State land posted as private, Custer NF.

S

Spedray

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Bozeman, mt
I came across two different sections of state land that had signs saying posted no trespassing, no hunting, no fishing while next to the Custer national forest in Montana with the owners name on it. They also had the fence posts painted orange. I checked with the Custer national forest office in Ashland and according to their maps it is state land. Who should I try to contacting to let them know of these infractions?
 
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Remember that spot. Those false signs should help reduce hunting pressure. Just make positively sure its public before you cross over.
 
I am sure they leased the state land to run their cattle on but every map including national forest at their office and onx show it as state land. I have seen signs that limit entry in agricultural fields but nothing like this in the mountains. Just looking to see who i can report this to.
 
Bluejeep said:
Remember that spot. Those false signs should help reduce hunting pressure. Just make positively sure its public before you cross over.
Click to expand...

And sadly be prepared to have an interaction with the sheriff to interrupt your hunt.
First thing I would do is to politely contact the name on the posted sign and ask for permission to hunt which will ultimately help your cause.
That name on the posted sign leases that land from the state but that is it ........... however, we live in strange times.
 
Never seen a sheriff in the ten years i have hunted there. The cattle company is a rather big one for the area and no way am I asking to hunt on "my land". Everyone i talked too just went over the fence and really didn't care that is was posted. I did notice they didn't sign the areas by the county road where the blue state land signs are but the posted signs were in the backcountry far from any roads.
 
FAIR CHASE said:
And sadly be prepared to have an interaction with the sheriff to interrupt your hunt.
First thing I would do is to politely contact the name on the posted sign and ask for permission to hunt which will ultimately help your cause.
That name on the posted sign leases that land from the state but that is it ........... however, we live in strange times.
Click to expand...

Do not contact the landowner to ask for permission. Confirm it is state land and go hunt it. If you call
And ask for permission you are giving him the choice to control access to legally accessible public land. Go hunt it....
 
Start here (406) 444-2074 and tell them where and what and ask where to go from there.

It is illegal to post public land in that way and leasing it for grazing does not allow them to post it. I have dealt with this in the past in R2 and R3; it wasn't long after and the situations were rectified and no more signs.
 
Here's a thought....call the State DNRC office in Miles City 406-232-2034 and report it. I guarantee they would like to know about things like this and would follow up on it if a lessee was truly posting State land illegally..
 
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In Idaho state land under an exclusive lease is treated just like private property. Must be different in Montana?
 
406LIFE said:
Start here (406) 444-2074 and tell them where and what and ask where to go from there.

It is illegal to post public land in that way and leasing it for grazing does not allow them to post it. I have dealt with this in the past in R2 and R3; it wasn't long after and the situations were rectified and no more signs.
Click to expand...

Looks like my question was answered as I typed it.
 
Spedray, addressing the illegality of these postings is harder than ignoring them, because it is more important. Ignoring a wrong because it benefits you personally, as some suggested above, is not for people of principle, nor does it confront the bad guys who are illegally taking access from the rest of us. Kind of like shrugging off the political assassination of a journalist by a deep-pocketed business crony.
 
406LIFE said:
Start here (406) 444-2074 and tell them where and what and ask where to go from there.

It is illegal to post public land in that way and leasing it for grazing does not allow them to post it. I have dealt with this in the past in R2 and R3; it wasn't long after and the situations were rectified and no more signs.
Click to expand...

This
 
Agree with Schaaf and others don't ask for permission...that's like someone stealing your car and then you asking them for a ride.

Contact FWP and local DNRC. If that goes nowhere then go to State offices. Take pictures and GPS points as evidence
 
This doesn't seem so hard to me. First determine if the land is state owned, whether or not it is under lease, and if under lease what are the terms of the lease with regard to posting and limiting public access. Part of doing this obviously involves reporting that the land is posted. Then, based on what you find out, hunt it regardless of the posting if legal to do so. If not, stay out. If you do find that the land is state owned and legally accessible and you hunt it regardless of any posting, get documentation from the state if possible.

We have a similar situation in the east with regard to private land under lease. Some lease terms cover access for crops and hunting and trapping. Others address only farming access. It's important to have permission from the right person.
 
I talked to Chris at the Miles City Mt dnrc. Really nice guy who said they would look into the problem and report back to me with updates as they happened and what they find. Great to hear they were genuinely interested.
 
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