Mont. Code Ann. » TITLE 23. PARKS, RECREATION, SPORTS, AND GAMBLING · CHAPTER 2. RECREATION · Part 3. Recreational Use of Streams
Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 23-2-301 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of May 2026
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  1. MCA Contents
  2. TITLE 23
  3. CHAPTER 2
  4. Part 3
  5. 23-2-301 Definitions

TITLE 23. PARKS, RECREATION, SPORTS, AND GAMBLING

CHAPTER 2. RECREATION

Part 3. Recreational Use of Streams

Definitions

23-2-301. Definitions. For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:

(1) "Barrier" means an artificial obstruction located in or over a water body, restricting passage on or through the water, that totally or effectively obstructs the recreational use of the surface water at the time of use. A barrier may include but is not limited to a bridge or fence or any other artificial obstacle to the natural flow of water.

(2) "Class I waters" means surface waters, other than lakes, that:

(a) lie within the officially recorded federal government survey meander lines of the waters;

(b) flow over lands that have been judicially determined to be owned by the state by reason of application of the federal navigability test for state streambed ownership;

(c) are or have been capable of supporting the following commercial activities: log floating, transportation of furs and skins, shipping, commercial guiding using multiperson watercraft, public transportation, or the transportation of merchandise, as these activities have been defined by published judicial opinion as of April 19, 1985; or

(d) are or have been capable of supporting commercial activity within the meaning of the federal navigability test for state streambed ownership.

(3) "Class II waters" means all surface waters that are not class I waters, except lakes.

(4) "Commission" means the fish and wildlife commission provided for in 2-15-3402.

(5) "Department" means the department of fish, wildlife, and parks provided for in 2-15-3401.

(6) "Diverted away from a natural water body" means a diversion of surface water through a constructed water conveyance system, including but not limited to:

(a) an irrigation or drainage canal or ditch;

(b) an industrial, municipal, or domestic water system, excluding the lake, stream, or reservoir from which the system obtains water;

(c) a flood control channel; or

(d) a hydropower inlet and discharge facility.

(7) "Lake" means a body of water where the surface water is retained by either natural or artificial means and the natural flow of water is substantially impeded.

(8) "Occupied dwelling" means a building used for a human dwelling at least once a year.

(9) "Ordinary high-water mark" means the line that water impresses on land by covering it for sufficient periods to cause physical characteristics that distinguish the area below the line from the area above it. Characteristics of the area below the line include, when appropriate, but are not limited to deprivation of the soil of substantially all terrestrial vegetation and destruction of its agricultural vegetative value. A flood plain adjacent to surface waters is not considered to lie within the surface waters' high-water marks.

(10) "Recreational use" means with respect to surface waters: fishing, hunting, swimming, floating in small craft or other flotation devices, boating in motorized craft unless otherwise prohibited or regulated by law, or craft propelled by oar or paddle, other water-related pleasure activities, and related unavoidable or incidental uses.

(11) "Supervisors" means the board of supervisors of a soil conservation district, the directors of a grazing district, or the board of county commissioners if a request pursuant to 23-2-311(3)(b) is not within the boundaries of a conservation district or if the request is refused by the board of supervisors of a soil conservation district or the directors of a grazing district.

(12) "Surface water" means, for the purpose of determining the public's access for recreational use, a natural water body, its bed, and its banks up to the ordinary high-water mark.

History: En. Sec. 1, Ch. 429, L. 1985, and Sec. 1, Ch. 556, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 28, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 360, Ch. 56, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 15, Ch. 235, L. 2013.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11 cases, 1987–2019 · leading case: Galt v. State Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, 731 P.2d 912 (Mont. 1987).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Galt v. State Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, 731 P.2d 912 (Mont. 1987). · cites it 35× “In response to these two decisions, the legislature enacted §§ 23-2-301, et seq., MCA, addressing the recreational use of streams.”
Pub. Lands Access Ass'n v. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners, 2014 MT 10 (Mont. 2014). · cites it 6× “The public retains the right to use this bought-and-paid-for right-of-way. Kennedy has no right to complain that the public is using the right-of-way the County purchased from Kennedy’s predecessor.”
Bitterroot River Prot. Ass'n v. Bitterroot Conservation Dist., 2008 MT 377 (Mont. 2008). · cites it 15× “Section 23-2-301(10), MCA. We do not mean to imply that the District Court’s approach would inevitably lead to a determination that Montana rivers such as the Missouri, Yellowstone or Bitterroot are unnatural and unavailable for use under the SAL.”
BITTERROOT RIVER Prot. ASS'N, INC. v. Bitterroot Conservation Dist., 2002 MT 66 (Mont. 2002). · cites it 4× “Compare § 75-7-103, MCA (defining terms under the Streambed Preservation Act) with § 23-2-301, MCA (defining terms under the Stream Access Act).”
Madison v. Graham, 126 F. Supp. 2d 1320 (D. Mont. 2001). · cites it 9× “Next, in 1985, after much political compromise, the Montana Legislature enacted the Stream Access Law, Mont.Code Ann. §§ 23-2-301, et seq., for the purpose of codifying Montana law regarding recreational use of Montana streams.”
Bitterroot River Prot. Ass'n Inc. v. Bitterroot Cons. Dist., 2008 MT 377 (Mont. 2008). · cites it 15× “Section 23-2-301(10), MCA. [12] We do not mean to imply that the District Court's approach would inevitably lead to a determination that Montana rivers such as the Missouri, Yellowstone or Bitterroot are unnatural and unavailable for use under the SAL.”
Ash v. Merlette, 2017 MT 305 (Mont. 2017). · cites it 2× “7 See also § 23-2-301(9), MCA (definition of “ordinary high-water mark”).”
Galt v. State, 749 P.2d 1089 (Mont. 1988). · cites it 3× “Galt brought this action pursuant to the Uniform Declaratory Judgment Act, Section 27-8-101 through Section 27-8-313, MCA, and sought an order declaring House Bill 265, the “Stream Access Bill,” Section 23-2-301 et seq., MCA (1985), unconstitutional as a taking of private…”
Bugli v. Ravalli Cnty., 444 P.3d 399 (Mont. 2019). · cites it 2× “¶27 Significantly, the board may not abandon a county road or right of way used to provide existing legal access to public land or waters, including access for public recreational use as defined in § 23-2-301(10), MCA, and as permitted in § 23-2-302, MCA, unless another public…”
Ryan v. Harrison Harrison, 2001 MT 128N (Mont. 2001). · cites it 6× “] ¶21 Furthermore, under § 23-2-301(12), MCA, the statute defining "surface water," the Legislature specifically limited the public's recreational use to "natural" water bodies.”
Galt v. State (Mont. 1988). “In bringing this action, Galt sought a declaratory judgment that certain portions of the Stream Access Bill, S § 23-2-301, et seq., MCA, were unconstitutional as a taking of private property without just compensation.”
— Mont. Code Ann. § 23-2-301(10) — 4 cases
Galt v. State Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, 731 P.2d 912 (Mont. 1987). “In response to these two decisions, the legislature enacted §§ 23-2-301, et seq., MCA, addressing the recreational use of streams.”
Bitterroot River Prot. Ass'n v. Bitterroot Conservation Dist., 2008 MT 377 (Mont. 2008). “Section 23-2-301(10), MCA. We do not mean to imply that the District Court’s approach would inevitably lead to a determination that Montana rivers such as the Missouri, Yellowstone or Bitterroot are unnatural and unavailable for use under the SAL.”
Bitterroot River Prot. Ass'n Inc. v. Bitterroot Cons. Dist., 2008 MT 377 (Mont. 2008). “Section 23-2-301(10), MCA. [12] We do not mean to imply that the District Court's approach would inevitably lead to a determination that Montana rivers such as the Missouri, Yellowstone or Bitterroot are unnatural and unavailable for use under the SAL.”
Bugli v. Ravalli Cnty., 444 P.3d 399 (Mont. 2019). “¶27 Significantly, the board may not abandon a county road or right of way used to provide existing legal access to public land or waters, including access for public recreational use as defined in § 23-2-301(10), MCA, and as permitted in § 23-2-302, MCA, unless another public…”
— Mont. Code Ann. § 23-2-301(12) — 5 cases
Galt v. State Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, 731 P.2d 912 (Mont. 1987). “In response to these two decisions, the legislature enacted §§ 23-2-301, et seq., MCA, addressing the recreational use of streams.”
Bitterroot River Prot. Ass'n v. Bitterroot Conservation Dist., 2008 MT 377 (Mont. 2008). “Section 23-2-301(10), MCA. We do not mean to imply that the District Court’s approach would inevitably lead to a determination that Montana rivers such as the Missouri, Yellowstone or Bitterroot are unnatural and unavailable for use under the SAL.”
Pub. Lands Access Ass'n v. Bd. of Cnty. Commissioners, 2014 MT 10 (Mont. 2014). “The public retains the right to use this bought-and-paid-for right-of-way. Kennedy has no right to complain that the public is using the right-of-way the County purchased from Kennedy’s predecessor.”
Bitterroot River Prot. Ass'n Inc. v. Bitterroot Cons. Dist., 2008 MT 377 (Mont. 2008). “Section 23-2-301(10), MCA. [12] We do not mean to imply that the District Court's approach would inevitably lead to a determination that Montana rivers such as the Missouri, Yellowstone or Bitterroot are unnatural and unavailable for use under the SAL.”
Ryan v. Harrison Harrison, 2001 MT 128N (Mont. 2001). “] ¶21 Furthermore, under § 23-2-301(12), MCA, the statute defining "surface water," the Legislature specifically limited the public's recreational use to "natural" water bodies.”
— Mont. Code Ann. § 23-2-301(2) — 1 case
Galt v. State Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, 731 P.2d 912 (Mont. 1987). “In response to these two decisions, the legislature enacted §§ 23-2-301, et seq., MCA, addressing the recreational use of streams.”
— Mont. Code Ann. § 23-2-301(6) — 3 cases
BITTERROOT RIVER Prot. ASS'N, INC. v. Bitterroot Conservation Dist., 2002 MT 66 (Mont. 2002). “Compare § 75-7-103, MCA (defining terms under the Streambed Preservation Act) with § 23-2-301, MCA (defining terms under the Stream Access Act).”
Bitterroot River Prot. Ass'n v. Bitterroot Conservation Dist., 2008 MT 377 (Mont. 2008). “Section 23-2-301(10), MCA. We do not mean to imply that the District Court’s approach would inevitably lead to a determination that Montana rivers such as the Missouri, Yellowstone or Bitterroot are unnatural and unavailable for use under the SAL.”
Bitterroot River Prot. Ass'n Inc. v. Bitterroot Cons. Dist., 2008 MT 377 (Mont. 2008). “Section 23-2-301(10), MCA. [12] We do not mean to imply that the District Court's approach would inevitably lead to a determination that Montana rivers such as the Missouri, Yellowstone or Bitterroot are unnatural and unavailable for use under the SAL.”
— Mont. Code Ann. § 23-2-301(6)(a) — 2 cases
Bitterroot River Prot. Ass'n v. Bitterroot Conservation Dist., 2008 MT 377 (Mont. 2008). “Section 23-2-301(10), MCA. We do not mean to imply that the District Court’s approach would inevitably lead to a determination that Montana rivers such as the Missouri, Yellowstone or Bitterroot are unnatural and unavailable for use under the SAL.”
Bitterroot River Prot. Ass'n Inc. v. Bitterroot Cons. Dist., 2008 MT 377 (Mont. 2008). “Section 23-2-301(10), MCA. [12] We do not mean to imply that the District Court's approach would inevitably lead to a determination that Montana rivers such as the Missouri, Yellowstone or Bitterroot are unnatural and unavailable for use under the SAL.”
— Mont. Code Ann. § 23-2-301(7) — 1 case
Ryan v. Harrison Harrison, 2001 MT 128N (Mont. 2001). “] ¶21 Furthermore, under § 23-2-301(12), MCA, the statute defining "surface water," the Legislature specifically limited the public's recreational use to "natural" water bodies.”
— Mont. Code Ann. § 23-2-301(9) — 3 cases
Madison v. Graham, 126 F. Supp. 2d 1320 (D. Mont. 2001). “Next, in 1985, after much political compromise, the Montana Legislature enacted the Stream Access Law, Mont.Code Ann. §§ 23-2-301, et seq., for the purpose of codifying Montana law regarding recreational use of Montana streams.”
Ash v. Merlette, 2017 MT 305 (Mont. 2017). “7 See also § 23-2-301(9), MCA (definition of “ordinary high-water mark”).”
Ryan v. Harrison Harrison, 2001 MT 128N (Mont. 2001). “] ¶21 Furthermore, under § 23-2-301(12), MCA, the statute defining "surface water," the Legislature specifically limited the public's recreational use to "natural" water bodies.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.