Recreational Use of State Public Lands
RECREATING ON YOUR STATE LANDS
As part of the original statehood action 5.2 million acres were deeded to the State of Montana to be used for school funding. These lands are leased for farming, ranching, and logging. Prior to 1988, a citizen who wanted to recreate on school trust lands had to get permission from the lessee. This was often difficult because many lessees had contracted with outfitters or restricted access to friends or relatives. In 1988, two members of Public Land/Water Access Association, Tony Schoonen and Jack Atcheson Sr., filed a lawsuit against the State Public Land Department to open these public lands to the public. They continued on this path and won every motion to dismiss the suit filed by the Stockgrowers and other parties. It appeared that they were on the right track and the issue was picked up by Rep. Dave Brown. who introduced the State Trust Lands legislation that became law. This statute opened up about five million acres of School Trust Lands for recreationists use as well as millions of adjoining acres of BLM and Forest Service land.
In general, these lands are open for recreational access subject to the rules established by the managing agency, the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC). Legally accessible state land is state land that can be accessed by dedicated public roads (roads usable by the public under state or federal law, or which are under the jurisdiction of the State Department of Transportation, or a county or municipal government); public rights-of-way or easements; by public waters such as rivers and streams that are recreationally navigable under section 23-2-302, MCA; by adjacent federal, state, county or municipal land if the land is open for public use, or by adjacent private land if permission to cross the private land is secured from the land owner. Entry from state land onto private land, regardless of the absence of fencing or proper notice by the landowner, without permission from the landowner, is trespassing!
Hunters and anglers have a permit to use these lands for recreational use by virtue of purchasing a conservation license. Others must buy a permit from the DNRC.
Read more about issues affecting state public lands recreation at Montana’s State Government site:
Dig In to Some State Land Access History
Want to go deeper into the history of state land access in Montana? Read this in depth article with information compiled by Kathryn QannaYahu with interviews from giants of public access and an incredible amount of historical document review.
State Land Access History: In a Decades’ Old Battle, Raising the Standard Back Up