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Access to public lands and streams is under attack in Montana, according to a report released Friday by the Montana Wildlife Federation and the Public Land/Water Access Association.

The report cites a number of cases where the organizations believe private landowners are closing off historically public roads or stream accesses.

Of the cited cases, two are in Silver Bow County, two are in Powell County and one is in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County (See info box on Page 6A).

“For over two decades we’ve seen some people work to privatize our public lands by cutting off public access,” said John Gibson, president of the Public Land/Water Access Association. “And once somebody controls the access, they control all the public resources, including fish and wildlife on those lands.”

The report, titled “Roadblocked and Landlocked: How Montanans are being kept out of their public lands,” contends that roughly one-third of the land in Montana is public, and outdoor recreation pumps $5.8 billion into the state’s economy and supports 64,000 jobs.

The report is the latest warning in what could become a state court system riddled with public access versus private property rights lawsuits.