Montana’s decision to elevate corner crossing at the June PLPW meeting is more than a scheduling note—it’s a tacit admission that the state’s checkerboard of public and private parcels has become a choke point for hunters who can’t legally step from one section of BLM or state land into another without risking trespass charges. By tasking the advisory group with “increasing landowner participation in FWP access programs,” Director Clark is essentially conceding that the old handshake-and-block-management model is losing ground to both aggressive posting and the growing number of out-of-state buyers who treat their deeded acres like private kingdoms. For the 2A community this matters because the same parcels that block elk migration routes also limit the practical exercise of the right to keep and bear arms in the field; if you can’t reach the game, the rifle in the safe is just expensive wall art.

The timing is telling. With record non-resident applications and a shrinking window of walk-in access on the Hi-Line, the Glasgow meeting could set the tone for whether Montana doubles down on voluntary easements or finally confronts the statutory gray area that lets landowners weaponize corner geometry. If the committee leans toward more signage, more fees, and more “permission only” gates, expect a ripple effect across every western state where school-trust sections create the same four-corner standoff. Conversely, a recommendation that clarifies pedestrian passage at corners—paired with liability shields for cooperating ranchers—would send a clear signal that wildlife belongs to the public even when the dirt underfoot is deeded. Either outcome will be watched closely by groups already litigating similar access questions in Wyoming and Colorado, because the precedent set in Glasgow will travel faster than any bull elk headed for winter range.