Wyoming corner crossers prevail

Matt B · May 27, 2023

Judge rules in favor of corner-crossing hunters - WyoFile

Skavdahl dismisses most of the claims made by the owner of the Elk Mountain Ranch who said Missouri hunters trespassed when they stepped over a corner of his Carbon County ranch.

wyofile.com

Peyton00 · May 27, 2023

I read the article last night, what a big win.

Congrats to the 4 guys ran thru the ringer.

Billy · May 27, 2023

Hell yeah!!!!

Billy · May 27, 2023

Good luck proving a way point means you trespassed. I can put a way point on the White House. Doesn't mean I was there.

Salmo_g · May 27, 2023

That's a great step toward resolution of this issue.

I've never before heard of the "Unlawful Inclosures Act of 1885." I'm gonna' look that up.

Billy · May 27, 2023

Salmo_g said:
That's a great step toward resolution of this issue.

I've never before heard of the "Unlawful Inclosures Act of 1885." I'm gonna' look that up.

I found this article from 1976 just fascinating:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://scholarship.law.uwyo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1264%26context%3Dland_water&ved=2ahUKEwjS-KP3g5b_AhXrIjQIHbsdCfIQFnoECCUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw30z7eVBZ1DgtYY5VsfYmoP

Brian Miller · May 27, 2023

Salmo_g said:
That's a great step toward resolution of this issue.

I've never before heard of the "Unlawful Inclosures Act of 1885." I'm gonna' look that up.

Agreed!

Dang, there is some pretty vigorous language in that Act. I wonder if it conflicts with other statutes?

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title43/chapter25&edition=prelim#:~:text=No%20person%2C%20by%20force%2C%20threats,tract%20of%20public%20land%20subject

Brian Miller · May 27, 2023

Billy said:
I found this article from 1976 just fascinating:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://scholarship.law.uwyo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1264%26context%3Dland_water&ved=2ahUKEwjS-KP3g5b_AhXrIjQIHbsdCfIQFnoECCUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw30z7eVBZ1DgtYY5VsfYmoP

It's beyond my ability to fully comprehend but I wonder if (and actually expect) there will be additional litigation to determine once and for all if completely and effectively closing off public lands in a checkerboard of parcels in and of itself is "intent" to exclude, and if the "public user" has the right to access public land.

Zak · May 27, 2023

Great decision.

RCF · May 27, 2023

Billy said:
I found this article from 1976 just fascinating:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://scholarship.law.uwyo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1264%26context%3Dland_water&ved=2ahUKEwjS-KP3g5b_AhXrIjQIHbsdCfIQFnoECCUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw30z7eVBZ1DgtYY5VsfYmoP

A VERY interesting read for sure and something that a lay person can understand too. Thank you @Billy for the link.

Islander · May 27, 2023

Yes, big win for the sportsman! It’s been quite the issue out here for a while. Some land owners have been pretty amazing about allowing the public to use their property to gain access. There are couple large ranches locally that even let the public use their roads (you just can’t go off on either side) to reach the public areas. One of my favorite C&R lakes is on DNR land with private property between it and the hwy. Without access from the ranch you’d have to hike over a fairly large mountain range. There are also several river access points that have a road through developed private property. Unfortunately there are some assholes also, such as the folks in the lawsuit. I think it will still be an uphill battle in some areas, but it appears to be headed in a positive direction. A lot will depend on the end users also, not making a mess of the access roads goes a long way in keeping land owners friendly. I’ve seen some idiots tearing up dirt roads that have water or snow on them by not driving carefully and just seeing how much mud they can throw.

Brian Miller · May 27, 2023

Fishing streams that are on public land adjacent to private property has allowed me some interaction with a couple of land owners; at least one of whom said the purchase of their property included both sides of the stream. Then the state or county who owned the property on the other side of the stream took property on the other side of the stream and the stream(bed) for a road or an easement of some sort. That may or may not be true but right or wrong, I would hate to believe I owned property like that and then found out I didn't. So I empathized, told them it was a beautiful place and asked their permission (whether it was truly once theirs or not) if I could fish it. If I've fished it before, I tell them I have and that I will continue to pickup any trash I find and ensure that I will leave no-trace or better than it was before I got there. One guy was actually a fly angler, gave me permission, and asked that if I see his truck there to knock on the door and talk fly fishing with him for a few minutes.
He is a place I recently checked out.

Richard Olmstead · May 27, 2023

Thanks for posting this. The article was written by an old friend of mine, Angus Thuermer. I haven't heard anything of/from him in years, decades, really. Neat to see that he is still on the outdoor beat in Wyoming.

Brian Miller · May 31, 2023

Not a lot of extra info here but here is an attorney that frequently pops up in my YT feed discussing this

Brian Miller · Jun 1, 2023

Just for giggles, in two minutes I located Elk Mountain Ranch - DBA Iron Bar Holdings in a Google Search. I got general the general location, went there with Google Maps, got the coordinates, put them into Gaia and voila! If you have Gaia or OnX + Google, look for public roads, property lines, and fence posts. It's good practice for local stuff. Uh-oh I could be sued for trespassing because I have waypoints in Gaia.

Adding, I used the Gaia Satellite Layer and like Google Earth can zoom in closer than the Google Maps satellite image. In more well travelled areas, Google Maps street view can help to locate no trespass signs next to roads.

charles sullivan · Jun 2, 2023

Billy said:
I found this article from 1976 just fascinating:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://scholarship.law.uwyo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1264%26context%3Dland_water&ved=2ahUKEwjS-KP3g5b_AhXrIjQIHbsdCfIQFnoECCUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw30z7eVBZ1DgtYY5VsfYmoP

Thank you for that. I will have to read it a few more times to comprehend it fully.

Rob Allen · Jun 2, 2023

I recommend everyone wanting to potentially use corner crossing as a method of access anytime soon should watch the fresh tracks weekly podcast...
The upshot is that currently this ruling does not make corner crossing legal.. I'll try to grab a link to post.

https://youtube.com/@Fresh_Tracks

I'm not smart enough to find the whole link on my phone. I trust that you guys are smart enough to find it from there.

Billy · Oct 28, 2023

Brian Miller · Nov 25, 2023

What is the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program? | Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

If you’ve used a state walk-in access program to hunt or fish on private land, you’ve experienced what the Voluntary Public Access program can do. But what is VPA-HIP and how does it benefit hunters and anglers?

www.trcp.org

While I am very pleased to hear about this, off the top of my head there are at least two things that could torpedo the "Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program" even if signed into law (and actually funded) is:

Pigs leave trash or otherwise damage the adjacent private property or the public property itself (as has been done at 3 of my favorite streams on public lands) such that it's more trouble than it's worth for the private & public landowners to allow public access.
If private landholders adjacent to public property are already charging money for access across their land that is more than the VPA-HIP provides.