Hunters, a wildlife group and the Bullock administration are hailing the settlement of a decades-old road dispute west of Choteau, MT that restores public access to about 50,000 acres of public land along the Rocky Mountain Front.The agreement with owners of the Salmond Ranch establishes a 30-foot wide easement across the ranch in Teton County, providing a public gateway into state and federal lands, including the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
Public access has been in dispute since 1989, when the ranch owners posted a “no trespassing” sign across a road that been open to the public since 1930. The state, Teton county and the Russell Country Sportsman’s Association intervened, trying to keep the road public, and it’s taken three years to reach a settlement.
The agreement was approved by the state land board today.
See a map of the area below.