Blackfoot River Summary

Over the 2023 summer months, an angler questioned FWP about accessing the Blackfoot River using the public road right-of-way (ROW) where it intersects with the high-water mark near Lincoln, MT. At this location, the Department of Transportation has installed an elk fence, which the landowner has painted orange, indicating private property. The landowner is now requesting permissive access only.

When FWP was contacted regarding the legality of this access point, they responded they would not give the angler an answer on whether there was legal public access or not. FWP then went on to state that if a warden was called out to the situation by the landowner, the angler would be ticketed, and the issue could then be decided in court. The Warden for the area said the lawsuit regarding stream access applies to bridges only and that FWP had been instructed to treat issues like this as ‘corner crossing’.

This situation could represent a great potential cost to the angler with little or no financial liability to the landowner, who would, by default, be represented by the government. PLWA has concerns about the inequity created by FWP’s response.

UPDATE: November 2023

FWP headquarters in Helena was questioned about the issue. The Operations Captain contradicted the initial comments made by local authorities. Given the situation (a clearly defined ROW, fence placing, the high-water mark, and standing water in the ROW) he implied a ticket should not be written. However the fence is allowed to be painted.