For immediate
release
June 10, 2019
Contacts:
Kathryn QannaYahu,
Enhancing Montana’s Wildlife and Habitat, kathryn@emwh.org,
406-579-7748
Matthew Bishop, attorney,
Western Environmental Law Center, bishop@westernlaw.org,
406-324-8011
Katie McKalip, Backcountry
Hunters & Anglers, McKalip@backcountryhunters.org,
406-240-9262
Michael Kauffman, attorney,
michael@drakemt.com, 406-495-8080
Public Land Advocates: Forest
Service Must Reopen Public Trails in Montana’s
Crazy Mountains
Coalition
of sportsmen-conservationists contends the Forest Service
is abdicating its duty to uphold and defend public access
to historical trails
HELENA, Mont. –
A coalition of conservation-based groups filed a lawsuit
today against the U.S. Forest Service to maintain traditional
public access opportunities in the Crazy Mountains of
Montana. The coalition includes Friends of the Crazy
Mountains, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Enhancing
Montana’s Wildlife and Habitat, and Skyline Sportsmen.They
are represented by the Western Environmental Law Center
and the Drake Law Firm.
The groups’ challenge hinges on the Forest Service’s
continued lack of progress and unresponsiveness in maintaining
the public’s right to access public lands and
waters in the Crazy Mountains. In
February, the coalition submitted a letter to the Forest
Service summarizing concerns over public access
in the Crazies and notifying the agency of its intent
to sue should access issues fail to be resolved.
"The upper levels of the Forest Service chose not
to respond or address our local public access concerns
and repeated complaints of obstruction,” said
Brad Wilson of Friends of the Crazy Mountains, a retired
Park County assistant road supervisor and deputy sheriff.
“Due to the Forest Service’s negligence,
we had no choice but to appeal to the court.”
The coalition contends that the public, has longstanding
and permanent public access to Montana’s Crazy
Mountains. The lawsuit charges that until recently the
Forest Service supported and maintained the public’s
access to the trails, but certain Forest Service leaders
now are abdicating their duty to protect and preserve
public access there. The suit specifies four trails,
two on the west side and two on the east side of the
mountain range, that are mapped as public trails, are
well known and have been traditionally used by the public
but where certain landowners now are illegally and impermissibly
attempting to deny public access (Porcupine Lowline
#267, Elk Creek #195, East Trunk #115/136 and Sweet
Grass #122).
“Hearing about attempts to obstruct public access
obstruction in the Crazy Mountains, I began over 1,100
hours of documentation, FOIA requests to the Forest
Service, and historical research that verified these
trails are public,” said Kathryn QannaYahu of
EMWH.
“Especially compelling were the
county railroad grant deeds of private land, containing
the words 'easement in the public.' What I found
angered me, because the public has easement interests
on these four trails, which the Service isn't protecting
on our behalf. On the contrary, they're allowing certain
landowners to attempt to obstruct public access and
undermine my and the public's ability to access historic
trials in the Crazy Mountains.”
In a response to Sen. Steve Daines dated Oct. 2, 2015,
Forest Supervisor Mary Erickson wrote, “The Forest
Service maintains that it holds unperfected prescriptive
rights on this trail system, as well as up Sweet Grass
Creek to the north based on a history of maintenance
with public funds and historic and continued public
and administrative use.”
“We have been transparent in our goal of restoring
public access to the Crazy Mountains,” said Tony
Schoonen of the Skyline Sportsmen and a member of the
Montana Outdoor Hall of Fame. “Our coalition has
committed substantial work to researching the situation
in the Crazies, and we plan to continue pursuing this
goal in the public eye. While it’s hardly surprising
that some politicians and out-of-state bureaucrats are
seeking to steal access to our land, we refuse to let
it go without a fight.”
“The Forest Service is bound to do its job and
maintain access to these trails,” said Matthew
Bishop of the Western Environmental Law Center. “It’s
just that simple. This means managing and maintaining
the trails, replacing and reinstalling national forest
trail markers and signs, and ensuring public access
on our public trails in the Crazy Mountains.”
In the words of the Forest Service’s own attorneys
regarding one of these trails: “Indeed, it would
be irresponsible of the Forest Service to simply abandon
these easement rights or fail to reflect their existence
in the travel plan simply to avoid the souring of relationships
between landowners and recreational groups.”
“These trails are public and were managed that
way for many years. We stand with those hardworking
Forest Service employees committed to responsibly managing
our public lands and waters,” concluded John Sullivan,
chair of the Montana chapter of Backcountry Hunters
& Anglers. “Forest Service leadership has
stated that these trails are public, yet somewhere along
the line their tune changed. We have no intention of
standing idly by while this faction engages in the very
behavior it has deemed irresponsible. We will fight
for the public’s right to access these public
lands and waters, which are central to our Montana way
of life.”
Photos and map of the trails are available here.
Crazy
Mountains Public Access FAQs
