The access to the Crazy Mountains on all sides is controlled by treaties with Native Americans. The treaties of the time asked for the abilities’ of traveling across the land by foot or horse going anywhere; and with the ability to create trails and roads where repeated travel would damage the ground they were crossing. This right of travel was guaranteed to both parties of the treaties. Many treaties also guaranteed hunting rights on former tribal hunting grounds.
The land grant given to Northern Pacific Railroad did not change those rights of access it strengthened the trails and roads part. The creation of Yellowstone National Park did not remove the right to travel across Yellowstone by Native American treaty holders. The Native Americans decided to not hunt in Yellowstone to save the bison.
The fact that individuals are seeking to get legislative relief or seeking further political changes to control access to their property is disturbing to me because they are trying to abrogate a treaty for their own gain. Breaking the treaty tells other counties that our treaties are worthless, and any person can break them through the court system or through non thinking political representatives seeking to grant relief to them.
The nuclear nonproliferation treaty we are working on with Russia and China in the future are supported by the length of these treaties.
