The Bureau of Land Management is aggressively working to digitize easements to its lands that have been hiding in file cabinets for decades. Region 1 of the Forest Service has also embarked on the task. That’s good news for people seeking routes to public lands for hunting or other recreation. According to onX, a Montana based digital mapping company, the work has revealed access routes to about 29,600 acres in Montana and Idaho that was previously believed to be inaccessible. Digitizing the information makes it easy for companies like onX to add the information to its cellphone apps that are commonly used by hunters. To learn more about the program, and to get a link to BLM’s website where the information can be found, check out my story at https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/blm-usfs-digitize-easements-many-of-which-provide-public-access-onx-highlights-some/article_daa370bf-7838-5b1a-847a-aaae112324a0.html

Written by Brett French | Outdoors editor | Billings Gazette Communications