Public Land Groups Sue Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks over Corner-Crossing Position
The groups say Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has wrongly treated corner crossing as trespassing, despite about 871,000 corner-locked acres, onX data show.
- On Thursday, the Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and the Public Land Water Access Association filed a lawsuit in Lewis and Clark County District Court challenging Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks' position that corner crossing is unlawful.
- Lieutenant Governor Kristen Juras defended FWP's position on May 13 during an Environmental Quality Council presentation, arguing corner crossing constitutes airspace trespass and citing state drone laws prohibiting flight below 200 feet without permission.
- The lawsuit contends the FWP memo 'exceeds the statutory authority of FWP' and violates the Montana Administrative Procedure Act because it lacked public notice and comment. Groups seek to 'cement the legality of corner crossing' affecting roughly 871,000 acres.
- Jake Schwaller, Chair of the Montana Chapter of BHA, stated the groups 'fundamentally disagree with the Department' and believe the issue 'must now be decided before a neutral court,' seeking to nullify the memo.
- With 871,000 acres of corner-locked public land at stake, Montana's legal position differs from the 10th Circuit, where recent rulings favored corner crossing; the state operates under 9th Circuit precedent, leaving the question unsettled.
10 Articles
10 Articles
Citing Wyoming corner-crossing case, hunters sue Montana for public land access
Montana’s lieutenant governor made clear that corner crossing remains trespassing in her state, despite a Wyoming case decided in favor of access to public land. Lt. Governor Kristen Juras made her remarks Thursday at a legal forum at the Miles City Bucking Horse Sale, where she called the Wyoming corner-crossing case “unique” and said that Montana had a “different precedent” that allows it to criminalize the act. She defended a Jan. 21 memo to …
Associated Press News
Public land groups sue Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks over corner-crossing position
Two public land access groups filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ position that corner crossing is “unlawful” in Montana.
Lawsuit seeks to "cement legality" of corner crossing in Montana
A group of conservation advocacy organizations are suing the State of Montana to cement the legality of corner crossing in Montana.On Thursday, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and the Public Land and Water Access Association filed a lawsuit against Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks in Lewis and Clark County District Court.The legal action comes one day after Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras, a Republican, addressed the Montana Environmental Quality Council…
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