After a long, cold winter, the month of May will see western Montana residents and visitors streaming into the outdoors for all kinds of recreational activities.
It's 59 miles of the most cherished stretch of river in America, with one put-in and one take-out. About 1 in 10 people who applied for a private float permit for the Smith River got one for 2023. Nearly 40% of the float permits for The Smith were awarded to nonresidents of Montana. Do we have a problem?