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MISSION STATEMENT
"The mission of PLWA is to maintain, restore, and perpetuate public access to the boundaries of all Montana public land and waters."
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has finalized a deal to purchase the Circle R River Ranch for a state Wildlife Management Area and State Park that would provide public access to more than 9,000 acres. Now FWP Region 5 staff has some infrastructure work to get done in order to open the gate to the public about Sept. 1st. The ranch and adjacent BLM land sit along nearly 5 miles of the north bank of the Yellowstone River, 30 miles east of Billings and 2 ˝ miles west of Pompeys Pillar National Monument. FWP purchased the ranch for $5,298,300, which is $267,000 less than its appraised value and nearly $1 million less than the $6.25 million listed price. The money came from a combination of sources, including FWP's Habitat Montana program and the Governor's Access Montana Initiative. ... (more) |
Current Public Land Issues
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political action I attended the hearing in Virginia City on July 15 where both sides asked Judge Tucker to make summary judgments on certain issues within the case of PLAAI vs County of Madison before the main trial begins. PLWA had about seven or eight members in the audience including Dennis Grundman, Tony Schoonen, Bill Holdorf and Howard Crest. Both Trout Unlimited and The Montana Wildlife Federation had representatives there as well. ... (more) |
public land newsPLWA (PLAAI) - KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINAR – SEPT 20( 08/15/2008 ) PLWA (PLAAI) - KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SEMINAR – SEPT 20 ,2008 MARK THIS ON YOUR CALENDAR On Saturday Sept 20th will host a public seminar on KNOW YOUR RIGHTS ON PUBLIC LAND AND WATER . State Land Northwest of Billings( 07/22/2008 ) State lands are by law open to recreational public access unless very special safety issues dictate otherwise. |
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know your rightsResearch the key to keeping public land access( 07/26/2008 ) Research the key to keeping public land access By BERNARD LEA The Public Land/Water Access Association has been involved in gathering evidence to present to county officials relative to the right of way status of roads in Montana. RESEARCHING A PUBLIC ROAD( 12/16/2007 )
The Montana Wildlife Federation with which PLAAI is affiliated , is one of the lead organizations in the fight to maintain access to public land and water.
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Public Access Objectives
- Educating and informing the public on their ownership and access rights.
- Monitoring public access routes and identifying access problems.
- Initiating legal action when access has been illegally blocked.
- Monitoring public land sales exchanges, and purchases to insure that no transfers are made without full consideration of conservation and recreational values.
- Initiating programs and policies to expand public land and water access.
- Pursuing every legal and ethical avenue to protect and maintain your access to public lands and waters.
What can PLWA Do For You?
Primarily we help hunters, anglers, and other recreationists fight back against the tide of privatization of public land and waters. Montana is changing and part of this change comes from outside interests who think they can grab “ownership” of a river or public land with "No Trespassing" signs, orange paint, barb wire, chains, lawsuits, legislation and other tactics. It takes an organization with “pit bull” mentality like PLWA to deal with these situations. In many cases we are the ones who initiate appropriate legal action and are on the firing line.
PLWA is an all volunteer organization with little overhead. Your donations are almost totally used to press the issue of maintaining access. Member contributions are our only source of income. Usually the deep pockets are on the other side.
We hope you'll take a moment today to join us in our mission to retain the traditional value of access to the public landscapes which make Montana such a special place.
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