Montana Landowners Want Irrigation Ditches Closed to Public Access

Undoubtedly in response to the recent rulings on access to the Mitchell Slough and Ruby River, some Montana property owners have organized to present a constitutional initiative to block public access to irrigation ditches. “A spokesman for Montana Trout Unlimited immediately denounced the proposal as an attempt to weaken the state’s stream access law. ‘This is kind of a surreptitious way to undermine Montana’s steam access law, and it’s unfortunate that Chuck Denowh and others are trying to take a crack at it in kind of a sneaky way,’ said Mark Aagenes, conservation director for Montana Trout Unlimited.” Charles S. Johnson in the Billings Gazette.