Judge Rules in Favor of Corner Crossing Hunters

[elevatorman]

I would just get a bigger ladder, plus you would be at fault.

I get it from both perspectives. I too have to hunt public land and currently have no private land to hunt. I too own 5 acres of property.

I'm in Virginia so things may be a little different out here. I was under the impression reading these threads that this is mainly about a completely landlocked piece of public land and your just jumping over the corner of a piece of private thats probably remote and some 10,000 acre parcel the guy that owns it aint seen in forever.

The landowner in me says I'd be darned If I looked out my window right now and seen a bunch of folks walking through my property I'm just going to sip my coffee and not go confront the trespassers or stop them from doing it. And I really find it interesting there must be a law out yalls way that says you can't put up a fence on your own property to keep trespassers off it. It's YOUR property.

I don't know. I get its frustrating sometimes to not have convenient access to a piece of public land. We deal with thar too, even is some landlocked public parcels out here. But out here we continue to be respectful and courteous and I wouldn't blatantly go trespassing through folks properties to get to public land and then try to tell them they are the problem.

Besides what do yall do for parking? Isn't that a problem too, where are you going to leave your truck? Surely corner jumping doesn't include parking privileges on the private property as well

 

[mtmiller]

I did notice the judge was clear about them bot stepping foot on private. And I can see many people taking this to mean corner crossing is legal and then going out and crossing at fence corners without a ladder. I don't know how you could do that without setting foot on private.

A corner, where four fences come together, makes a pretty good ladder.

 

[elevatorman]

A corner, where four fences come together, makes a pretty good ladder.

So it's only legal if they don't set foot on the private?

 

[mtmiller]

So it's only legal if they don't set foot on the private?

I will let others debate the legal side of it.

 

[elevatorman]

Im learning here. If corner crossing means only using a ladder and not touching the private property, I can see how that's alot different than walking straight through someone's yard to get to public land.

But if your using a big old step ladder to cross this corner, say you fall and get hurt, is the property owner liable in any way for your injuries?

 

[BuzzH]

I get it from both perspectives. I too have to hunt public land and currently have no private land to hunt. I too own 5 acres of property.

I'm in Virginia so things may be a little different out here. I was under the impression reading these threads that this is mainly about a completely landlocked piece of public land and your just jumping over the corner of a piece of private thats probably remote and some 10,000 acre parcel the guy that owns it aint seen in forever.

The landowner in me says I'd be darned If I looked out my window right now and seen a bunch of folks walking through my property I'm just going to sip my coffee and not go confront the trespassers or stop them from doing it. And I really find it interesting there must be a law out yalls way that says you can't put up a fence on your own property to keep trespassers off it. It's YOUR property.

I don't know. I get its frustrating sometimes to not have convenient access to a piece of public land. We deal with thar too, even is some landlocked public parcels out here. But out here we continue to be respectful and courteous and I wouldn't blatantly go trespassing through folks properties to get to public land and then try to tell them they are the problem.

Besides what do yall do for parking? Isn't that a problem too, where are you going to leave your truck? Surely corner jumping doesn't include parking privileges on the private property as well

I think you need to study the issue a bit more. The 4 podcasts Randy has done is a good place to start.

 

[elevatorman]

I think you need to study the issue a bit more. The 4 podcasts Randy has done is a good place to start.

I actually agree. I was just reading more threads and comments on this issue and I think it's not quite what I thought it was.

 

[Cornbread]

Im not an attorney, but I believe that most states prohibit landlocked property. This is truly a mess, but as I see it, private land owners are preventing me from using public property. So the private landowner can use this property but nobody else can access it? Insane.That's where the private owner's rights are out of control. How could this exist? What if the landlocked land was owned by a private owner? What laws would kick in to prevent this mess?

 

[VikingsGuy]

What if the landlocked land was owned by a private owner? What laws would kick in to prevent this mess?

Many states prevent subdivision and any type of permitting of tracts without legal access. A few won’t even allow sales of such “locked” property. But the mountain west has taken its own (strained) path on this type of stuff. I think a lot of the approach came out of dealing with “sheep wars”.

 

[BuzzH]

Many states prevent subdivision and any type of permitting of tracts without legal access. A few won’t even allow sales of such “locked” property. But the mountain west has taken its own (strained) path on this type of stuff. I think a lot of the approach came out of dealing with “sheep wars”.

Wyoming state law prohibits another private owner from denying access to someone else's private land. They have to allow an easement, what is negotiable is where the easement goes.

 

[WyoDoug]

Wyoming state law prohibits another private owner from denying access to someone else's private land. They have to allow an easement, what is negotiable is where the easement goes.

To my knowledge not required for public land. Private landowners do not have to grant access to blocks of public. That has been the subject of bills submitted every year since I moved to Cheyenne and never has passed because we have a landowner favorable legislature right now.

 

[Cornell Cowboy]

Wyoming state law prohibits another private owner from denying access to someone else's private land. They have to allow an easement, what is negotiable is where the easement goes.

It also costs a lot of money for surveying and for the easement itself. They do have to grant you an easement, but they don't have to do it for free. And they can make you pay many $10000s in engineering/attorney fees before you actually get the easement.

 

[WyoDoug]

It also costs a lot of money for surveying and for the easement itself. They do have to grant you an easement, but they don't have to do it for free. And they can make you pay many $10000s in engineering/attorney fees before you actually get the easement.

There are court cases to the contrary. Wyoming, the necessity required to establish an easement the court (WY Supreme Court) has said: If no use can be made of land conveyed or retained without the benefit of an easement, it is assumed that the parties intended the easement to be created. Now some how, I would like to see that applied to public land. The cases I saw involved plats of private land surrounded within a larger tract. However, I have seen private landowners attempt to block easements with nails on road, fenches and in some cases threats of violence.

 

[Cornell Cowboy]

There are court cases to the contrary. Wyoming, the necessity required to establish an easement the court (WY Supreme Court) has said: If no use can be made of land conveyed or retained without the benefit of an easement, it is assumed that the parties intended the easement to be created. Now some how, I would like to see that applied to public land. The cases I saw involved plats of private land surrounded within a larger tract. However, I have seen private landowners attempt to block easements with nails on road, fenches and in some cases threats of violence.

I'm not sure what decision you're referring to, as it would seem to fly in the face of WS 24-9-101, which clearly lays out the procedure to secure access to landlock properties. As I'm pretty sure I've spent many more tens of thousands of dollars than just about anyone on this forum to get easements to landlocked private land that I own, I'll just have to respectfully disagree. The fact that there are "cases" to the contrary means that both parties paid $300+ per hour to attorneys to have it decided in court. Ultimately, an easement constitutes a "takings" and must be compensated. Unless you want to define an easement as some specified distance along a section line, you must pay a surveyor to survey it, or the easement isn't valid. The point is not whether you have the right to an easement -- you do! The point is that you have to compensate the landowner for the easement, pay for the survey, and pay the attorney fees needed to draw up the easement terms.

 

[Cornbread]

I'm not sure what decision you're referring to, as it would seem to fly in the face of WS 24-9-101, which clearly lays out the procedure to secure access to landlock properties. As I'm pretty sure I've spent many more tens of thousands of dollars than just about anyone on this forum to get easements to landlocked private land that I own, I'll just have to respectfully disagree. The fact that there are "cases" to the contrary means that both parties paid $300+ per hour to attorneys to have it decided in court. Ultimately, an easement constitutes a "takings" and must be compensated. Unless you want to define an easement as some specified distance along a section line, you must pay a surveyor to survey it, or the easement isn't valid. The point is not whether you have the right to an easement -- you do! The point is that you have to compensate the landowner for the easement, pay for the survey, and pay the attorney fees needed to draw up the easement terms.

So, I don't disagree with you. So make the Federal Govt pay for it. This was their doing, just like the treaties they negotiated with the indian tribes. Or sorry, God help me if I offend anybody, but the indigent or is it native or whatever tribes, clan blah blah blah. They blow our tax dollars on all kinds of bullsht but don't fix this. Lameasses. Here in Florida, they can't even put us permanently on Daylight saving time.

 

[Scott85]

I get it from both perspectives. I too have to hunt public land and currently have no private land to hunt. I too own 5 acres of property.

I'm in Virginia so things may be a little different out here. I was under the impression reading these threads that this is mainly about a completely landlocked piece of public land and your just jumping over the corner of a piece of private thats probably remote and some 10,000 acre parcel the guy that owns it aint seen in forever.

The landowner in me says I'd be darned If I looked out my window right now and seen a bunch of folks walking through my property I'm just going to sip my coffee and not go confront the trespassers or stop them from doing it. And I really find it interesting there must be a law out yalls way that says you can't put up a fence on your own property to keep trespassers off it. It's YOUR property.

I don't know. I get its frustrating sometimes to not have convenient access to a piece of public land. We deal with thar too, even is some landlocked public parcels out here. But out here we continue to be respectful and courteous and I wouldn't blatantly go trespassing through folks properties to get to public land and then try to tell them they are the problem.

Besides what do yall do for parking? Isn't that a problem too, where are you going to leave your truck? Surely corner jumping doesn't include parking privileges on the private property as well

So you are in Virginia… How do you feel about right to retrieve? Any hound can come onto your property at any time to get their dog? How about that for property rights? Don’t know what side of the mountains you are on but what about deer dog counties where dog hunters will line the road and dump dogs on property they don’t have permission to be on cause they know the dogs are going to run the deer to property where they have permission? Remember dogs can’t read.

 

[WYexile]

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

Here’s my hope:

Sportsman band together and corner cross all the billionaire turned major landowners land across the west; the same people have created conditions that very few multi-generation RANCH families have been able to continue.

I hope this DOES devalue their property; maybe keeping property taxes and inheritance taxes more in-line with the agricultural productive value of the land.

These ranching families historically were very friendly towards hunters and hunting and most allowed some access.

I’d like to see our community respect them and their wishes, and save all corner crossing for lands owned by outside money.

 

[USMC123456789]

Talk about a sore loser-

Ranch owner in corner-crossing case sues to unmask critic - WyoFile

After J. Doe said Eshelman ‘abused police resources,’ pharma magnate asked a judge to force Google to reveal critic’s true name.

wyofile.com

 

[BuzzH]

Talk about a sore loser-

Ranch owner in corner-crossing case sues to unmask critic - WyoFile

After J. Doe said Eshelman ‘abused police resources,’ pharma magnate asked a judge to force Google to reveal critic’s true name.

wyofile.com

Yeah no kidding, crybaby.

He better get that appeal filed too, and find some salve for those hurt feelers.

 

[perma]

Talk about a sore loser-

Ranch owner in corner-crossing case sues to unmask critic - WyoFile

After J. Doe said Eshelman ‘abused police resources,’ pharma magnate asked a judge to force Google to reveal critic’s true name.

wyofile.com

That’s the funniest thing I’ve read all week.

His wife’s name must be sue. He likes saying it a lot.