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HELENA - Senator Kendall Van Dyk (D-Billings) is calling it the biggest assault on Montana's Stream Access Law in years while Representative Jeff Welborn (R-Dillon) calls it a clarification bill.

In the simplest of terms, House Bill 309, carried by Welborn, defines a ditch as any body of water with a piece of irrigation equipment on it. The bill says those bodies of water are off limits to recreationists.

Opponents to the bill say the definition is too broad and rivers like the Big Hole, Bitterroot and even Yellowstone could be interpreted to be off limits. Representative Jon Sesso (D-Butte) says the bill is a direct attack on the Stream Access Law.

"This is an attempt to undo a decision of the court for the benefit of 1,2,3 people who want to admit we don't allow fishing in an irrigation ditch," Sesso adds.

Representative Christy Clark (R-Choteau) disagrees, saying that is not the intention of the bill.

"This is in no way making those streams that are natural flowing rivers inaccessible to sportsmen. It is simply clarifying that ditches were never intended to be a part of stream access," Clark said on the House floor.

Montana Trout Unlimited reports Montana's Stream Access Law is perfectly clear and already states fishing and recreating is not allowed in irrigation ditches. The organization claims this bill would reclassify hundreds of miles of natural stream channels as irrigation ditches.

Bill supporters say the law has ambiguity and needs to be clarified after the 2008 Montana Supreme Court ruled in the Mitchell Slough decision. The court ruled that a slough located east of the Bitterroot River was open to recreationists, despite claims it was used for irrigation.

During the last legislative session, Van Dyk and Representative Mike Milburn (R-Cascade) championed the most recent update to Montana's Stream Access law. Now, some two years later they stand divided on House Bill 309.

Van Dyk says this bill secretly repeals the work they did last session. Now this session, Speaker Milburn supported Welborn's bill voting in favor of it.

The bill passed a second reading on the House floor in a 55-44 vote. Van Dyk says he is confident he has the votes in the Senate to kill the bill.

Click here to read the full text of the House Bill 309.