Fees on bottled water, hunting licenses, and tourists are just a few ideas to raise money for conservation districts, which are local governments across the state charged with protecting soil and water resources.

Members of the Environmental Quality Council will discuss these proposals and others at a meeting March 22-23 in Helena.

The decline of coal production in Montana affects a wide range of programs that rely on the coal severance tax, including conservation districts. Conservation districts receive 3.71% of the revenue but the total is forecasted to continue declining State and district officials say if the coal severance tax continues to fund conservation districts, about $3 million in extra revenue is needed annually. If the coal tax is removed from the mix, that increases to about $6 million a year.

The Revenue Interim Committee also is tackling the decline of coal tax revenue in a separate study.