Montana governor locks up his land

HELENA – No trespassing signs and locked gates on 670 acres of land owned by Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Mullan Pass appear to contradict his campaign pledge to not allow outsiders to buy up land and restrict public access.

Schweitzer closed access to the land he had just bought in 2008 about the same time he was running for a second term as governor and pledging to continue public access to recreational land.

Schweitzer’s actions do not prevent access to public land in the area, but they do close private land that had previously been open to snowmobilers, hunters and anglers.

The Democratic governor told the Independent Record he’s had problems with vandalism and poachers on the land, but that he’ll probably allow people to access the land if they ask his permission.

“Last year I had cattle shot. Last summer every gate on the ranch was torn down and the cabin was broken into several times,” he said. “Fish, Wildlife and Parks called me the year before and explained they had five people who poached elk, didn’t have a hunting license and wanted to know if they had permission to be there. I never heard of any of those people. I didn’t want to prosecute because I didn’t want to get sideways in that, but if you want to hunt on a ranch you ask for permission.”

Besides the no trespassing signs and locked gates, Schweitzer also put up a fence along a road that runs through the property.

Fred Bailey, with the Helena Snowdrifters club, said snowmobilers liked to use the land.

“It was a very popular area and was never vandalized before,” Bailey said. “There’s never been any kind of written agreement. We just appreciated that we knew we could ride there. Then all that fence went up and those signs that don’t imply they’ll be any permission to go there.”