The Great Wyoming Checkerboard Belt

[BrentD]

I wouldn’t go on whether or not they prosecute, but rather whether or not you will get ticketed. A ticket can be costly to clear up, especially if you don’t live near the courthouse and and don’t have a free attorney.

I agree 100% I'm not looking to create hassles or arguments with landowners or LEOs. All in all, I'll probably stay out of the checkerboard for that reason. But there is a hell of a lot of acres out there.

 

[Dougfirtree]

I guess I misread wapitibob's post. I thought he was saying there is some state or county or district of some sort where it was legal (vs, not enforced or whatever). I hunt to enjoy myself. If crossing corners is not expressly legal but I have to rely on it being unenforced or somehow reinterpreted by whomever is the law at that point in space and time, then I'm not doing it. I don't need something to worry about, or hassle with.

I once won an argument in Iowa about my right to hunt a stretch of river. While I won the fight in the legal sense, it totally ruined the hunt and I've never been back there since.

I was told by a Fish and Game employee in the Casper office, that I was perfectly safe hopping corners in Natrona county, as long as I was doing it accurately. Apparently, it's not enforced there at all. I have heard that other areas work differently...

 

[BrentD]

Thanks Mr. Fir tree. Very helpful.

 

[cravingame]

Much of the deeded sections in the checkerboard area west of Tipton to the area around Rock Springs, àn enourmous piece of country, is owned and/or leased by the Rock Springs Grazing Association which allows access to the public and does not even ask or require the the public asks permission. Deeded sections in the checkerboard east of this area are owned mostly by individual landowners that require permission, some give it for free, some charge for trespass, and much is leased for hunting access. Anadarko lands in the checkerboard used to be controlled for access by the lessor, but thats changed in the more recent leeses with Anadarko retaining access rights and for the most part allowing unrestricted access. Some of Anadarko's lands have recently sold and I'm not sure what the new landowner's access policies are.

BLM has no position on corner crossing, hunting on BLM lands is simply legal as long as it is legally accessed.

I'm hunting WY 31 Elk this fall. Where can I find "in writing" that I can hunt Rock Springs Grazing Association land? Thanks Jake

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I'm hunting WY 31 Elk this fall. Where can I find "in writing" that I can hunt Rock Springs Grazing Association land? Thanks Jake

Have you given them a call?

 

[cravingame]

Have you given them a call?
View attachment 139388

I have tried!

 

[Fremont15]

Corner crossing isn’t illegal in Wyoming. In a true corner crossing instance, probable cause absolutely doesn’t exist to charge the hunter. This is true for the game and fish law as well as the Wyoming criminal trespass statute. I work in law enforcement and have charged numerous people under Wyoming statute 6-3-303. Having an understanding of the law, there is no way a reasonable law enforcement agent could justify issuing a citation in a true corner crossing instance. I corner cross and I want all hunters to take advantage of our public lands wherever they can.

 

[wytex]

Read this page: https://publicland.org/awards/rock-springs-grazing-association/

 

[Steve Petersen]

I live right in the middle of the checkerboard. It seems that most everything private around me is Overland, Jack creek or TA cattle companies. With Overland and TA being the largest. With the windmill farms going in SW of Rawlins they’ve closed off a couple roads to the public and tagged them private roads. Even the built roads by the energy company are tagged private. I have read somewhere where it said corner hopping was illegal. I need to find that again and check it.

 

[seeth07]

I hunted antelope last year on doe tags in the very eastern end of this checkerboard swath your talking about, around rawlings. There were a few roads that ran thru it and it was really easy to find antelope. Since they are in 1 mile sections, if they are on private, just get ahead of them and wait for them to cross to public. Doesn't take long for a lope to go across that 1 mile section

 

[Auriga_5WY]

I'm doing my first antelope hunt in area 43 in Wyoming, but unfortunately a lot of the BLM land is checkered out. However, I think there are a few wind farms on private land that are adjacent to/allow access to state and BLM land. Even if we can't hunt on the wind farms, simply being able to use their access roads to reach checkered public land would go a long way... going to do some research tonight and tomorrow to see who all owns that land and if they have any stated position on access rights.

 

[rwc101]

I am friends with a candidate running for the House of Reps that wants to renew the corner crossing legislation effort. Fingers crossed.

 

[Auriga_5WY]

Ooh, which candidate?

 

[88man]

I hope all those windmills are on private

 

[ntodwild]

Just got back from Southwest Wyoming in a unit that was 90% checkerboard. Had a very successful hunt. As seeth07 stated. It is very easy to wait for an Antelope to cross into BLM from private IF you come across some lopes that are in private.

 

[NMGuy]

I live right in the middle of the checkerboard. It seems that most everything private around me is Overland, Jack creek or TA cattle companies. With Overland and TA being the largest. With the windmill farms going in SW of Rawlins they’ve closed off a couple roads to the public and tagged them private roads. Even the built roads by the energy company are tagged private. I have read somewhere where it said corner hopping was illegal. I need to find that again and check it.

The following is from 2013 out of the Colorado BLM office. Not sure if it is still applicable or not

"It is illegal to cross public land at corners. Some areas in the West are “checker-boarded” with public and private lands, or otherwise have sections of public land that are difficult to reach. When the only place tracts of public land touch is at a corner, it may seem like a logical thing to step over the corner from one piece of public land to another. Every year hunters armed with GPS units and maps give it a try. Unfortunately, it is illegal to cross at boundary corners."

From the BLM website here:

Access tips for hunting on BLM lands | Bureau of Land Management

www.blm.gov