and survey work (including bathymetric and hydraulic-structure surveys, sometimes requiring landowner access) has been part of the process since.

If you're looking at a parcel anywhere near the Yellowstone River or a mapped tributary in Treasure County, this project is worth a direct question to the county's floodplain administrator: is the parcel's current flood-zone designation based on decades-old data, and is there a more recent preliminary map already in circulation that could change that designation (and any related insurance requirement) once finalized?

Who to Call Before Buying Land in Treasure County

This page could not confirm a dedicated Treasure County GIS office (parcel-level GIS runs through the statewide Montana Cadastral system) or a county building-permit process of any kind -- ask the Planning Board directly rather than assuming a permit process exists or doesn't. Property assessment in Montana is a state Department of Revenue function performed via local field offices, not a county assessor; the Clerk and Recorder is a separate, county-run office for deed and survey records. The Treasurer's office also serves as County Superintendent of Schools, a combined role reflecting the county's small size.

Planning & Zoning

Treasure County Planning Board

Subdivision review and confirming current zoning status -- no zoning ordinance was confirmed in public records for this page, so ask directly rather than assuming either an unzoned or zoned county.

Phone: (406) 342-5547 (county courthouse main line; no separate phone extension for the Planning Board was found in public records)Email: planning@treasurecountymt.comOfficial website →

Floodplain / Stormwater

Treasure County Floodplain Administrator

Whether a specific parcel falls under the current effective FEMA flood map or newer data from the ongoing Big Horn-Yellowstone-Treasure-Rosebud flood-map update, and floodplain permit requirements.

Phone: (406) 342-5547Email: lkimball@treasurecountymt.comOfficial website →

Environmental Health

Treasure County Public Health

General public and environmental health contact for the county. This page could not independently confirm whether septic permitting runs through this office or is otherwise delegated -- confirm directly, and fall back to Montana DEQ if the county cannot answer.

Phone: (406) 342-5886Official website →

Assessor / Property Tax

Montana Department of Revenue -- Ryegate Field Office (serves Treasure County)

Property appraisal, classification, and assessed-value questions (Montana property valuation is a state Department of Revenue function, not a locally elected assessor). The Ryegate courthouse field presence is staffed only the first Monday of each month.

Phone: (406) 444-6900Official website →

Recorder / Clerk / Land Records

Treasure County Clerk and Recorder

Recorded deeds, mortgages, certificates of survey, and plat history for a specific parcel.

Phone: (406) 342-5547Email: msears@treasurecountymt.comOfficial website →

Agricultural Extension

Rosebud-Treasure Counties MSU Extension

Agronomy, noxious weed, and 4-H support -- Treasure County shares this office jointly with Rosebud County rather than staffing its own.

Phone: Not independently confirmed -- contact via websiteOfficial website →

Want to know if this specific parcel actually works?

Tell us what you're looking at and we'll connect you with a local land specialist who can help you sanity-check it before you go further.

Get local guidance

Sources

  1. Treasure County Planning — Treasure County, Montana Government (accessed 2026-09)
  2. Clerk & Recorder / Elections Office — Treasure County, Montana Government (accessed 2026-09)
  3. Treasurer — Treasure County, Montana Government (accessed 2026-09)
  4. Local Floodplain Administrators contact list — Montana DNRC (accessed 2026-09)
  5. Big Horn Yellowstone Treasure Rosebud County Flood Maps Update — Montana DNRC (accessed 2026-09)
  6. Treasure County flood-map project kickoff materials — Montana DNRC (accessed 2026-09)
  7. Rosebud-Treasure County — Montana State University Extension (accessed 2026-09)
  8. A Long-Range Plan for Conservation Delivery in Treasure County, MT — USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (accessed 2026-09)
  9. Field Office Locations — Montana Department of Revenue (accessed 2026-09)
  10. Healthy Treasures Newsletter (Treasure County Public Health) — Treasure County Public Health (accessed 2026-09)
  11. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Treasure County, Montana — U.S. Census Bureau (accessed 2026-09)

Last reviewed 2026-09