August 2007

In his recent guest opinion on the Carten Creek Road (Aug. 5, page A4), David Rowell missed the mark entirely. No individual, no matter how wealthy, should be allowed to place gates and locks on a public road. The Legislature tried to address this rapidly occurring practice by passing a law in 1999 that specifically stated that the county cannot close a county road or a public right of way leading to public lands without offering an alternative route. Unfortunately, many county commissioners revert their authority to a private landowner by allowing them to lock the public out on county roads and public rights of way. Many counties just don’t have the money or staff to handle all of these closures, especially when the individual has more money than the county.

In the case of the Carten Creek Road, the county commissioners, Judge Ray Dayton and Ted Mizner, and the Carten Creek Protective Association all deserve a big pat on the back and a thank you for their efforts in allowing the public to continue to use the road until the litigation is settled. This public road was very similar to our Highland Road near Butte, when the Council of Commissioners declared the road public. The wealthy individual who locked the gate behind his recent purchase stood to make a cool $2 million in profits if he succeeded in locking the public out.

All too often, the public, county and federal officials are swayed by the enormous amounts of money that these individuals have when they buy land in Montana, especially if their private pro-perty borders public lands and public waterways. Most of these super wealthy individuals are willing to challenge state laws just so they can claim all of our public properties for themselves.

In the 2005 Legislature, another law was passed which added language to the 1999 legislation that protected access to public waterways within the state. Yet we see illegal posting, illegal fencing and even electric wires to keep the public from accessing rivers and streams within county rights of way. What good are all of these laws when there isn’t enough funding for counties and federal agencies to combat this ever-growing problem?

This public land and water grabbing is so lucrative that now Cabela’s has jumped in and has more than 140,000 acres of prime Montana real estate up for sale. Most of these properties border public lands or public waterways and hunting and fishing are the big attractions. Cabela’s has made a great deal of money from sales to the average recreationist; now they are going to thank you with that good old corporate greed.

We’re going to need a lot more individuals like the Powell County Commissioners, Carten Creek Road Protective Association, and good judges to protect even a small fraction of our Montana heritage.

Tony Schoonen,

Board Member