Just as Montana archery and upland bird hunters are planning their fall adventures, Bozeman filmmaker Jason Matzinger unveiled a new movie on hunting landlocked sections of public property. The movie is likely to stimulate campfire conversations.
“Not all public land is available to the populace,” Matzinger said in a press release. “In the United States, there are massive amounts of public land completely surrounded by private lands, making the public lands private by default. It’s landlocked.”
Titled “#ProjectLandlocked,” the 38-minute free online film examines the controversy and conundrum presented by the estimated 16.43 million acres of public land that are inaccessible in 22 states. This is equivalent to the entire state of West Virginia or seven Yellowstone National Parks, the film noted.
Montana is in the top tier for states with landlocked acreage, totaling 3.09 million acres, surpassed only by Wyoming with 4.16 million inaccessible acres.
“Jason was really interested in bringing the reports to light to a new audience that isn’t reading reports,” said Molly Stoecklein, senior communications manager for onX.
Film producer Jason Matzinger rests while packing out a bull elk he shot during filming of “#ProjectLandlocked,” now available on YouTube.
Tech
Missoula-based onX, a digital mapping company founded in 2010, was one of several partners involved in the making of “#ProjectLandlocked.” Others included the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.
Read More:Film highlights challenges regarding landlocked public property | Montana Untamed
2021-09-05 22:30:00
