300,000+ Acres of Public Land in Minnesota and Wisconsin Are “Landlocked” By Private Property

[joelweb]

FYI on a new landlocked report from onX and TRCP.

300,000+ Acres of Public Land in Minnesota and Wisconsin Are “Landlocked” By Private Property

With today’s signing of the Great American Outdoors Act fully funding nation’s most important access program, new report details the extent of inaccessible public lands in the Upper Midwest ​

MISSOULA, Mont. — The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and onX announced today that more than 303,000 acres of public land in Minnesota and Wisconsin are entirely landlocked by private land and, therefore, inaccessible to hunters, anglers, and other outdoor recreationists.

The new report is an expansion of a two-year effort to analyze the amount of landlocked public lands in the Pacific and Intermountain West, which to date has shown that nearly 16 million federal and state acres have no permanent legal access because they are isolated by private lands.

The report’s publication is timely in the wake of one of the biggest conservation wins in recent memory. Just today, President Trump signed into law the Great American Outdoors Act, securing full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the federal program best suited to improving and expanding outdoor access to public lands across the country.

The Findings

Using today’s leading mapping technologies, the collaborative study found that more than 248,000 acres of public lands in Minnesota and more than 55,000 acres in Wisconsin are landlocked and inaccessible to the public without private landowner permission. The detailed findings are now available in a new report, “The Upper Midwest’s Landlocked Public Lands: Untapped Hunting and Fishing Opportunities in Minnesota and Wisconsin,” which also unpacks the stakes of the problem and its historical roots.

“Through our ongoing collaboration with onX, we have been able to identify parcels of land that belong to taxpayers, yet they are unable to take advantage of the vast outdoor opportunities on these lands,” said Joel Webster, Senior Director of Western Programs at the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “It is our hope that with this information, policymakers can see the problem, identify solutions, and work to ensure that sportsmen and sportswomen can access the lands that belong to them.”

“We know how important public land access opportunities are to hunters and anglers all across the country,” said onX access advocacy manager Lisa Nichols. “Especially in places where the majority of the landscape is privately owned, GPS technologies have enabled outdoor recreationists not only to find new opportunities on public lands, but also to notice landlocked parcels that could offer more of these opportunities if there was a legal way to access them.”

While the analysis looked at public lands managed by different levels of government—including federal, state, county, and municipal—the majority of landlocked acres in both Minnesota and Wisconsin were state lands, followed by combined county/municipal acres. Ranging in size from just a few acres to nearly 4,000 acres, the landlocked acres identified by the project could potentially offer outdoor recreationists in the region new opportunities to get outdoors both in urban and rural areas.

“When it comes to landlocked public lands, even small access projects can make a big difference,” adds Nichols. “Finding collaborative solutions to open some of these lands could offer new opportunities to residents of nearby communities where access to public lands and waters might currently be limited.”

Improved public access is also a driver of the $778 billion outdoor recreation economy. Leading brands in the hunting and fishing industry have long recognized the importance of public lands to their customers and their businesses.

“As a family owned, American sports optics company that is based in Wisconsin, we personally understand the value that public lands provide to our customers and employees for outdoor recreation,” said Paul Neess, conservation/education support specialist with Vortex Optics of Barneveld, Wisconsin. “Landlocked public lands in our state and any other state represent missed days and lost opportunities afield for sportsmen and women, and we support all cooperative efforts to open these lands to the public as they were intended to be.”

 

[joelweb]

The Solutions

With the recent passage of the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act, the Land and Water Conservation Fund will now provide a guaranteed $27 million in annual federal funding for public access work. Additionally, at least 40 percent of the program’s overall $900 million budget must be used for state-driven projects.

The onX-TRCP report further highlights several important programs in Minnesota and Wisconsin that help to create new access for public land users.

Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program funds efforts to conserve habitat and water quality, and also prioritizes expanding opportunities for outdoor recreation. Significantly, the program is set to expire in 2022 unless state lawmakers act to renew the program. Given the program’s 2019 budget of $33 million, its expiration could result in lost or reduced opportunities to expand access in Wisconsin.

Established in 2008, Minnesota’s Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Fund supports projects that protect, enhance, or restore prairies, wetlands, forests, or other habitat, and—when it meets those primary goals—can also be used to open or expand access to inaccessible wildlife management areas managed by Minnesota DNR’s Fish and Wildlife Division.

“Pheasants Forever is actively working to unlock access to public lands across western Minnesota and in other areas of the Midwest, which translates to increased and improved hunting opportunities,” said Eran Sandquist, Minnesota state coordinator with Pheasants Forever. “We work with partners like Minnesota’s Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Council to not only conserve wildlife habitat, but also to expand public access, so more sportsmen and women can enjoy quality days afield.”

Additionally, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Strategic Land Asset Management program ensures that the state’s public land holdings reflect its conservation, recreation, and economic values and needs. In an ongoing evaluation process, proposed land acquisitions are measured according to the program’s priorities, including increasing access to public lands.

“In Minnesota, we are very proud of our Strategic Land Asset Management (SLAM) Program and the SLAM framework we have built to ensure public access is evaluated and prioritized on an on-going basis,” said Trina Zieman, the Minnesota DNR’s land asset and school trust administrator. “We appreciate the work done by this collaborative to bring awareness to this issue and identify options that will continue to unlock our public lands for generations of recreationalists.”

Given the level of interest from the public, support from the outdoor industry, and the commitment of state and federal agencies, conservation groups like the TRCP anticipate a bright future for improved and expanded public land access.

“Both states featured in this project have innovative programs for conserving habitat and improving access for hunting and fishing," said TRCP's Webster. "It’s our hope that this report highlights the importance of this work to decision makers and the public, especially given the positive effects that it has for families, communities, businesses, and the future of outdoor recreation”

A companion website, unlockingpubliclands.org, unpacks the issue in more detail and provides links to additional information about landlocked public lands. Visitors to the site can download the report as well as the previous reports published by onX and TRCP in 2018 and 2019.

Earlier this year, onX also launched a new crowd-sourcing initiative, Report a Land Access Opportunity, with the help of partners including TRCP. The program provides the public with a platform to share on-the-ground knowledge about locations where access to outdoor recreation has been threatened or could be improved. The information received by onX is then provided to the relevant nonprofits and land management agencies that can help.

 

[MNElkNut]

I know Eran well and hunt with him every year. A great guy who works very hard for sportsman. We need more like him.

 

[Irrelevant]

I can't wait to see what LWFC can do in the next decade.

 

[seeth07]

I wish I could see each piece that they claim is landlocked in Wisconsin. I've lived here all my life and use quite a few of the states public lands (almost all state parcels) each year and I can't recall ever seeing a single piece of land and going "damn, can't access that piece. There is a 60 acre waterfowl paradise on the famous grand river that is landlocked by terms of private land around it but you can legally access the river, paddle 1/2 mile down the river and enter this public land. I'm guessing that would show up in that report although it's not denying public access.

 

[joelweb]

I wish I could see each piece that they claim is landlocked in Wisconsin. I've lived here all my life and use quite a few of the states public lands (almost all state parcels) each year and I can't recall ever seeing a single piece of land and going "damn, can't access that piece. There is a 60 acre waterfowl paradise on the famous grand river that is landlocked by terms of private land around it but you can legally access the river, paddle 1/2 mile down the river and enter this public land. I'm guessing that would show up in that report although it's not denying public access.

We calculated water adjacent landlocked in the report. Take a look at www.unlockingpubliclands.org.

 

[seeth07]

We calculated water adjacent landlocked in the report. Take a look at www.unlockingpubliclands.org.

Ya I don't see where it shows all the parcels, am I missing it?

 

[seeth07]

Also, isnt it super skewed to include wisconsin city and county lands for your report? Almost all of these lands were purchased and maintained through the city/county for the sole function and use of the entity. For example, a lot of 40s were bought by townships for use as dumps. They dug and extracted the sand and gravel to pay for the land and then lined it and filled them up with decades of garbage. These aren't recreation sites by any means and I know of 5 in particular that will show up as landlocked because they are surrounded by private and the dump road isn't a public road. One borders my property up north and it's not wildlife habitat nor was it ever intended to be.

 

[seeth07]

Here is another example. This property is used by the city for sewage treatment. It would have by my guess showed up as landlocked as there is a gate on the road going back to the pond and treatment building. However, there is actually a sign at the gate saying it's open to hunting and I have shot dozens of geese and ducks on this property.

 

[seeth07]

@joelweb I wish I knew this was happening cause I'd be pretty good local knowledge to have helped!

I wonder....did you count the city of fond du lac 30 acre parcel they claimed for the mini island there? It has no access but water as it's an island. O that makes me wonder! How about all of the islands on the turtle flambeau? That's all public. Landlocked since you need a boat? That's a monster chunk of public.

 

[joelweb]

I appreciate your passion, seeth07. Here is a map with examples of 500+ acres of landlocked WI parcels. The landlocked parcels show red crosshatch.

 

[Nameless Range]

It would be powerful if OnX were to simply release a list, or better, a web map of all the parcels they have found through their analysis, are inaccessible.

They would then have the power of public and local knowledge to check and improve the data, find parcels they missed, offer solutions or ways of access a GIS analysis using publicly available (flawed) data may miss, or help spring ideas through local relationships to find ways to access those parcels.

 

[seeth07]

I appreciate your passion, seeth07. Here is a map with examples of 500+ acres of landlocked WI parcels. The landlocked parcels show red crosshatch.
View attachment 149291

I reviewed this example you guys used. Corner crossing apparently was a line you guys didn't want to cross. I guess I can understand that but knowing the culture of Wisconsin and its recreational users, its not exact a hot topic here and I have personally used it on public lands in this state and refused to use it in Wyoming to avoid trouble.

Also, the bottom piece is likely accessible by water. In fact, pieces like this are the exact ones I look for when I'm scouting an area using OnX. The water access isn't a large river and 99% of public land hunters are going to overlook this piece. That creates a gem of a find for myself as I'm likely to only have to deal with private land users of this property. So actually I would strongly push against any kinds of access program making this piece easier to access. We need to have these hard to access pieces to reward those public land hunters willing to put in the extra effort.

 

[seeth07]

It would be powerful if OnX were to simply release a list, or better, a web map of all the parcels they have found through their analysis, are inaccessible.

They would then have the power of public and local knowledge to check and improve the data, find parcels they missed, offer solutions or ways of access a GIS analysis using publicly available (flawed) data may miss, or help spring ideas through local relationships to find ways to access those parcels.

I couldn't agree with this more. I would personally review every property in my local 4-5 county area plus the 2 county area where I own hunting land up north. Since I do a fair amount of public land hunting for waterfowl, I pretty know every piece very well and like I said, I've never actually encountered a piece I couldn't legally access. I do see from the posted example there are a few pieces that are for sure landlocked and easily confirmed.

 

[Mallardsx2]

I would think condemning for a foot traffic only access across the shortest distance with the lightest impact to surrounding properties to any of these landlocked properties being over 20 acres would be the best way to handle this. Let the ones less than 20 acres stay landlocked.

1 foot traffic access per landlocked tract regardless of the size.

Of course that is easy for me to say since I am not the one they would be condemning and I am not the one who has had a "Federal/state landlocked playground" for over a hundred years...

 

[joelweb]

We checked with MN and WI DNRs and they both said that corner crossing is not considered legal access in their states. We didn't account for cultural norms. You'll see in the published details that 16k acres of the 55k in WI are water adjacent, although access may or may not be possible depending water depth, etc. That number is 46k water adjacent of 248k for Minnesota.

 

[seeth07]

We checked with MN and WI DNRs and they both said that corner crossing is not considered legal access in their states. We didn't account for cultural norms. You'll see in the published details that 16k acres of the 55k in WI are water adjacent, although access may or may not be possible depending water depth, etc. That number is 46k water adjacent of 248k for Minnesota.

Is this project considered closed and done? I'd love to get on board and dive deeper and provide a more complete, comprehensive report of findings rather than your pretty flyer you created that I just have a feeling doesn't tell the whole story. It would be great to actually get a report that really gets into the nitty gritty with looking at very specific properties and then having this as ammo to use with conservation groups and the DNR to come up with real solutions on those properties that are 100% truly landlocked that also provide a significant recreation value. P.S. - I'll work for free

 

[joelweb]

Thanks, seeth07. I sent you a PM.

 

[Wyohunt]

FYI on a new landlocked report from onX and TRCP.

300,000+ Acres of Public Land in Minnesota and Wisconsin Are “Landlocked” By Private Property

With today’s signing of the Great American Outdoors Act fully funding nation’s most important access program, new report details the extent of inaccessible public lands in the Upper Midwest ​

MISSOULA, Mont. — The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and onX announced today that more than 303,000 acres of public land in Minnesota and Wisconsin are entirely landlocked by private land and, therefore, inaccessible to hunters, anglers, and other outdoor recreationists.

The new report is an expansion of a two-year effort to analyze the amount of landlocked public lands in the Pacific and Intermountain West, which to date has shown that nearly 16 million federal and state acres have no permanent legal access because they are isolated by private lands.

The report’s publication is timely in the wake of one of the biggest conservation wins in recent memory. Just today, President Trump signed into law the Great American Outdoors Act, securing full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the federal program best suited to improving and expanding outdoor access to public lands across the country.

The Findings

Using today’s leading mapping technologies, the collaborative study found that more than 248,000 acres of public lands in Minnesota and more than 55,000 acres in Wisconsin are landlocked and inaccessible to the public without private landowner permission. The detailed findings are now available in a new report, “The Upper Midwest’s Landlocked Public Lands: Untapped Hunting and Fishing Opportunities in Minnesota and Wisconsin,” which also unpacks the stakes of the problem and its historical roots.

“Through our ongoing collaboration with onX, we have been able to identify parcels of land that belong to taxpayers, yet they are unable to take advantage of the vast outdoor opportunities on these lands,” said Joel Webster, Senior Director of Western Programs at the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “It is our hope that with this information, policymakers can see the problem, identify solutions, and work to ensure that sportsmen and sportswomen can access the lands that belong to them.”

“We know how important public land access opportunities are to hunters and anglers all across the country,” said onX access advocacy manager Lisa Nichols. “Especially in places where the majority of the landscape is privately owned, GPS technologies have enabled outdoor recreationists not only to find new opportunities on public lands, but also to notice landlocked parcels that could offer more of these opportunities if there was a legal way to access them.”

While the analysis looked at public lands managed by different levels of government—including federal, state, county, and municipal—the majority of landlocked acres in both Minnesota and Wisconsin were state lands, followed by combined county/municipal acres. Ranging in size from just a few acres to nearly 4,000 acres, the landlocked acres identified by the project could potentially offer outdoor recreationists in the region new opportunities to get outdoors both in urban and rural areas.

“When it comes to landlocked public lands, even small access projects can make a big difference,” adds Nichols. “Finding collaborative solutions to open some of these lands could offer new opportunities to residents of nearby communities where access to public lands and waters might currently be limited.”

Improved public access is also a driver of the $778 billion outdoor recreation economy. Leading brands in the hunting and fishing industry have long recognized the importance of public lands to their customers and their businesses.

“As a family owned, American sports optics company that is based in Wisconsin, we personally understand the value that public lands provide to our customers and employees for outdoor recreation,” said Paul Neess, conservation/education support specialist with Vortex Optics of Barneveld, Wisconsin. “Landlocked public lands in our state and any other state represent missed days and lost opportunities afield for sportsmen and women, and we support all cooperative efforts to open these lands to the public as they were intended to be.”

Big problem here in Wyoming too. Creates No competition for grazing fees. Grazing for pennies. A good deal for big money hunting too. Corner crossing law has been challenged here but good luck. Ranching lobby is a mafia here. Probably get death threats for writing this. Don’t laugh it has happened before. Good public hunting spots here come from a lot of hard work and a tight lip.

 

[JoanneCameron]

Very good advice. I had similar problems years ago. I lost my job in Norway and I lived with my girlfriend at her house, but suddenly she decided she wanted to break up with me. I was 19 at that moment. So I moved to Manchester to my relatives where my fathers brother worked and had his business there. For almost half year I worked there, and he started to promote me little by little, but I was tired of big cities sounds and walls, cars - everything is the same daily. I had already about 75k British pounds saving, here also includes my car and bike + many other things I sold in Norway (it’s very expensive to have a car there). So I decided to travel, and Asia was my first Idea. I visited Malaya, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, India and stopped here. I live now in a small village, we have here internet but nature is number one. The beauty is out of this world. All thanks to hrex.org as they guided me and showed all the available land properties I could afford. I have a local girlfriend, she knows a little English and I’m learning their language. Total freedom.