Corner crossing is now legal in six states. This week, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the group of hunters who corner-crossed over a private ranch back in 2020 and 2021, making the practice now federally protected in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming, according to Wyoming Public Radio.
“This ruling ensures public access to millions of acres of corner-locked public lands in Wyoming, and facilitates wildlife management, supports ecological research, and deepens people's connection with the landscape,” said Dagny Signorelli, Wyoming director of Western Watersheds Project. “This is a key win in the battle to keep public lands in public hands.”
The ruling could also serve as an example for other states considering making changes to legal precedents.
Corner crossing occurs when you step from one corner of public land to another, crossing over corners of private land to do so. According to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, “crossing or entering private lands without landowner’s permission may result in a violation of Wyoming’s game and fish or criminal trespass statutes.” However, corner crossing isn’t the same as blatantly walking across private land to public. In fact, in 2004, the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office issued an official opinion that acknowledged the difficulty in determining whether corner crossing violated that game and fish trespass statute.
The four nonresident hunters were charged with illegal trespassing after they traveled to Wyoming to hunt elk and mule deer on public land. However, to access the BLM-owned property, they had to step over an area where two of the corners were public and the other two were privately owned. That land was the Elk Mountain Ranch owned by North Carolina resident Fred Eshelman.
“Nobody in my part of the world knew that corner crossing was an issue,” said Brad Cape, one of the hunters charged. “That struck everybody’s fancy — just a curiosity of, ‘how could this even be a thing?’”
The Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, along with many other organizations and hunters, celebrated the decision.
“The 10th Circuit Court’s decision solidifies every U.S. citizen’s right to access public lands in the 10th Circuit’s six-state jurisdiction,” the group wrote to the Montana Free Press. “We’re immensely grateful to our Wyoming chapter and BHA national for raising hell and funds to combat the wealthy interests attempting to block public access to public land. We hope Montana will follow this precedent and confirm our rightful access to our land.”
