Mont. Code § 77-2-325
Except for the sale of a cabin or home site, if any state land is sold on which there are improvements belonging to a lessee and some person other than the lessee is the purchaser, that person shall settle with the lessee for all improvements on the land belonging to the lessee before the issuance of the certificate of purchase. The provisions of 77-6-301 through 77-6-303 and 77-6-306 relating to the payment and settlement for improvements on state lands between a former lessee and a new lessee apply to the settlement between a lessee and the purchaser. If settlement is not reached within 6 months of the date of sale, all improvements become the property of the state unless the department for good cause shown grants both parties additional time in which to exhaust arbitration.
§ 77-2-325, MCA