406 Forum: Public Land

Last November, Gov. Bullock designated July as Montana Open Land Month. “Montanans take great pride in our outdoor heritage—a legacy we are entrusted with and must safeguard for future generations,” he wrote last December in a letter to the Montana Association of Land Trusts.

What’s your favorite piece of public land?

Ian Taylor, Big Sky

“Taylor Fork, mile marker eight is a cool [camping] spot. It’s pretty isolated, there’s no one else there.”

Zach Pytka, Bozeman

“The Bangtails are awesome for hunting and mountain biking [and] I think they’re in a little bit of tumult right now because there’s potentially land swaps going on. I heard that some of the Plum Creek Timber Co. land was going to go back into logging again … It seems like more places are being closed off than opened up.”

Walter Ainsworth, Big Sky

“Ousel Falls Trail. {Big Sky Community Organization] did a great job on that trail and it was done locally. I think they do an outstanding job maintaining public land around here.”