Guest opinion: Make fine match crime of gating public lands
Under
current law, violators risk a fine of only $10 per day to close off
public access for their own personal benefit. Yet that paltry fine is
never even levied because it would cost the county more to enforce it
than the amount of the fine. As a result, bad actors can close off
access to public roads with little to no repercussions.
That
is a sweetheart deal for those seeking to create exclusionary havens of
prime hunting and fishing opportunity, by shutting off public access to
public land. Unfortunately, there are some landowners across Montana
who are willing do just that, and in doing so they threaten to undermine
the rule of law and they put the county’s resources and personnel in
jeopardy by ignoring a judge’s declaration regarding their illegally
closed county roads.
As
a private landowner, I’m dismayed by a few bad actors who would shut
down access to public lands. That’s why I wholeheartedly support SB224, a
bill introduced by Sen. Tom Jacobson, D-Great Falls, to increase the
daily fine for illegally gating a public road. The fine of $10 per day
was set in 1965. It’s long overdue to increase that fine to something
meaningful that will actually serve as a deterrent. Senate Bill 224 gives local justices the discretion and flexibility to issue fines of up to $500 per day.
This is common-sense
legislation that would effectively dissuade violators from excluding
hunters, anglers and other users from lands that are rightfully theirs
and the penalty increase would provide law enforcement and county
commissioners with the tools necessary to reopen roads that been
illegally gated for years.
Illegally
closed public roads can create life-threatening delays for first
responders, wildland firefighters and law enforcement responding to
emergencies. They keep sportsmen and women from getting to their
family’s elk camp and the streams where they teach their kids how to
fish. There is no good reason for continuing to allow this behavior to
persist in Montana.
I
am a private landowner who also respects and chooses to recreate on
public lands. I also take comfort in knowing that first responders can
easily access public lands adjacent to my property in the event of an
emergency.
Please join me in supporting SB224. It’s time for the fine to match the crime.
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