In early October, four hunters were pursuing elk and mule deer in the foothills of southern Wyoming. Subscribe to OL+ for our best feature stories and photography. However, a separate civil lawsuit still underway could potentially address some of the legal underpinnings of Editors note: In October 2021, four Missourians hunting in Wyoming were cited for criminal trespass after corner crossing from one square parcel of public land to another across adjoining cornerspresenting an opportunity to test an infamously murky legal issue. This issue of trespassing has an ugly history. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The judge issued a strong opinion in favor of the hunters. Instead, the primary purpose was to reserve such things as mineral and transportation rights for the government. MeatEater will continue to follow this case as it develops. Their decision did not address whether an individual could step from one piece of public land to another, however. Probably 50/50, Cape said. We rely on loyal members like you to sustain our reporting and grow the WyoFile community. Even as the opposing parties were quibbling over the witness list for a pending civil trial in the Elk Mountain, Wyoming, corner-crossing case, a federal judge brought the case to a close last week by issuing a judgment in favor of the hunters. The four hunters crossed at such corners, without setting foot on the Elk Mountain Ranch, where public U.S. Bureau of Land Management property and private lands lie in a checkerboard pattern in Carbon County. An attorney for four hunters found not guilty of trespassing has for the first time explicitly alleged the owner of the Elk Mountain Ranch violated a U.S. statute. Courts have defined what constitutes an illegal enclosure, according to Madsen who quoted one ruling. Our ranch fencing was way off once surveyed. They mapped out a route to public land using the onX Hunt app, a real-time GPS tracker that shows property lines that would require corner crossing, the act of stepping over a property corner from one parcel of public land to another.
Dismissal Likely Not The End For 'Corner-Crossing' Case, As Appeals Can Be a steward of the land and resources. While lobbying two law officers to cite four hunters with trespass for corner crossing last fall in Carbon County, Elk Mountain Ranch Manager Steve Grende asked the lawmen, who were Oh, tell Fred Eshelman thanks for pushing this issue that ultimately resulted in shooting himself in the foot. We respect your privacy. The justices held that the government does not have an implied easement to build a road across private land to access public.
New Criminal Charges Dropped, but Corner Crossing Case - MeatEater Tell them you want them to sponsor a bill clarifying the legality of corner crossing in your state, and that youll be watching to make sure they follow through.. Chief U.S. District Judge Scott W. Skavdahl ruled in favor of four hunters who crossed a corner of the Elk Mountain Ranch. The federal civil trial as-yet unscheduled may address the two metal T-posts driven into Elk Mountain property at the four-corner intersection. So, we'd have air, water, and I'd make the argument that maybe the other exception is for land.. The owner of the Elk Mountain Ranch broke federal law by blocking four hunters' access to public land and by harassing and .
Inside the Wyoming Corner Crossing Case Everyone is Watching - MeatEater [W]hen, under the guise of enclosing his own land, [a landowner] builds a fence which is useless for that purpose, and can only have been intended to enclose the land of the government, he is plainly within the (unlawful enclosures) statute, and is guilty of an unwarrantable appropriation of that which belongs to the public at large, he wrote. This article is the third installment of our coverage. Jim Magagna is the executive vice president of the Wyoming Stockgrowers Association, an influential group representing ranching interests in the state. Any reasonable person reading the results of this will know that a FOOT crossing is the only method short of flying that will be allowed. And a number of so called hunters dont respect public ground regulations. In that case, the court ruled for someone to trespass into a propertys airspace, they had to in some other way damage the property or interfere with the use of that property. In that case, a federal court ruled that a sheep farmer could move his herd across private land to access public parcels in southern Wyoming. But he also ruled that Eshelman, if he were to win a Waypoint 6 argument in front of a jury, would be entitled to nominal damages only. larry, great insight ! Thats a fact. However, its worth noting up front each individual state establishes its own trespass law and relevant court precedent. The basic unit of land ownership is a square-mile (640-acre) block called a section. Due largely to a 19th-century law aimed at promoting development along railroad corridors, land in the West is often arranged in a checkerboard pattern, with alternating sections of public and private parcels, as shown below. I still expect this to occur. He said they should seek compromise rather than division. 2023 County 17 | 120 West 1st Street, Casper WY 82601 | Privacy | AP Policy Website by Web Publisher PRO, wealthy North Carolina owner Fred Eshelman, Obstruction of settlement on or transit over public lands, (PHOTOS) Campbell fire department responds to gas leak in Sleepy Hollow, Despite lifesaving attempts at Gillette intersection, Michigan man dies, Arrests, Arraignments for Monday, June 12, Campbell families to join in worldwide drowning prevention event, Game and Fish Department issues reminder to leave newborn wildlife alone, keep distance, Cowboy chef Kent Rollins will be in Ten Sleep for book signing, Gillette City Council votes down ordinance to lift access, parking lot maintenance requirements, Authorities report escape of Wyoming state prisoner from forestry crew, Food Bank of Wyoming to offer summer Totes of Hope. They were accused of trespassing on the ranch near Elk Mountain while attempting to cross from one corner of public land onto another section of public land in September 2021.
*WyoFile does not fact check every comment but, when noticed, submissions containing clear misinformation, demonstrably false statements of fact or links to sites trafficking in such will not be posted. landowners before crossing corners from one piece of public . Please reload the page and try again. Of course, the four hunters who have been battling these cases for years also have reason to celebrate. The public parcels they were hunting were mixed in with private land in a checkerboard pattern. BLM conservation rule divides Wyoming public land users, Former Secretary of the Interior James Jim Watt dies at 85, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. Under common law the one who owns the surface of the ground has the exclusive right to everything which is above it, his opinion states. Rules of the Game Legal expenses are usually the greatest barrier to appealing such a case, but thats probably not a concern for Eshelman, he said. In addition, the Wyoming legislature just passed a law this year prohibiting hunters from traveling through private property to access public land. Checkerboarded land and corner crossings have long been a matter of dispute in Wyoming and across the West. 08 Jun 2023 19:39:42 . The reference to the Unlawful Inclosures Act , a law still in effect after all those years, shows the continued integrity of Wyoming law !
The Wyoming Corner Crossing case is headed to federal court He oversees an ace team of writers, photographers, and editors who are scattered across the continent and cover everything from backcountry sheep hunting to trail running. Public land hunters across the country celebrated Friday as a jury quickly delivered a not-guilty verdict in the high-profile case of four Missourians charged with trespassing in Wyoming last fall. Public land hunters across the country celebrated Friday as a jury quickly delivered a not-guilty verdict in the high-profile case of four Missourians charged with trespassing in Wyoming last fall. The two posts were connected to nothing else no property-line fences a photograph shows. North and South Dakota define section lines as a public right of way, which seems to allow corner crossing or at least access to landlocked public lands. This would not have happened without them, he said. He claimed they violated his airspace by crossing at the property corners. It wasnt until President Theodore Roosevelt latched onto the idea of national parks and forests around the turn of the 20th century that maintaining the federal estate for the enjoyment of the people was really a part of the national conversation. FAQ: The Federal Ruling on the Wyoming Corner Crossing Case. He claimed that the hunters had damaged his propertys value to the tune of $7 million, and the case was presented before Chief U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl. Whats in store for the devastated Wyoming Range Deer Herd? But if you put your foot on the ground or if you drop anchor, you can be cited for criminal trespass., Willms said hed argue that point if he were the one in front of the judge: So, my point there is, we've kind of carved out another exception, from a public trust standpoint, for water. Subscribe to our free newsletter and get the latest stories straight to your inbox every Tuesday. A U.S. District Court judges ruling in favor of four hunters in a Wyoming corner-crossing case of alleged trespassing in Carbon County is likely to be appealed and could drag on, says a legal expert.
FWP statement on corner crossing in Montana raises public land access