Bills introduced to protect access to public lands and waters

The Montana Wildlife Federation and the Public Land/Water Access Association say they are promoting two bills to address the growing problem of people blocking off large tracts of public land by gating public rights of way. The bills seek to improve public access to public lands by keeping public roads open.

Dave Chadwick, executive director of the Montana Wildlife Federation, said the bills have been carefully planned to ensure that they protect both public access to public land and wildlife and private property rights.

“Responsible hunters value private property rights as much as they value public access to wildlife,” Chadwick said. “Our goal is to elevate and protect both of these important Montana values. Our beef is not with landowners — it’s with people who unilaterally decide to close public roads. Law-abiding farmers, ranchers and other property owners should support these bills.”

House Bill 304, sponsored by Rep. Mitch Tropila, D-Great Falls, would increase the existing state penalty for gating a public road from $10 a day to $500.

“For people who hunt, fish, bike, hike, ski, wildlife watch and pursue all kinds of outdoor recreation on public land, access is key, and county roads are essential to reach our favorite destinations,” Tropila said. “This bill will clarify language in our state laws, raise the penalty for failing to remove an obstacle and ultimately solve disputes over access quickly and fairly for everyone involved.”

House Bill 286, sponsored by Rep. Tom Jacobson, D-Great Falls, would require that individuals wishing to close a public road first contact local officials and legally prove that the road should be closed. A disputed road would have to remain open until it’s proven to be a private road.

“Access is the most important issue to Montana sportsmen,” Jacobson said. “This bill keeps roads open during legal disputes. The burden of proof should not be on the public who have used these roads for decades.”

John Gibson, president of the Public Land/Water Access Association, said Montana hunters, anglers and recreationists have had to fight battles for years to get gated public roads reopened. These bills are meant to address the issue so the public can enjoy its public lands, waters and wildlife, he said.

 “After years of PLWA fighting these road closures, we decided it was time to do something proactive and settle this issue,” Gibson said. “In some cases these closures are done by outfitters who are privatizing not only the public land behind the gate, but also our cherished public wildlife, and that’s wrong.”

MWF and PLWA issued a joint report last year titled “Roadblocked and landlocked: How Montanans are being kept out of their public lands” which outlined instances of road closures around the state in recent years.