Board of Directors
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MISSION STATEMENT
"The mission of PLWA is to maintain, restore, and perpetuate public access to the boundaries of all Montana public land and waters."
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The article below from the Choteau Acantha newspaper describes in part what is going on with several roads leading to the Rocky Mountain Front in Teton county. PLWA, although not cited in the article, has been very involved with this . John Gibson and folks from the Russell Country Sportsmen, have made several trips to the location. It is a very complicated situation in that there are several roads involved – all with somewhat different status. The attorney from Seattle mentioned is Tim Callahan, a former local from the area. He has been a great resource and owe him much for his dedicated professional efforts. Without him, this situation would have likely just been passed over by the county commissioners, and the Goldman Sachs money allowed to prevail. ... (more) |
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take action Sportsmen - Remember the Sordid SixThink about the last legislative session and the onslaught of bills attacking the interests of resident hunters and anglers. Fortunately, resident sportsmen were successful in killing most of these really bad bills and the Governor vetoed others. Outdoor people from all over the state established a strong communication network that followed the legislature and legislators’ voting records very closely. ... (more) What is the Land and Water Conservation Fund and why is it important to you?The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is the primary source of funding available to the Federal land management agencies to preserve, develop and assure access to outdoor recreational resources. This includes the purchase of in-holdings within existing Federal lands, the purchase of large private holdings that may be threatened by development pressures, as well as the purchase of easements and corridors which provide improved public access to existing federal lands. ... (more) February 15, 2011 AN OPEN LETTER TO MONTANA SPORTSMEN REGARDING LIMITED ARCHERY ELK PERMITS A serious effort is underway in the current Legislature to reverse recent FWP Commission decisions limiting archery elk permits in Hunting Districts where rifle permits also are limited. {See HB 285 sponsored by Rep. Bill Harris. ... (more) The Average Guy wins!Conservation message Dec 2010How could Initiative 161 have passed with such a large margin of votes when it was not openly endorsed by a single candidate from either party or any major newspaper in the state, and opposed by most statewide and national organizations claiming to represent sportsmen? Can you say disconnect? ... (more) |
public land newsPLWA FILES LAWSUIT OVER BRIDGE DESTRUCTION( 12/07/2011 )
The following is a press release issued by PLWA on Monday Dec 5th. As you will note the action includes a claim for damages -in this case punitive damages. Boadle Road closure prompts contempt complaint ( 11/11/2011 )
Boadle Road closure near Choteau prompts contempt of court complaintCourtesy of Great Falls Tribune and Micheal BabcockPublic Lands and Water Access Inc. officials say they will petition the state District Court to hold a Teton County landowner in contempt of court for closing Boadle Road southwest of Choteau. Rocky Mountain Front Road Closures( 09/09/2011 )
From The Great Falls Tribune - 9-8-2011Written byMICHAEL BABCOCK CHOTEAU — A "private road no trespassing" sign on Road No. 380, also known as the Salmond Ranch Road, on the Rocky Mountain Front west of Choteau, surprised former Montanan Tim Callahan. MONTANA OUTFITTER HAS LICENSE SUSPENDED( 10/13/2011 ) Contact: Investigator: Lennie Buhmann, Montana FWP (406) 853-0706 A three yearlong investigation and prosecution that led to the conviction of a licensed Montana outfitter has now led to the Montana Board of Outfitters suspending the outfitters license for two years and an administrative fine of $2,500.00. know your rightsCaveat and Disclaimer( 11/28/2008 )
Information on this site is provided as a matter of information and education only. It is not intended to provide legal advice or counsel . LAWS RELATING TO CLOSING OF MONTANA COUNTY ROADS ( 05/20/2010 )
LAWS RELATING TO CLOSING OF MONTANA COUNTY ROADS Private parties frequently illegally close public roads and backroads leading to public land. Action to open them can require legal action involving esoteric and arcane case law such as public prescriptive easements, or the old RS2477 federal statute. |
public land issues| Bullwhacker Road (2011) | 
(Blaine County 2011) In 2007 he Bullwhacker Road southeast of Havre was opened after several years of closure and controversy.
| | Mabee Road | 
Lock on Mabee Road in Fergus County Blocks Huge Public Land AreaDevelopments on Mabee Road CaseThe Fergus County Commissioners are still refusing to acknowledge that the Maybee road is a public road!
| | Cherry Creek Road - Sweetgrass Cty | 
Cherry Creek Road The Cherry Creek Road nine miles south of Big Timber, east off of Highway 298, crosses about a quarter-mile of Lee Smoot's property and then three-quarters of a mile of George Matelich and Michael Goldberg's ranch before reaching the Gallatin National Forest boundary – and 16,000 acres of public land.
| | Yellowstone River Islands & Access Roads | 
There are numerous islands on the Yellowstone River for which ownership is not clear.
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8 more public land issues |
Public Access Objectives
- Educating and informing the public on their ownership and access rights.
- Monitoring public access routes and identifying access problems.
- Initiating legal action when access has been illegally blocked.
- Monitoring public land sales exchanges, and purchases to insure that no transfers are made without full consideration of conservation and recreational values.
- Initiating programs and policies to expand public land and water access.
- Pursuing every legal and ethical avenue to protect and maintain your access to public lands and waters.
What can PLWA Do For You?
Primarily we help hunters, anglers, and other recreationists fight back against the tide of privatization of public land and waters. Montana is changing and part of this change comes from outside interests who think they can grab “ownership” of a river or public land with "No Trespassing" signs, orange paint, barb wire, chains, lawsuits, legislation and other tactics. It takes an organization with “pit bull” mentality like PLWA to deal with these situations. In many cases we are the ones who initiate appropriate legal action and are on the firing line.
PLWA is an all volunteer organization with little overhead. Your donations are almost totally used to press the issue of maintaining access. Member contributions are our only source of income. Usually the deep pockets are on the other side.
We hope you'll take a moment today to join us in our mission to retain the traditional value of access to the public landscapes which make Montana such a special place.
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