Historic river access on Gallatin closed off

[338win]

Rich a$$holes being rich a$$holes. Who would have imagined.

 

[PRO MO]

Theres' a fishing access 600 yards down river. Not miles down river, 600 yards. With that said, go the corner crossing route and build a ladder from the pullout to the highwater mark.

 

[seeth07]

Theres' a fishing access 600 yards down river. Not miles down river, 600 yards. With that said, go the corner crossing route and build a ladder from the pullout to the highwater mark.

I like how you think!

 

[RobG]

Theres' a fishing access 600 yards down river. Not miles down river, 600 yards. With that said, go the corner crossing route and build a ladder from the pullout to the highwater mark.

Love the ladder idea.... Is this the access just upstream of the Norris road bridge?

 

[PRO MO]

Love the ladder idea.... Is this the access just upstream of the Norris road bridge?

yeah. where the homeless orgies used to be. don't ask me how i know.

 

[Ben Lamb]

yeah. where the homeless orgies used to be. don't ask me how i know.

Well now we all want to know.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

Theres' a fishing access 600 yards down river. Not miles down river, 600 yards. With that said, go the corner crossing route and build a ladder from the pullout to the highwater mark.

You notice how the article does not seem to mention this...lol

 

[MThuntr]

It also sounds like we're about 2 years away from a prescriptive easement if the open, hostile use continues, at least by my understanding of that law.

Prescriptive Easement Not Acquired By Recreational Use Of Surface Waters​

23-2-322. Prescriptive easement not acquired by recreational use of surface waters. (1) A prescriptive easement is a right to use the property of another that is acquired by open, exclusive, notorious, hostile, adverse, continuous, and uninterrupted use for a period of 5 years.
(2) A prescriptive easement cannot be acquired through:
(a) recreational use of surface waters, including:
(i) the streambeds underlying them;
(ii) the banks up to the ordinary high-water mark; or
(iii) any portage over and around barriers; or
(b) the entering or crossing of private property to reach surface waters.

I read this as it can't be done

 

[4ohSick]

Prescriptive Easement Not Acquired By Recreational Use Of Surface Waters​

23-2-322. Prescriptive easement not acquired by recreational use of surface waters. (1) A prescriptive easement is a right to use the property of another that is acquired by open, exclusive, notorious, hostile, adverse, continuous, and uninterrupted use for a period of 5 years.
(2) A prescriptive easement cannot be acquired through:
(a) recreational use of surface waters, including:
(i) the streambeds underlying them;
(ii) the banks up to the ordinary high-water mark; or
(iii) any portage over and around barriers; or
(b) the entering or crossing of private property to reach surface waters.

I stand corrected. Thanks for clearing that up!

 

[SAJ-99]

...then there's that day when you walk outside and discover the cable company trenching your back yard.

You don't have utility easements in Texas?

 

[Ben Lamb]

...then there's that day when you walk outside and discover the cable company trenching your back yard.

Fun story: I cam home from running a few errands this afternoon and the SOB's drove their bucket rig & a lowboy on the lawn to string up some fiber optic. They better be glad they didn't hit the Mr's flowers, or they'd have to deal with her.

 

[noharleyyet]

You don't have utility easements in Texas?

Yes, and an army of special interest lobbyists swarming Austin.

We don't have an alley but they actually didn't tear up too much lawn. Some of our rear fence neighbors told em hell no, nimby, and it worked.

I, on the other hand, am a pretty damn nice gentleman.

 

[HerkHunter]

Yes, and and an army of special interest lobbyists swarming Austin.

We don't have an alley but they actually didn't tear up too much lawn. Some of our rear fence neighbors told em hell no, nimby, and it worked.

I, on the other hand, am a pretty damn nice gentleman.

When I worked in the biz if we weren’t given permission to brig trucks in or couldn’t get one in due to size we would use 32’ ladders instead

 

[Elky Welky]

It is a classic tale, seen over and over in the Bozeman area particularly. My grandfather, a statistics professor at MSU for many years and an avid, old-school fly fisherman, used to cross property belonging to Ted Turner along the Gallatin to fish. He'd access it on the road, but walk along the bank to his spots. Then one day, at 82 years old, he went down to his favorite spot and was kicked off as he started walking down the bank. He didn't put up a fight. But he was too old to wade below the high water mark and he never went back. It's one of the last times he ever fished (or at least tried to).

You can argue the legal right for jerks to be jerks until the cows come home, but as a simple matter of being a good neighbor, these people aren't. The more wealthy people become, the more isolated they become from society, and the less they are held accountable for what they do. What's a bunch of locals with one set of values to do in the face of obscene wealth and entitlement, and an entirely different set of values?

Legally, can they block access here? Probably. Ethically, morally? That depends on one's values. I know where I stand. And I know I'm not always in the majority; I've seen people commit assaults on their neighbors because a surveyor got the fence wrong by six inches... and get away with those assaults.

 

[pddubs]

Theres' a fishing access 600 yards down river. Not miles down river, 600 yards. With that said, go the corner crossing route and build a ladder from the pullout to the highwater mark.

There is, or was..... "Shed's Bridge" and it has been closed off with SITE CLOSED signs for many years. They say due to 'bank erosion' - so you can't access there either. And there are no other access points between Axtell and Cameron Bridge - a stretch of roughly 12+ river miles.
Just one more papercut on the road to eliminating public access, or making it so difficult/complicated people give up trying.

 

[Moserkr]

actually that could violate Montana law too...modifying the bank would violate Montana 310 laws. I know it happens everyday and goes largely ignored but this being a publicly contentious location it definitely wouldn't go unenforced.

Yea I get that. But if people naturally walk on a path enough, it modifies the bank anyway. A shovel would just make it safer, faster. Its not like bringing in heavy equipment, just enough of a path to walk down between some brush.

 

[PRO MO]

There is, or was..... "Shed's Bridge" and it has been closed off with SITE CLOSED signs for many years. They say due to 'bank erosion' - so you can't access there either. And there are no other access points between Axtell and Cameron Bridge - a stretch of roughly 12+ river miles.
Just one more papercut on the road to eliminating public access, or making it so difficult/complicated people give up trying.

Isn’t the east side of sheds still open? I should’ve verified that before opening my dumb mouth. I knew the west side was shut down but TBH, I have no reason to access the river there.

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Friend of mine sent me this article this morning. Essentially, the public has been using a specific access point for over 100 years, then rich out of staters buy the place and try to block the access. The traditional access is, in fact, barely on private land, and no good river access remains due to the bank slope.

Not sure if there’s a fight here that’s worth fighting, but it’s worth spreading the word about.

In a Tale as Old as the West, Wealthy Californians Moved to Montana and Blocked Historic River Access

In 2021, lifelong Montanan and duck hunter Matt Treinen was ticketed for criminal trespass at a river access he'd used since he was a kid.

www.outdoorlife.com

I cannot even believe what I have read. I’m glad it says they’ve changed hands on the contested piece of land because I’m ready to TP their house and leave burning paper shit bags

I’m pretty sure I’ve read in the fishing regs something to the effect of “if a landowner has a fence crossing a creek or stream you cannot cut it down, but you MAY take the the most immediate and effective route to cross the fence and get back down below the high water mark”…..