Bullwhacker Road Summary

A Public Access Loss on Bullwhacker Road

In 2007 the Bullwhacker Road, southeast of Havre, was opened after several years of closure and controversy. The road serves as the only reasonable access to over 50,000 acres of BLM and state land – much of it in the Missouri River Breaks. The Bullwhacker had been closed, or open only by landowner permission, for several years. Prior to that it had been used by land managers, ranchers, and recreationists for half a century. Thousands of dollars of public money had been spent on maintenance. PLWA’s (formerly “PLAAI”) expert volunteers researched road history and developed voluminous documentation proving it to be a “public highway”. This was presented to the Blaine County Attorney who agreed and issued an opinion to that effect which opened the road.

However, in 2009, the owners filed suit in the 17th Judicial District court (Malta, MT) to overturn the ruling. On 3-25-2011 Judge John C. McKeon found the evidence necessary to establish a public prescriptive easement “inconclusive” and ruled that the road was a private road. PLWA believed the decision was incorrect, but did not have the funds to appeal.

In 2012, the Wilks Brothers, from Texas, were buying land in Montana. They wanted to buy the Durfee Hills, in Fergus County, from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). BLM explained to the Wilks that they could not purchase it, but could possibly trade for it. According to the Wilks Brothers, the Lewistown BLM Field office suggested the Wilks buy the Anchor Ranch, an inholding in the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument, so the BLM could consolidate some land there. The Wilks then purchased the Anchor Ranch. When word got out about a possible land exchange of the Durfee Hills in 2014, petitions were created, opposing an exchange of the Durfees. The petitions were delivered to BLM State Director Jamie Connell on April 16, 2014 by the Central Montana Outdoors sportsmens organization.

Sept. 26, 2014, BLM published a press release concerning the BLM starting the process to restore access to the Bullwhacker, with contact information, purpose and 3 scoping meetings at the beginning of Dec. It also stated, “A proposed land exchange to restore access was considered, but was determined to be not in the best interest of the American people who have entrusted the BLM to manage their public lands for them.”

The Lewistown BLM office continued to advocate a possible Wilks Brothers land exchange involving the Bullwhacker Road. By the end of May 2015 the proposal deadline came and went with no formal land exchange proposal being delivered to BLM from the Wilks.

Concerning the restoration of public access at the Bullwhacker, the BLM’s stated, “The 60-day scoping period will begin with public scoping meetings tentatively scheduled for Great Falls Dec. 2, Chinook Dec. 3, and Lewistown Dec. 4. An environmental assessment is expected to be available by May. The goal is to complete the decision process in summer 2015.” Yet, the Lewistown BLM abandoned the public scoping process for the Bullwhacker Road restoration, dismissing the majority of public comments supporting an east side road being improved, instead of a Wilks Brothers land exchange.

In July 2015, the Wilks produced a draft land exchange proposal, stating they would open the Bullwhacker Road to public access during the process.

On January 26, 2016, BLM’s Shane Hershman, Central Montana’s Field Manager, confirmed through Jonathan Moor, BLM’s Central Montana District Public Affairs Specialist, that District Manager Mark Albers announced, at the Resource Advisory Committee meeting, that there will be no BLM Wilks Brothers Durfee Hills Land Exchange. Also, there will be no road built to restore lost public access at Bullwhacker, in the Missouri Breaks National Monument.

At this time, the BLM has not revisited the public process of restoring the Bullwhacker Road public access.

GUEST UPDATE: March 2014

Reprinted with permission from the Lewistown News-Argus March 15, 2014

This Land Is Our Land

by Charlie Denison

Central Montana Sportsmen petition to kibosh land exchange - enough is enough.

That is how many Central Montana sportsmen feel about a pair of land exchanges in Central Montana.

Texas billionaire David Killam’s proposed land exchange with the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation that surfaced last month may have been withdrawn, but another land exchange possibility looms that has some hunting enthusiasts concerned.

A group of sportsmen called the Central Montana Hunters for Public Access have come out of the woodwork to try and prevent another land swap.

Central Montana Resource Advisory Council member Jason Birdwell along with Fish, Wildlife and Parks Citizens Advisory Council member Doug Krings and former Fish, Mark Schwomeyer and Wildlife Commissioner Ron Moody are four of the founding members of the group. Together, they have created a petition that asks the Montana office of the Bureau of Land Management to cease any effort or involvement in any land exchange proposal that would result in the loss of public ownership and management control of what is known as the Durfee Hills BLM Land Parcels located in southern Fergus County.

The Durfee Hills is a 3,000 acre in holding of BLM land in the Little Snowies that is completely surrounded by property owned by the Texas billionaire brothers Dan and Farris Wilks. The brothers are in talks with the BLM to exchange parcels of land in Blaine County and Fergus County so they will have complete ownership of the Durfee Hills area. An effort to reach the Wilks brothers to comment on this issue was unsuccessful.

According to Birdwell, Durfee Hills and the surrounding area, hosts the second-largest elk herd in the state.

“The Durfee Hills has the best public land elk hunting I’ve seen”, Birdwell said, “It’s a spectacular place.”

Although the only way to get to the property is to fly there, recreational use of the area is increasing, as sportsmen are making their way there either by flying themselves or by hiring a commercial operator.

“This is becoming a premier hunting spot,”, Birdwell said. “There are people from all over who hunt at Durfee Hills.”

Birdwell, who owns a plane, says that getting to hunting land by using a plane is not uncommon and ultimately not as expensive as people think. “Using aviation to access hunting grounds isn’t just for rich people”, Birdwell said. “In Alaska, for example, it’s commonplace. In order to access the backcountry, you have to use a plane.”

Creating a stir

Originally the petition started with a clipboard and handwritten signatures. Krings passed it around and quickly got more than 80 signatures. But once the petition was set up online, signatures started pouring in.

“There are people from all corners of the state signing the petition”, Krings said. “The word has spread fast. There are all kinds of people wanting to get their hands on this.”

As of Friday morning, 643 people had signed the petition.

“Signatures are from non-residents and residents alike”, Birdwell said. “People know how valuable this land is: They care about it.”

Moody said the petition has already exceeded expectations, and there is still time for signatures before Monday’s deadline. -“The petition is still growing”, Moody said. “We believe there is a chance we will break 1,000 signatures.”

No comparison?

In order for a land exchange to be successful, both parties must agree that the land being exchanged is of equal or greater value. In this case, Birdwell said the land the Wilks brothers want to exchange for the Durfee Hills area does not compare.

“The land in Blaine County that the Wilks brothers are proposing to trade isn’t anywhere near the quality of land and quality of elk hunting that the Durfee provides”, Birdwell said.

The earlier withdrawn DNRC land proposal ran into a similar hurdle. The Dana Ranch in the Devil’s Kitchen area of Cascade County was said to be a much greater elk hunting area than the X Hanging Diamond ranch area outside of Winifred.

From a hunting perspective, exchanging Durfee Hills for the Blaine County land would be a mistake, Krings said. “I am not opposed to land trades when they truly benefit the public, but I do not see the Wilks’ ever coming up with an available parcel that is as valuable as Durfee Hills,” Krings said.

BLM Central Montana District Manager Stan Benes, however, said the exchange is fair, and the public would benefit from having access to the land in Blaine County.

Benes said this is particularly the case for the parcel of land containing Bullwhacker Road.

Formerly known as part of the Anchor Ranch, the Bull Whacker Road parcel is 2,243 acres of private land north of the Missouri River, surrounded by the Missouri Breaks National Monument.

“The Bullwhacker Road parcel has some of the best sheep hunting and there is quite often an elk herd in that area, too,” Benes said. The exchange would also open up land to the public that is available by foot or by car, and it has reportedly garnered support from some members of the Friends of the Missouri Break National Monument.

Benes said BLM would like to get back this historic access and provide more easily accessible land to the public.

“Our priority as the BLM is to improve or increase public access to public land”, Benes said. “This land exchange would get access back to land that used to be public and it would also allow new access to some places that have never been available to the public before.”

The land exchange would also provide the public with more access from Red Hill Road, Benes said, which runs from Lavina to Lewistown and connects to the Big Snowy mountains.

A difference in opinions

The petition is not just about keeping the Durfee Hills parcel of BLM land available to those wanting to fly out to the area.

In addition, the petition requests that BLM move forward with the opening of an alternative road access to the Bullwhacker area of the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument with appropriate speed to re-establish public road access as soon as possible.

According to BLM Chief of Communications Melody Lloyd, however, this process is already in the works. “We are already reviewing several alternatives”, Lloyd said.

More information on these alternatives will be made available to the public in the near future, Lloyd said, and no decisions will be made without consulting with the public. “ The information that will help BLM land managers will be gathered and developed in an open and transparent public process”, Lloyd said.

Moody believes communication with the public could already be more transparent.

On Tuesday, conservation groups reportedly met in Bozeman to further discuss this proposed land exchange. The meeting, which was led by Public Land/Public Wildlife Council Chair Joe Perry, invited representatives from the BLM and FWP, but there were no representatives for the Central Montana Hunters for Public Access.

Moody said he refused to go to the meeting, as it should have been held in Lewistown. “ The Lewistown community is most directly affected by both sides of this land swap”, Moody said.

“I will not travel to Bozeman to conduct Lewistown public business. Interested parties should come here so Lewistown people can participate.” Moody added that he is tired of people talking about this issue “behind the public’s back”.

The principle of it

The Wilks brothers reportedly own 276,000 acres in seven Montana counties. Representatives of the Central Montana Hunters for Public Access are concerned about them essentially controlling the entire elk herd in the Little Snowies.

Even people such as Krings - who has not hunted in Durfee Hills - is worried about the exchange creating an elk monopoly.

“Not allowing this exchange could set a precedent”, Krings said, “even more than the withdrawal of the DNRC land exchange.”

According to Moody, current state law says “a private landowner with a very large consolidated property can be effectively beyond the reach of the law when it comes to enforcement of state game laws.”

This is not, Moody believes, the direction Montana should be heading. “We don’t want Montana to become North Texas”, Moody said.

GUEST UPDATE: September 2014

BLM Press Release – September 26, 2014

BLM starts process to restore Bullwhacker access with by-pass

(LEWISTOWN, Mont.) – The Bureau of Land Management announced today, it has begun the process required to reestablish road access into the Bullwhacker Coulee area of the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument.

“We are currently investigating four separate alternatives, to reestablish road access into the Bullwhacker drainage, using portions of existing roads whenever possible. Once these alternatives have been identified and flagged on the ground, we will carefully analyze the impacts of each alternative in an environmental assessment to determine future public access,” said Michael Kania, the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument Manager.

The BLM would consider mitigation, including the option of closing, rehabilitating, or reclaiming other existing roads to off-set the resource disturbance. The intent would be to ensure no net gain in the present miles of road with in the area.

Historic public access to approximately 50,000 backcountry acres in the Bullwhacker area within Blaine County had been lost following a 2011 court decision declaring a portion of the Bullwhacker Road crossing private lands to be a private road. A proposed land exchange to restore access was considered, but was determined to be not in the best interest of the American people who have entrusted the BLM to manage their public lands for them.

The BLM has initiated an open and transparent public process in which the public will have a number of opportunities to participate in a resolution long-sought after for restoring motorized public access to the Bullwhacker area. The Bureau is preliminary considering four potential options to find a viable access solution that would garner substantial public support and be in the best interest of the American public the BLM serves.

“Public access to public lands continues to be one of BLM Montana/Dakotas’ top priorities,” said Stan Benes, the BLM Central Montana District Manager. “Our charge in this particular situation is actually to restore the access the public historically had for many decades.”

The 60-day scoping period will begin with public scoping meetings tentatively scheduled for Great Falls Dec. 2, Chinook Dec. 3, and Lewistown Dec. 4. An environmental assessment is expected to be available by May. The goal is to complete the decision process in summer 2015.

PLWA COMMENT ON BLM ACTION

This is another victory for PLWA as we have been the leading advocate for keeping the road open. Here is a brief history of PLWA involvement :

In 2007 the Bullwhacker Road was opened after several years of closure and controversy when the Blaine County Commission declared it to be a public county road. Previously, it had been intermittently closed or opened only by landowner permission. But the road had been used by the public as well as land managers, ranchers, and recreationists since homestead days. During that time thousands of dollars of public money had been spent on maintenance. PLWA expert volunteers researched the road’s history and developed voluminous documentation proving it to be a ”public highway”. This was presented to the Blaine County Attorney who agreed and issued an opinion to that effect.

In 2009 the landowners. William and Olive Robinson, filed suit in the 17th Judicial District court to overturn the County action. They argued the County had no basis for its claim on the 3.8-mile section of the Bullwhacker Road crossing their Anchor Ranch. In march of 2011 Judge John C. McKeon found the evidence necessary to establish a public prescriptive easement inconclusive and ruled for the Robinson’s. In the wake of the court ruling and road closure the BLM declared road access into the Bullwhacker Watershed to be one of their top access goals because some 50,000 acres of BLM land is affected.

The Bullwhacker Watershed is located north of the Missouri River in the heart of the Upper Missouri Breaks National Monument. The road provides the only over-land access to one of the best bighorn sheep habitats and some of the best big game hunting in the Montana – or North America.

In 2013 the Wilks Brothers, who now own 347,500 acres in Montana making them the largest landowners in the state, purchased the Anchor Ranch from the Robinsons and closed the road. The Wilks brothers then started negotiations with the BLM on a large, complex land exchange, which, among other things, included swapping the Bullwhacker land parcel for the BLM-public Durfee Hills parcels located in Fergus County within their N Bar ranch. (The BLM Durfee hills parcels give the last public access (by air) to one of the largest elk populations in Montana)

Elk hunters in Central Montana charged the land exchange was not in the public interest and organized a successful petition drive to stop BLM negotiations with the Wilks. The hunters demanded that BLM take action on opening an alternate road access into the Bullwhacker Watershed as they had promised for several years.

PLWA joined in that protest and supported the Central Montana Hunters demand for a new Bullwhacker Road to be completed ASAP. The BLM terminated the land-exchange negotiations and said the agency would study road alternatives. Now in October of 2014 , we get the welcome news that action has started . Again, a major victory for PLWA and the citizenry.