Why is this website necessary?

The Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association's Double Standard!

• Hughes Creek (click here for info on Hughes Creek): A private locked gate is blocking the public`s access to public lands and a designated trailhead on the Bitterroot National Forest. This road was designated a public road on June 15, 1900 and has never been abandoned. The Hughes Creek letter(click here for additional info on Hughes Creek) opposing this gate, written by the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association, could easily be a template for opposition to the RCFWA`s own locked gate on Crystal Lane.
  
  
• Mitchell Slough:(click here for info on Mitchell Slough) The highly disputed surface waters of the Mitchell Slough were determined to be public property by the Montana Supreme Court in 2008 and RCFWA testified and continues to testify against landowners on the slough in favor of allowing public access even though the majority of the slough is within the private property boundaries of the adjacent landowners. On their own private property the RCFWA has completely blocked the public`s access and requires association membership and a mandatory eight hours of association service for eligibility to access / recreate on the public waters of the Bitterroot River.

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"To Promote and Protect Public Access To All Public Resources" is Article II Section 1(j) of the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association's Constitution and the association is publicly very active in persuit of this objective. They frequently testifie against private landowners who may be blocking or restricting the public`s access to public property.

In 1996 the RCFWA was willed 40 acres of property near Stevensville, MT. through which the Bitterroot River runs. The entire course of the Bitterroot River, between the normal high water marks, is public property and the public is granted recreational opportunities (including waterfowling) by the state without regard to ownership of the surrounding property.

The association effectively privatizes waterfowling on sections of the river bottom adjacent to the club's property for the use of a few select members, primarily officers, board and committee members. This privatization of the river bottom is achieved by closing a public road, (via a locked gate) which is the only foot or vehicle access to the river bottom in that area, and requiring club membership and a mandatory 8 hours of service to the club before access is granted. That road, Crystal Lane, was declared a public road on June 4, 1891 and has never been officially abandoned as required by Montana law 7-14- 2615.

This website is a collection of public records intended to bring attention to the association`s double standard and hopefully will bring enough pressure to the current leadership for them to review and rethink their policies in regard to the river bottom. All attempts to do this from within the association itself have failed.