Finally, a bill that clarifies public access to Montana’s waterways via county bridges has made its way through the Legislature.
The House of Representatives this afternoon voted 96-3 to concur the Senate’s Amendments to Billings Democrat Kendall Van Dyk’s House Bill 190, which will now move on to Governor Brian Schweitzer’s desk for a signature.
If the bill does become law, it will clear up a much-debated 2000 Attorney General opinion by codifying in Montana stream access law that a county road right-of-way or a public bridge or its right-of-way or its abutment are public access points to the state’s streams and rivers. It will also clarify how and where private landowners can attach fences to bridges and it sets up funding to pay for any modifications existing fences would need to allow access. Under the bill, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will be working with landowners to make their fences access-friendly.
According to a release sent this afternoon the bill is the first in 24 years to get through the Legislature.
Van Dyk said in the announcement, “This was a tough mountain to climb, but we did it by bringing everyone to the table and checking partisanship at the door.”
The House first passed the bill 97-3 in January and then passed the Senate 48-2 last week.
Then, Sen. Ryan Zinke, R-Whitefish told the University of Montana’s Legislative News Service that it’s still not a perfect bill, “but it’s the best we can come up with at the moment, I think that Montana demands that we at least move forward with stream access.”