East Crazy Mountain Land Exchange

[MTelkHuntress]

I'd recommend everyone listen to (or read) this article - 30 minutes, and worthwhile. Randy is quoted in it too.

https://archive.is/2024.10.23-180116/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/yellowstone-club-real-estate-public-land-montana-crazy-mountains.html

In case folks don't want to pay to read. I wish I had read it sooner.

 

[COraggy]

Good on you, @RobG

Curious if RMEF is involved or has weighed in?

I don't know the minutiae of Montana land politics, but I like it when I see coalitions of stakeholders working around the table on something.
You give what have to and keep what you can. There will be those who did not so much as comment who will complain.

Checkerboard is curse. There will always be someone who doesn't like the outcome of swaps, but how else can we fix such a mess?

Raucous threads about corner crossing aren't going to do it. Nor lawsuits really.

to be honest I don't think RMEF would be of help... throw them some money and they will look away and make a public statement of distraction.... an area I hunt(ed) in CO is going thru a land exchange that we've been fighting for years. I got a trespass ticket from CPW that basically said this is bullshit but because of pleasing the the landowner he had to issue the ticket.... judge threw it out without having a court date. money talks over public land! good luck to you in the fight I truly hope it works out... ours was approved despite our efforts but its in somewhat of an appeal which to me is just prolonging the inevitable. Seldom does the public in CO win over private and government IMO.

 

[Irrelevant]

What are everyone's thoughts on this, as it seems to be a done deal?

The public got hosed. Which is what almost everyone thought would happen.

 

[Zac-K]

The public got hosed. Which is what almost everyone thought would happen.

Sad but true.

I had hope though after the south crazies land exchange actually worked as the process should in my opinion. That one after looking at the public comment and reevaluating, the Forest Service actually did what the overwhelming amount of public comment implored which was only do two of three parts of the LEX and keep/maintain key access.

This one it was clear from the start the billionaires and politicians learned from the public process working there….they went full on wolf in sheep’s clothing at first with a fake “public scoping” via the invite only crazy mountain working group which kept dissenting opinions out of the club but in the end they threatened and exerted power once the process was being held up due to the public nearly unanimously not in favor of this fleecing of public land, Forest Service completely was submissive and cooperative to the rich and powerful, so much for “caring for the land and serving the people”.

 

[Irrelevant]

Sad but true.

I had hope though after the south crazies land exchange actually worked as the process should in my opinion. That one after looking at the public comment and reevaluating, the Forest Service actually did what the overwhelming amount of public comment implored which was only do two of three parts of the LEX and keep/maintain key access.

This one it was clear from the start the billionaires and politicians learned from the public process working there….they went full on wolf in sheep’s clothing at first with a fake “public scoping” via the invite only crazy mountain working group which kept dissenting opinions out of the club but in the end they threatened and exerted power once the process was being held up due to the public nearly unanimously not in favor of this fleecing of public land, Forest Service completely was submissive and cooperative to the rich and powerful, so much for “caring for the land and serving the people”.

The FS blatantly #@)(*%* the public through incompetence and spinelessness, the forest supervisor should be reprimanded and publicly ostracized for their lack of public service, even if they would have lost a legal fight I would prefer to go down swinging. BHA tried to hold their feet to the fire but it just wasn't happening.