I am the 'riff raff', it seems

I often hear that we’re losing access to our public lands. It’s the mantra of the motorized crowd who regularly lament the closing of old logging roads.

Now the same crowd is raising a fuss over new restrictions concerning motorized travel on some of Montana’s rivers.

I never viewed motorized restrictions as limiting my access. Quite the opposite in fact. They gave me a leg up. For much of my life I was too poor to afford even a 4WD pickup, let alone an ATV or a snowmobile. I walked or skied or paddled.

Then the financial picture brightened a bit and I was able to purchase a few mo...