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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."
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has finalized a deal to purchase the Circle R River Ranch for a state Wildlife Management Area and State Park that would provide public access to more than 9,000 acres. Now FWP Region 5 staff has some infrastructure work to get done in order to open the gate to the public about Sept. 1st. The ranch and adjacent BLM land sit along nearly 5 miles of the north bank of the Yellowstone River, 30 miles east of Billings and 2 ˝ miles west of Pompeys Pillar National Monument. FWP purchased the ranch for $5,298,300, which is $267,000 less than its appraised value and nearly $1 million less than the $6.25 million listed price. The money came from a combination of sources, including FWP's Habitat Montana program and the Governor's Access Montana Initiative. ... (more) |
Current Public Land Issues
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political action PUBLIC LAND AND WATER ACCESS: POSITION ON STREAM ACCESS AT BRIDGES Since there now appears to be little chance the group including the Stock growers, Farm Bureau, T.U. and MWF is going to negotiate a reasonable solution to the bridge access problem, we, the Public Land and Water Access Inc. ... (more) |
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know your rightsRESEARCHING A PUBLIC ROAD( 12/16/2007 )
The Montana Wildlife Federation with which PLAAI is affiliated , is one of the lead organizations in the fight to maintain access to public land and water. Determining the status of an existing road( 12/16/2007 )
STEPS TO DETERMINE THE STATUS OF AN EXISTING ROAD 1) Determine the exact location, including the county, township and range, section and quarter-sections (NW1/4, SW1/4, etc.
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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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Summer is a special time here in Montana.
