In a Tale as Old as the West, Wealthy Californians Moved to Montana and Blocked River Access

[1srelluc]

In a Tale as Old as the West, Wealthy Californians Moved to Montana and Blocked Historic River Access

In 2021, lifelong Montanan and duck hunter Matt Treinen was ticketed for criminal trespass at a river access he'd used since he was a kid.

www.outdoorlife.com

The history of America’s West is marred by disputes over land ownership—if not all-out wars—and so too will be its future. During the COVID-19 pandemic, well-off residents from California, Washington, and Texas sought their own slice of the mountains and moved to Montana in droves. For every 100 people that left the state in 2020, 372 moved in. As a result, many mountain town locals have felt a crowding and degradation of their public lands and waters.

In Montana, the state stream access law remains a bright spot. But public water hunters and anglers have found themselves increasingly at an impasse with the new, fast-growing population of riverfront landowners, thanks to the mass-wealth migration that’s priced many multi-generation Westerners out of their hometowns. Cookie-cutter housing developments full of large, sleek abodes sprawl across valley floors in places like Gallatin County, eating up what was traditionally agricultural land nestled between vast mountain ranges. In March 2023, the median cost of a single-family home in Montana’s wealthiest county was almost $700,000. (Thirteen months before that, it was $1.1 million.)

What follows is the story of how one small bit of river access on the outskirts of Bozeman disappeared after years of complaints and dispute between the public and new landowners from California......

Western land threads are almost as fun as western water threads.

And sure, CA scum are a plague and everyone loves to bitch about them but it's those old old MT ranch families taking advantage of the market conditions and cashing out by selling to rich Californians.

A local group has offered to purchase the thin strip of property and transfer it to the state or county. The Californians refused.

Basically, they just moved in and said "fuck you". Are they legally within their rights? Well based on the current streambed locations, they appear to be....by just a few feet.

 

[The Duke]

Did they dam up the creek? The bastages!

 

[lg325]

Same here in Florida it is about impossible to find a place to bank fish or put in a boat. All the lakes and creeks in orange county that had public access no longer have it due to new comer claiming ownership and local governments pandering to them.

 

[The Duke]

Same here in Florida it is about impossible to find a place to bank fish or put in a boat. All the lakes and creeks in orange county that had public access no longer have it due to new comer claiming ownership and local governments pandering to them.

Ain't nuttin' good in Orange County anyhow!

Osceola, either! Fishin' fer crawdads n mudfish er summin'?

 

[Augustine_]

In a Tale as Old as the West, Wealthy Californians Moved to Montana and Blocked Historic River Access

In 2021, lifelong Montanan and duck hunter Matt Treinen was ticketed for criminal trespass at a river access he'd used since he was a kid.

www.outdoorlife.com

The history of America’s West is marred by disputes over land ownership—if not all-out wars—and so too will be its future. During the COVID-19 pandemic, well-off residents from California, Washington, and Texas sought their own slice of the mountains and moved to Montana in droves. For every 100 people that left the state in 2020, 372 moved in. As a result, many mountain town locals have felt a crowding and degradation of their public lands and waters.

In Montana, the state stream access law remains a bright spot. But public water hunters and anglers have found themselves increasingly at an impasse with the new, fast-growing population of riverfront landowners, thanks to the mass-wealth migration that’s priced many multi-generation Westerners out of their hometowns. Cookie-cutter housing developments full of large, sleek abodes sprawl across valley floors in places like Gallatin County, eating up what was traditionally agricultural land nestled between vast mountain ranges. In March 2023, the median cost of a single-family home in Montana’s wealthiest county was almost $700,000. (Thirteen months before that, it was $1.1 million.)

What follows is the story of how one small bit of river access on the outskirts of Bozeman disappeared after years of complaints and dispute between the public and new landowners from California......

Western land threads are almost as fun as western water threads.

And sure, CA scum are a plague and everyone loves to bitch about them but it's those old old MT ranch families taking advantage of the market conditions and cashing out by selling to rich Californians.

A local group has offered to purchase the thin strip of property and transfer it to the state or county. The Californians refused.

Basically, they just moved in and said "fuck you". Are they legally within their rights? Well based on the current streambed locations, they appear to be....by just a few feet.

The right is realizing that continuously gifting increasing amounts of power to the wealthy can be a problem.

 

[lg325]

Ain't nuttin' good in Orange County anyhow!

Osceola, either! Fishin' fer crawdads n mudfish er summin'?

If you can find a way to get on the Big Econ in east orange county very lightly fished and I got some big bass out of it over the years I grew up on it.

 

[The Duke]

If you can find a way to get on the Big Econ in east orange county very lightly fished and I got some big bass out of it over the years I grew up on it.

I can't fish like I did when growing up.

You have to have a license and a stamp for this, that, the other..ugh!

Da fuq you mean what am I fishing for? For the fish I can catch, Idk what they're gonna be.

They're underneath the water, I can't see 'em. What about when some weird fish comes around?

And it does happen..I'm fishin' fer whatever jumps onto my hook that tastes good.