Montana Stream Access Bill Tabled by Legislature. Damn.
By Tom Chandler on Apr 4, 2007 in News
From the very cool Ralph Maughan’s Wildlife News blog comes word about the Montana Stream Access bill, which was supposed to clarify the existing law and prevent landowners (a very few landowners) from illegally fencing anglers off streams.
Much like the proposals to regulate or eliminate elk shooting enclosures in Idaho, which had much public support, but were defeated anyway, efforts in Montana to secure the right to access the streams of the state, which belong to the people, has been killed in the Montana legislature.
Do I smell a wealthy landowner lobby? Anglers weren’t looking for an expansion of existing law, just enforcement of what’s already on the books.
And they didn’t get it. Expect a firestorm over this one.
Technorati Tags: montana, stream access
Richard | Apr 5, 2007 | Reply
Unfortunately, many of those landowners made their money outside of Montana and don’t value the economic impact of recreational fishing. Out of state landowners are the source of many water access controversies across the country. Here in Maine we have the “Great Ponds” law which prevents limiting access to bodies of water 10 acres of greater. This law has angered some out of state landowners who learn about the law only after they call the authorities to complain about folks walking across their land. The same law also applies to land along rivers. Thus far the Maine Alliance of Sportsmen and other sportsmen’s groups have been able to successfully lobby against changes to the law, but it may only be a matter of time before the Roxanne Quimby’s of the world get their way. Do a google search for Roxanne Quimby to see the kind of firestorms she has created over the last few years and you may think twice the next time you buy “organic” lip balm or honey.
Tom Chandler | Apr 5, 2007 | Reply
Yes, my relatives in Maine have been pretty clear about their love for “Roxanne” in the past few years.
Sully | Apr 5, 2007 | Reply
Montanans love to hate the new landed gentry as much as the next guy.
However, we didn’t really need obnoxious media moguls to define the most selfish, reactionary path for our term limit-bound legislature. We have ranchers.
A quarter century ago, Wayne Hadley, then the state’s fisheries biologist in Deerlodge, explained Montana politics thusly- “In Montana the Democrats are Republicans and the Republicans are fascists.”
Since then the state has taken a decided turn to the right.
Tom Chandler | Apr 5, 2007 | Reply
This is why Sully needs to write his own eyeonmontana.com blog when he’s no longer shackled to the government oar…