The Taking of Hughes Creek Road
The Bugli family contacted us through a mutual friend that was traveling to Ravalli County Montana to look at the Bugli family’s claims that their private property was being taken. The claim is that bureaucrats, are using system manipulation and coercion to achieve a “public” taking of private property by the County which was initiated by the USFS employee Ranger Dave along with a Eco-extremist group PLWA(Public Lands/ Water Association). Forest service employee, Ranger Dave, wanted to burden the taxpayers of Ravalli County with the construction bill for a taxpayer-funded cul-de-sac, bathroom and trail-head at the end of the road, 3 miles past the private gate and right in the middle of private property.
The eco-extremist, anti-private property group PLWA was founded by a retired USFS employees as a political tool for situations just like this. A machine that uses litigation to attack the private property rights of beneficial users such as the Bugli family.
A quick trip to the PLWA website shows a map boasting about all the legal disputes they are involved in. These red dot, targeted areas resemble tiny cross hairs. The first thing I thought about was all the hard working families represented by all these targets. This map is obviously a fund-raising pitch to paint beneficial users as evil, simply because they have private property. Just look at the context of their target presentation that labels private property owners as, “Evil, Greedy, criminals trying to steal your public land access”. How unamerican of the PLWA.
Thomas Jefferson said: “No other rights are safe where property is not safe”
Before the original meeting, the County Commissioners told the Bugli’s Attorney if they filed a request for the county to relinquish 4/10th’s of a mile
they would pass it and that would be the end of it but,the pro-theft PLWA and the commissioners had set an ambush. When the smoke cleared the county claimed 3 miles of road. The bushwhacking anti-private property
communists at PLWA sent representation to inform the county that by Montana law, the county cannot relinquish a road that accesses public land or water. The problem is that the 4/10 of mile is NOT a public road. None of the road is public not 4/10th’s, not 3 miles but, at this point, the County Commissioners decided, with the documentation presented, that the
county road runs 3 miles into the private property.
The Buglis then appealed. They researched public records to establish their position in the hearing and started looking for even more evidence, which they did end up finding in a county building, upstairs in a room that just happened to be quarantined by the US dept of Agriculture( USFS ). Unfortunately for the Buglis, the rules state, in an appeals process, new evidence cannot be entered into the record. So they will have to wait for this due process to take place on Oct 5 when the appeal window ends. The Montana supreme court decision was that the court did not have the authority to make the county do anything. Basically saying it was a county issue.
KEY NOTE: the decenting judge made sure to point out that the county had no standing to take 3 miles. Only by requesting the county to relinquish 4/10th’s of a mile did the property owners admit to any ownership by the county. So the county overstepped when they took claim to all 3 contested miles. Now the Buglis have a window of 90 days to appeal to a higher court which would be federal but, without the ability to look at the full extent of the story, via held evidence the decision would most certainly be the same. We traveled to Hamilton Montana, the county seat, to have a conversations with some officials. We were told by the commissioner that “the length of the road was already decided and it was out of their hands.” We told him the length of the road had not been decided due to the Montana Supreme court decision, unless their position was that the county road was only 4/10th’s of a mile past the gate. He said, “the road is 3 miles past the gate.”
So we wait. We wait for the appeal window to close. We wait to see if the Buglis and the other families get a chance to present the evidence that
contradicts the county’s claim and proves that the road ends where it has always ended, at their gate.
Due to our experience dealing with local government we also have to look at the possibility that, at the earliest opportunity, the county will come and remove the gate to avoid being sued by the anti heritage, pro-theft PLWA. It is our opinion that will occur at the end of the 90 day appeal window (Oct 5th). Even if the county doesn’t have the appetite to single-handedly devour our founding principles, the USFS employees through their Eco-extremist proxies at the PLWA will certainly file suit against the county for not enforcing their heavy hand. This is a long-proven move for NGOs to force the county’s hand. Will the elected commissioners stand firm for private property owners or cave to the litigious bullies at PLWA?
The deadline is the beginning of October. Please consider politely asking the Ravalli County Commissioners to set a hearing to look at the full evidence of the length of Hughes Creek Rd.
Tell them you support the Buglis and their neighbors. Tell them you support private property rights. Tell them you support due process.
The Commissioners contact information can be found at the below link
The Real Idaho 3%ers will continue to monitor the situation and consult the property owners on public relations until a time when we feel due process has been provided . We will continue to document any regulatory taking of private property as we see it as a direct offensive on or Republican form of government. Please make sure to subscribe and turn on the notifications to our YouTube channel for updated info on The Bugli’s story as we move closer to the deadline.
For more insight to the details watch the video made
on our trip here: https://youtu.be/uz_gbJ2udD0
Thank you for your continued support.
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