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Bitterroot homeowners post threatening sign on new gate
Bitterroot homeowners post threatening sign on new gate
PERRY BACKUS 22 hrs ago
A new gate and threatening sign blocking the controversial Hughes Creek Road in the upper reaches of the West Fork of the Bitterroot is being investigated by the Ravalli County Commission.
Jim Olson photo
The long-simmering controversy over access to a remote road in the upper reaches of the West Fork of the Bitterroot has turned up a notch this summer after a landowner built a new gate and posted it with a sign that said trespassers could get shot.
The new gate was built a few hundred feet beyond the location where county officials removed a gate twice this year following a court decision that found the Hughes Creek Road to be open to the public.
Ravalli County Commissioner Jeff Burrows said the county is working to determine who owns the land where the new gate is located before taking further action.
Ravalli Commission delays Hughes Creek gate decision
“We want to make sure that we’re doing our due diligence,” Burrows said. “We want to both protect public health and safety and protect the landowner’s rights as well.”
The controversy over access to the remote area dates back to 1970, when the first gate appeared across the road originally built in 1900 to access mining claims. Landowners have taken their arguments that the road should be closed to the public to the Montana Supreme Court twice and lost.
County crews removed the old gate last winter, but it was rebuilt in the same location.
Ravalli County removes controversial gate on Hughes Creek Road
In May, the county sent a letter to Levi and Darby Merritt saying the gate on their property was an encroachment blocking a county road. Burrows said the Merritts — who are relatively new landowners in the area — told the county they did not want the gate on their property.
A county crew completely removed that gate earlier this summer.
In July, Jim Olson of the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association found a new gate had been constructed further up the road. On Monday, Olson said he has traveled to the site to document the new gate two times this summer and was met by people who told him he was on private property and needed to leave.
Gate back up on Hughes Creek, county ponders next move
The sign on the gate reads: “Warning. No trespassing. You quite possibly could get shot or hurt and then try to sue resulting in a long drawn out court battle. You will lose. Because this sign will be: Exhibit A.”
“This shows how extreme these people are,” Olson said. “They have been before the district court twice and the court has twice ruled against them. They have been before the Montana Supreme Court twice and lost and still they persist.”
{snip}
PERRY BACKUS 22 hrs ago
A new gate and threatening sign blocking the controversial Hughes Creek Road in the upper reaches of the West Fork of the Bitterroot is being investigated by the Ravalli County Commission.
Jim Olson photo
The long-simmering controversy over access to a remote road in the upper reaches of the West Fork of the Bitterroot has turned up a notch this summer after a landowner built a new gate and posted it with a sign that said trespassers could get shot.
The new gate was built a few hundred feet beyond the location where county officials removed a gate twice this year following a court decision that found the Hughes Creek Road to be open to the public.
Ravalli County Commissioner Jeff Burrows said the county is working to determine who owns the land where the new gate is located before taking further action.
Ravalli Commission delays Hughes Creek gate decision
“We want to make sure that we’re doing our due diligence,” Burrows said. “We want to both protect public health and safety and protect the landowner’s rights as well.”
The controversy over access to the remote area dates back to 1970, when the first gate appeared across the road originally built in 1900 to access mining claims. Landowners have taken their arguments that the road should be closed to the public to the Montana Supreme Court twice and lost.
County crews removed the old gate last winter, but it was rebuilt in the same location.
Ravalli County removes controversial gate on Hughes Creek Road
In May, the county sent a letter to Levi and Darby Merritt saying the gate on their property was an encroachment blocking a county road. Burrows said the Merritts — who are relatively new landowners in the area — told the county they did not want the gate on their property.
A county crew completely removed that gate earlier this summer.
In July, Jim Olson of the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association found a new gate had been constructed further up the road. On Monday, Olson said he has traveled to the site to document the new gate two times this summer and was met by people who told him he was on private property and needed to leave.
Gate back up on Hughes Creek, county ponders next move
The sign on the gate reads: “Warning. No trespassing. You quite possibly could get shot or hurt and then try to sue resulting in a long drawn out court battle. You will lose. Because this sign will be: Exhibit A.”
“This shows how extreme these people are,” Olson said. “They have been before the district court twice and the court has twice ruled against them. They have been before the Montana Supreme Court twice and lost and still they persist.”
{snip}