Two ex-Republican legislators, Jason Priest and Scott Boulanger, along with Dustin Temple, former director of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, face criminal trespass charges in Big Horn County. They claim Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks cited them based on faulty information, leading to misdemeanor citations. The controversy revolves around a road on the Crow Indian Reservation, questioning its status as a tribal or private roadway. Priest asserts that the road is tribally owned, invalidating the charges, and provided Bureau of Indian Affairs documentation to support his claim.
Priest, Boulanger, and Temple pleaded not guilty, with all three insisting they held valid tribal permits during the incidents. They relied on a public lands mapping app, OnX, indicating they were on a public road. In November 2025, Boulanger and Temple accessed South Hay Coulee Road, also known as BIA Route 750, and were accused of trespassing by Monette Farms employees, who claim ownership of the land. Boulanger described the confrontation as intense, with the employee shouting at them.
The men argue they weren’t aiming to hunt on Monette Farms property but sought access to tribal land via the disputed road, for which they had permits. They never exited their vehicle on Monette Farms land, focusing on reaching hunting areas legally accessible to them. In a subsequent incident, Boulanger and Priest accessed the road again with bird dogs, believing they were on a tribal road.
Priest claims he held a valid trespass license from the Crow Tribe, stating his journey was lawful, contrary to the complaint’s allegations. Charges include criminal trespass and failure to obtain landowner permission. Photographs of their vehicle were taken, and they were charged in summer 2026. Boulanger, a former state Board of Outfitters and Guides member, reiterated they were following the rules.
Michael Gee, from Helena’s Morrison Sherwood Wilson & Deola law firm, prosecutes the case, not Big Horn County Attorney Jeanne Torske. The county’s response that the road was private contradicts Priest’s evidence. According to BIA’s Lincoln Begay, the road is tribally owned and should be open for public use per federal law. Premier Land Company, managing Monette Farms, has not commented on the case. Monette Farms is listed for sale at $96 million by Premier Land Company, among over 40 properties in Montana.
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