It’s not every day when private, county, state and federal folks come together to open up thousands of acres of public access for hikers, bikers and horseback riders. On Sunday, many of those folks that worked to find common ground will meet at the brand new C. Ben White Trailhead in the West Fork of the Bitterroot to celebrate that accomplishment. It took more than a decade to figure it out and then more partnerships than most people can remember, but a new 1.5-mile trail that begins ...

News for Immediate ReleaseJune 1, 2022Contact: Katie McKalip, BHA, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org                       Sonya Smith, MWF, 406-417-9909, sonya@mtwf.org   The coalition of state-based groups decries suit by property owners’ association as attempt to upend Montana’s game management, reduce public hunting opportunity HELENA, Mont. – A coalition of Montana hunting and conservation groups has taken formal action to oppose the lawsuit filed in April by the United ...

“Vanishing Trails” is a series of articles about prescriptive easements and public access in Montana. On October 21, 2021, during a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing, New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich brought the microphone to his mouth, flipped his pencil around in his fingers, and accused U.S. Forest Service Deputy Chief Christopher French of yanking his chain. “Mr. French, just the other day I raised the issue of the prescriptive public easements in the Crazy ...

The attached letter authored by Colorado Chapter Leader Craig Grother and Policy and Government Relations Director John Gale was sent to the Telluride Mountain Club regarding mountain biking trail development proposals we've been monitoring and remain concerned about. The Hidden Lake trail referenced in the letter had some momentum, but we have been able to curtail this. It is important that we keep a close eye on trails proposals, especially when they are in close proximity to wildlife ...

Most of us have been following the case: four hunters from Missouri who used a homemade ladder to cross from one section of public land to the next without setting foot on private land…and the hard-fought court cases that ensued in Carbon County, Wyoming. It’s a case that may define public access to public lands for decades to come. Yet it is more than that. It’s about the resurgence of privatization of public assets in America, a harsh echo from the Gilded Age. It’s a reminder that ...