#MTGov Daily Rundown (Special Weekend Edition): Brian Schweitzer Blocked Public Access in 2010

Increasingly desperate to keep a minor boundary dispute between Greg Gianforte and Fish, Wildlife, and Parks in the news, Governor Steve Bullock's campaign rolled out former Governor Brian Schweitzer yesterday to attack Gianforte. What amounted to a sad political stunt is now backfiring on the governor's campaign as news reports from 2010 have surfaced showing that Governor Schweitzer actually blocked public access on his ranch near Mullan Pass.

"People no longer can freely recreate as they once did on 670 acres up Mullan Pass that’s now owned by Gov. Brian Schweitzer, but they can drive past the property on a U.S. Forest Service Road upgraded this year with about $330,000 in federal stimulus funds." -Billings Gazette, 10/30/2010

In order to keep the public off of 670 acres of the Hope Creek property (which had been previously open to public use), Schweitzer locked gates, put up a fence, and posted "no trespassing" signs.

"Shortly after purchasing the property in 2008, Schweitzer locked gates on roads that access his property, installed a new fence along a road that passes through his property and put up at least four signs that read: “No trespassing. Jim (the last name is blanked out) no longer owns this ranch. Please respect my privacy. No hunting, fishing, snowmobiling or 4 wheeling. Do not enter.” -Billings Gazette, 10/30/2010

Schweitzer's decision to close off public access came in the middle of his 2008 re-election campaign where he positioned himself as a champion of public access.

"The signs went up around the time Schweitzer was re-elected and pledged to continue to protect access to recreational lands and streams.

In the Nov. 5, 2008, Independent Record, Schweitzer said: 'As the governor, I’m not going to allow out-of-state interests to buy up lands and restrict access to public lands and streams.'" -Billings Gazette, 10/30/2010


Shockingly, some members of the public who expressed disappointment with losing access would not give their names out of fear of retribution.

"Most of those people, however, didn’t want their names to be used in a news story out of fear of retribution." -Billings Gazette, 10/30/2010


So, the facts: Greg Gianforte never shut down access...but Brian Schweitzer did. And Governor Bullocks administration is trying to shut down access at Hell Creek, and they recently shut down another access site near Great Falls.  Gianforte has said he will keep public lands public. Bullock is claiming in a new ad that Greg wants to sell public lands, but Bullock himself has actually voted to sell 10s of thousands of acres of public lands.

(ICYMI- #MTGov Daily Rundown: "Bullock Admin Working to End Public Access at Hell Creek")


This news comes as another Helena insider, Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau, has been called out for lying about her opponents stance on public lands and public access. Interestingly, when her lie was exposed, Juneau refused to be interviewed. Many of the same groups helping Juneau tout this lie are also backing Governor Bullock's campaign.

"Democratic congressional candidate Denise Juneau has been called out for a false attack on her opponent U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke.

At issue is Juneau’s criticism of Zinke’s public lands record. In a June 15, website posting, Juneau said 'Congressman Zinke votes to sell off America’s public lands.' She followed up with a letter to editors of several Montana newspapers in which she said 'Zinke voted to allow the transfer of Montana’s public land.'

Zinke had done neither, according to a fact check by Ballotpedia, as well as a reading of the bill cited by Juneau." -Billings Gazette, 7/23/2016