Thanks to a land swap, Montana commoners will no
longer be able to hunt, fish or hike on state lands nestled deep
within the private kingdom of media mogul Ted Turner and his wife,
Jane Fonda.
Turner didn’t like uninvited guests
invading the Flying D Ranch southwest of Bozeman, Mont., so he
offered the state a deal it couldn’t refuse. In exchange for 6,167
acres of school trust land within the boundaries of his Flying D,
Turner turned over to the state 11,630 acres inside a second ranch
south of Alder and 1,058 acres near Great
Falls.
Sportsmen who didn’t like the deal
challenged it in court. One of the main complaints was the loss of
fishing opportunities on several prized streams. But District Judge
Thomas Honzel approved the exchange in late October, acknowledging
that it would not please everyone.
“The purpose
of the state trust lands is not for the benefit of the public but
for Montana’s public schools,” he said. State officials said the
swap would increase the value of trust lands by $217,000 and
generate an additional $6,577 annually for Montana’s public
schools.
Besides, Honzel pointed out, fishermen
can still fish inside Turner’s ranch if they walk along the stream.
They just can’t drive across his land any longer without
permission.
*Mark
Matthews
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Ted Turner makes a deal.
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