HELENA, Mont. — A Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks advisory committee reviewed a proposed pilot program tied to corner crossing and access to corner-locked public land.
The Private Land, Public Wildlife Advisory Committee met to look at the recommendation as the state continues to wrestle with a long-running issue in Montana. Corner crossing means stepping from one corner of public land to another without stepping onto the private land next to it.
The proposed program is meant to address corner-locked public lands and help create a foundation for a long-term legislative fix. Committee members also said they had reached out to Montana landowners about the idea but had not gained engagement.
One committee member said landowners have been cautious about the concept.
"From a landowner perspective, obviously there’s a huge sensitivity to corner crossing idea and I think they’re concerned about as a landowner group not trying to complicate things more for their neighbors," said Craig Jourdonnais.
The discussion also came as a lawsuit filed earlier this summer challenged Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Christy Clark over a statement about corner crossing being trespassing in Montana.
According to the committee discussion, that statement is being treated as a rule. The issue is that a rule must go through state law and include a chance for public comment before it is adopted.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Chief Legal Counsel Jeffrey Hindoien said a court ruling on that question would not settle the broader trespass issue.
"If the court were to decide that the department's position is a rule and it wasn’t adopted properly" Jeffrey Hindoien said, "that just means that position is not out there. It doesn’t change the law on trespass in Montana, it doesn’t answer questions definitively about where that still sits."
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks remain in the early stage of the lawsuit while staff continue work on the pilot program.