An old Montana bromide states that "Neither man nor beast is safe when the Legislature is in session."
This is being proved true by SB497 which was introduced today and is being fast-tracked. SB497 introduced by a senator from Great Falls threatens stream access in Montana. This message from Wild Montana sums it up:
The Montana Senate is voting on a bill threatening our cherished ability to freely access our rivers and streams.
Senate Bill 497 opens the door for individual property owners, counties, and other government landowners to block our access to our public waters. It would be a serious blow to Montana’s best-in-the-nation stream access law, which allows each and every one of us to float, fish, and paddle Montana’s waterways.
Senators are trying to sneak this bill through under the radar, but we won’t let that happen.
Please tell our senators to vote NO on SB 497. Our Senators are SD 43 Jason Ellsworth and SD 44 Theresa Manzella.
Even worse, SB 497 bill infringes on our right to access streams and rivers for fishing, hunting, and floating to benefit wealthy out-of-state landowners that want to block the public from accessing public waters.
Any change, no matter how small, to our stream access law would jeopardize the water access that sets Montana apart from other western states. Lawmakers are trying to push this bill through the legislature at the last minute before Montanans catch wind of it, and we won’t let them get away with it.
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