Blog Archives - Page 5 of 12

Shawn Regan on a better way to promote public access

July 20, 2017

No one likes when landowners slap up “No Trespassing” signs and block access. But with access disputes back in the news, it’s time to confront the possibility that our current strategies to promote public access aren’t solving the problem — they’re making it worse. Access disputes boil down to a simple fact: Whether over concerns about privacy, liability, or risk of abuse by a few bad actors, landowners are often reluctant to grant strangers open access to their private property. But when it comes to trying to enhance access, we often go about it the wrong way. Public-access groups pursue confrontational approaches that make enemies out of the very landowners they need to engage most. Fortunately, there’s a better way. Consider the sharing economy, which is revolutionizing the way people...

Terry Anderson on the Forest Service Ranger Alex Sienkiewicz scandal

July 5, 2017

Excellent commentary from PERC’s Terry Anderson on the scandal caused by National Park Ranger Alex Seinkiewicz, who urged enviro activists to trespass on private property: For the eight years that President Barack Obama reigned in Washington, environmentalists cheered his agenda. There was his War on Coal, his signing of the Paris Climate Accord, his executive order giving EPA regulatory authority over all Waters of the United States (WOTUS), and his creation of more national monuments than any previous president. “With President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, conservatives in favor of less government regulation are cheering. In a matter of months he has declared war on the War on Coal, withdrawn the United States from the Paris Accord, rescinded the WOTUS executive order...

UPOM releases 2017 Legislative Scorecard

June 29, 2017

We are proud to report that this session saw positive outcomes for improving Montanan’s property rights. “We were able to enact several positive changes that protect and enhance our property rights,” said Chuck Denowh, UPOM’s Policy Director. “And we successfully stopped every piece of legislation that attempted to take away our rights.” Click here to download the scorecard.

UPOM Comments on EQC HJ 13 Road & Access Study

August 24, 2016

The Environmental Quality Council has spent a good part of their time during the interim in putting together a study to assess access on public land in Montana, in particular on how road closures on federal land have affected access. Their study also looks at elk distribution and how less access may have affected elk harvests. A copy of the draft report can be found here. And below you can read the comments that we submitted to the committee:

What the Missoula Mountain Water case means for other Montana property owners

August 9, 2016

The recent decision by the Montana Supreme Court in the Mountain Water case, in which the Court reversed itself from an earlier decision, has set new precedents that weaken the property rights for all Montanans. It’s apparent to us that the decision was more politically motivated than grounded in the law—and we’re not alone, Justice Jim Rice described the Court’s conduct as “apparently hell-bent on condemnation” in his dissenting opinion. This is an example of why Montana’s Supreme Court is ranked so poorly nationally. Each time it reverses itself—and it does so often, hundreds of times in the last two decades—it creates more uncertainty about what the law really is. And when the Court is viewed as a political animal—active in creating law rather than...

Understanding the Seyler Lane stream access decision

July 19, 2016

In a recent ruling in an important case involving stream access, District Court Judge Loren Tucker in Madison County determined that issues concerning the balance of private property rights and prescriptive easements must be determined on a case-by-case basis, using evidence of County maintenance needs. The public’s desire for access is not a factor. Judge Tucker’s determination was made at the request of the Montana Supreme Court, which concluded that a public right-of-way exists on the Seyler Lane bridge which crosses the Ruby River in Madison County. While the Public Land/Water Access Association (“PLWAA”) have been eager to claim that Judge Tucker’s ruling was a victory for anti-property rights groups, the decision and its consequences are not so clear-cut. In the dispute between PLWAA...