A federal judge in Billings has issued a preliminary ruling in a dispute over trail management in the Crazy Mountains, just northeast of Bozeman.
The judge recommended denying advocacy groups’ claims that the Forest Service is mishandling public access to four trails on the basis that there is no legally-binding agreement in place that reinforces those access rights across private lands.
The trails in question pass through a checkerboard of federal, state and private land ownership in the Crazy Mountains.
The Forest Service is in a years-long, ongoing property negotiation with landowners in the Crazies. The more casual access agreements they’ve reached still permit private landowners to put up barriers on their properties, even if those roadblocks are part of a trail that passes through public land.
The magistrate judge’s recommendation is open for objection from the parties in the lawsuit before it heads to another judge for a final ruling. Representatives with the Custer Gallatin National Forest said the agency is unable to comment because the case is in active litigation.
Friends of the Crazy Mountains Founder Brad Wilson tells YPR that the group is "obviously ... disappointed in the judge's findings and recommendations.
"We respectfully disagree, and will be working on our objections over the next two weeks.”
A lawyer representing the landowners in the dispute told YPR in an email that the judge correctly found that the agreement between the Forest Service and landowners "was legal," and they're confident the recommendation will be adopted in the final ruling.
“The Zimmerman family (who own Henry Guth, Inc. and M Hanging Lazy 3, LLC) are happy with the magistrate judge’s decision last week," the statement said. "The Zimmermans worked with the Forest Service to reach a mutually beneficial agreement that ensured access to the Crazy Mountains."
