Consequently, the agencies who administer these lands have long cautioned members of the public against crossing private lands to access federal lands.. But a landowners property rights are limited by federal, state, and local law, which in this case gave the hunters the right to cross in Eshelmans airspace in order to access public land. While Earthjustice was not involved in the district court case, we will be monitoring the Tenth Circuit proceedings and, as appropriate, may help groups weigh in to support public access. The decision could help provide access to over 8 million acres of public land. Court rules that corner-crossing does not constitute trespass. Your contribution is tax-deductible. Sheridan teacher revolutionizes schools approach to reading. Brad Cape, John Slowensky, Zach Smith, and Phil Yeomans are four elk hunters from Missouri who planned a Wyoming elk hunt in 2021. Any owner, part owner, or agent, or who shall aid, abet, counsel, advise, or assist in any violation of the act who is found guilty can be fined up to $1,000, imprisoned for a year, or both. The ruling comes after four hunters crossed a corner of the Elk Mountain Ranch, which is held by Iron Bar Holdings, managed by billionaire Fred Eshelman. Oh, tell Fred Eshelman thanks for pushing this issue that ultimately resulted in shooting himself in the foot. A U.S. District Court judges ruling in favor of four hunters in a Wyoming corner-crossing case of alleged trespassing in Carbon County is likely to be appealed and could drag on, says a legal expert. You win the pot. The judge didnt specifically exclude non-checkerboard land, but Willms points out that this decision leaves that point open for interpretation. Absolutely! Significantly, the court also found that the hunters had not trespassed at one corner where Eshelmans employees had installed two posts and a chain designed to block access across the corner and the hunters had grabbed the posts to swing around them. Taking all these things together, the judge concluded that the hunters have just as much right to the airspace above those corners as Eshelman does. Their decision did not address whether an individual could step from one piece of public land to another, however. U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl on Friday issued a summary judgement in favor of Missouri hunters Bradly Cape, Zachary Smith, Phillip Yoemens and John Slowensky. "Theoretically, the airspace would apply up from there. To say you want access without knowing where the need exist is too general. Their work behind the scenes was huge., The judge relied heavily on a 1914 case known as Mackay v. Uinta Development Co. Lets end the publicly funded private hunting preserves that now exist. The legal case was dismissed, so this has little to no impact on future cases of corner crossing. Some federal land allocations particularly for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are intermixed with private parcels in checkerboard patterns. In disclosure documents obtained by WyoFile, an attorney for Iron Bar Holdings LLC, the official owner of the ranch, alleges damages of between $3.1 million and $7.75 million. Wyoming Backcountry Hunters and Anglers launched a fundraising campaign in 2021 to ensure the hunters, Smith, Bradly Cape, Phillip Yeomans and John Slowensky, could have their day in court. With that in place, the rights of the landowner could be protected and the both the public and landowner would be aware of the limits of public land. The case probably isnt over, Moats said. EIN 94-1730465. Hunting can be a reason to justify that the BLM obtain access. There was a case here in which there was a dispute (over established facts) and hes ruling in favor of one side, Moats said. Attorney Gregory Weiszsigned the documents on August 29 and sent them to the individuals involved in Sign in to access your profile, save content and more. 2023 County 17 | 120 West 1st Street, Casper WY 82601 | Privacy | AP Policy Website by Web Publisher PRO, wealthy North Carolina owner Fred Eshelman, Obstruction of settlement on or transit over public lands, (PHOTOS) Campbell fire department responds to gas leak in Sleepy Hollow, Despite lifesaving attempts at Gillette intersection, Michigan man dies, Arrests, Arraignments for Monday, June 12, Campbell families to join in worldwide drowning prevention event, Game and Fish Department issues reminder to leave newborn wildlife alone, keep distance, Cowboy chef Kent Rollins will be in Ten Sleep for book signing, Gillette City Council votes down ordinance to lift access, parking lot maintenance requirements, Authorities report escape of Wyoming state prisoner from forestry crew, Food Bank of Wyoming to offer summer Totes of Hope. This decision, in my opinion is spot on. How on earth does that work? A trial for a lawsuit stemming from a corner crossing case involving four Missouri hunters is set to begin June 26, 2023, in Casper. Iron Bar Holdings brought criminal trespass charges (which the hunters beat last year), and filed a civil suit in federal court claiming that the trespassing diminished the ranchs property value. Pretty hard to lug a mobile home over a corner, Paul. If you havent been following this case closely, corner crossing means walking from one corner of public land to another corner of public, crossing diagonally between corners of private land, without ever setting foot on private property. Want to join the discussion? The hunters claimed that Scotts testimony would provide important context, but Eshelmans counsel filed briefs claiming that the pilots testimony wasnt relevant to the case, and would bias the case in the hunters favor. But he also ruled that Eshelman, if he were to win a Waypoint 6 argument in front of a jury, would be entitled to nominal damages only. He is a veteran Wyoming reporter and editor with more than 35 years experience in Wyoming. Because of the airspace, whether your foot touches the ground or doesn't touch the ground, just the act of your body passing through that space would, under that theory that we've always maintained in Wyoming, constitute a trespass, Magagna said. The private land that shares the corners is part of Elk Mountain Ranch, which is owned by Iron Bar Holdings, LLC, the North Carolina-based company of multi-millionaire Fred Eshelman, who made his 9-figure net worth in the pharmaceutical industry. Access the newest seasons of MeatEater, save content, and join in discussions with the Crew and others in the MeatEater community.
Inside the Wyoming Corner Crossing Case Everyone is Watching - MeatEater But still BHA and the public land hunters of Wyoming have reason to celebrate. Its highly likely that the plaintiffs, Iron Bar Holdings LLC and owner Fred Eshelman of North Carolina, will forward the matter to the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Read on for more information on what exactly this decision means for the public, and read the . In doing so his damages were 7.5 million. While the courts opinion sets forth the law as understood by the court, unless and until the case is appealed and heard by higher courts, there is no guarantee that corner crossing in Wyoming or anywhere else is explicitly legal, the group writes. A Game of Checkers Thus, each instance of corner-crossing was deemed legal. Other states operate under different legal understandings of varying shades of grayness, such as Montana where corner crossing is not widely accepted as legal. The case involving the Missouri hunters has called into question whether landowners also control the airspace above their soil at the corners. As an American tax payer I applaud the Not Guilty finding in the criminal trespassing case as well as the hunters prevailing in the civil suit. *Individual commenters are limited to three comments per story, including replies. In addition, the Wyoming legislature just passed a law this year prohibiting hunters from traveling through private property to access public land. Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, MeatEater Land Access Initiative Donation, American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon. A federal judge in Wyoming has ruled in favor of four hunters in a case that tested the legality of "corner crossing," or stepping from one parcel of public land to another over a common corner shared with private property - a common practice due to the checkerboard pattern of land ownership in parts of the Mountain West.
Still Too Early To Know If Dismissal Of Wyoming 'Corner-Crossing The legality of stepping from one public parcel to another across a shared corner is still a legal gray area and one interpreted (or ignored) by individual states rather than the federal government.
Coroner-cross landowner gave millions to conservatives, conservation King Me Corner crossing means walking from one corner of public land to another corner of public, crossing diagonally between . Eshelman argued that even though the hunters had not touched his property, they still trespassed into his propertys airspace.
Hunters claim in filing that courts have OK'd corner crossing Public land hunters across the country celebrated Friday as a jury quickly delivered a not-guilty verdict in the high-profile case of four Missourians charged with trespassing in Wyoming last fall. The decision could help provide access to over 8 million acres of public land. I appreciate that the hunters dont want to drag this out any longer than necessary, but considering the ridiculousness of the lawsuit, I was kind of hoping they would stick it to Eschelman and at least get the attorneys fees recovered. Learn More Can corner crossing from one.
Hunters, landowner, pilot all on corner-crossing trial witness list Those properties . The four out-of-state hunters who are challenging Wyoming's corner crossing rules were found not guilty of criminal trespass or trespass to hunt by a six-member Carbon County jury on Friday, the Wyofile reports. Relying largely on a century-old decision involving sheep grazing, the court determined that, where a person corner crosses on foot within the checkerboard from public land to public land without touching the surface of private land and without damaging private property, there is no liability for trespass. Central to the courts reasoning was its observation that, in the unusual circumstance checkerboard land ownership presents, a private landowner cannot secure for itself the value of public land interspersed within private property while cast[ing] upon the government and [the public] all the disadvantages of the interlocking arrangement. Instead, the court determined that the private landowner is entitled to protect privately-owned land from intrusion to the surface and privately-owned property from damage while the public is entitled its reasonable way of passage to access public land.. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. That, the judge said, would amount to no more than $100. I agree. Now would you like to make a bet that wont happen? In disclosure documents obtained by WyoFile, an attorney for Iron Bar Holdings LLC, the official owner of the ranch, alleges damages of between $3.1 million and $7.75 million. Subscribe to our free newsletter and get the latest stories straight to your inbox every Tuesday. The decision is grounded in the common-sense principle that private ownership rights are not unlimited and must, in some cases, yield to the publics right to access public lands. While the Supreme Court rejected the idea that a persons property rights extended infinitely upward, the justices did hold that "if the landowner is to have full enjoyment of the land, he must have exclusive control of the immediate reaches of the enveloping atmosphere."
Charges dismissed in Wyoming corner crossing case - GOHUNT We respect your privacy. Contact him at angus@wyofile.com or (307) "I'm watching that case as a hunter. But he also ruled that Eshelman, if he were to win a Waypoint 6 argument in front of a jury, would be entitled to nominal damages only. As for the four Missouri hunters at the heart of this case, their legal battle likely isnt over, either. In the civil case, Eshelman claimed the hunters damaged the ranchs property value by several million dollars. It wasnt until President Theodore Roosevelt latched onto the idea of national parks and forests around the turn of the 20th century that maintaining the federal estate for the enjoyment of the people was really a part of the national conversation. The judge issued a strong opinion in favor of the hunters. They were accused of trespassing on the ranch near Elk Mountain while attempting to cross from one corner of public land onto another section of public land in September 2021. He told MeatEater that while the judge clearly removed civil liability from corner crossers in Wyoming, the judge seemed to limit his decision to land laid out in a checkerboard pattern. However, just before that jury trial began, three of them were served with charges relating to crossing the same corner in 2020. The judge was careful to clarify that private property rights are fundamental to the development and continuing validity of the United States. If these hunters had trespassed on land owned exclusively by Eshelman, the outcome of this case would have been different. Wyoming statute 10-4-302 states that ownership of the space above private land is vested in the owners below, subject to the right of flight. . Over Im not sure it would suggest that youre open to corner crossing anywhere in Wyoming. I do believe it's going to harden more landowners against willingly granting access. He expects Iron Bar and Eshelman to file an appeal of the judges ruling, and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals would have jurisdiction in the matter. I just hope Corner Crossers respect the Corners and the private lands respectively. The filing in a civil case in U.S. District Court by attorney Ryan Semerad marks the first time the four Missouri hunters have explicitly charged the ranch owner with violating U.S. statute. Additionally, the dismissal of the remaining claim permits the plaintiff to appeal this case to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals much quicker, if that is its/his intent. Because the legality of corner-crossing has long been ambiguous, these corner-locked public lands have generally been inaccessible to the public. The ranchs checkerboard layout corner-locks hundreds of acres of public land. That misdemeanor charge carries a $750 fine. Hunters claim that its been established by federal law that public should have access to checkerboarded sections of federal land. John Hafner. When the homeless that own trucks, atvs and mobile homes invade private property then the land owner has every RIGHT to have them removed. Instead, the primary purpose was to reserve such things as mineral and transportation rights for the government. Published: Sep. 1, 2022 at 8:50 PM PDT CHEYENNE, Wyo. A positive outcome is more likely as more voices add to the chorus: our public lands are for all to enjoy, not just the privileged few. The four hunters used a ladder to climb over a corner, going from one piece of public land to another.
Corner crossing lawsuit is the latest fight over Mountain West land The withdrawal obviates the need for a trial, Weisz said. A Game of Checkers "Corner crossing" refers to the act of stepping between square public land parcels that touch only at their corners, as if moving diagonally from black to black on a chess or checkerboard. Corner crossing is neither explicitly legal nor explicitly illegal in the State of Wyoming. MeatEater Founder Steven Rinella succinctly summed up the situation in a recent post: In these situations, access proponents believe it should be legal for hunters to step from one of these parcels to the other, he said. Attorney Gregory Weiszsigned the documents on August 29 and sent them to the individuals involved in Sign in to access your profile, save content and more. Under Wyomings constitution, water is a public trust resource, Willms said, and a state supreme court case affirmed that the public has a right to use navigable waters for recreational purposes such as floating, fishing, and hunting. Sign-up to our newsletter to stay in touch with our latest news. Even as the opposing parties were quibbling over the witness list for a pending civil trial in the Elk Mountain, Wyoming, corner-crossing case, a federal judge brought the case to a close last week by issuing a judgment in favor of the hunters. While the court observed that its holding was unique to and limited in application to the peculiar interlocking arrangement of odd and even numbered sections making up the checkerboard pattern of land ownership created by Congress in the mid-1800s, the decision makes it harder for private landowners to block access to millions of acres of corner-locked federal public lands.
Listen to These Podcasts to Understand the Corner-Crossing Issue Willms said that interpretation could work in favor of these hunters. The only thing that could make corner crossing legal across the country is a Supreme Court decision or an act of the U.S. Congress, both of which are a long way from happening.
Wyoming Corner Crossing Civil Case Transferred to Federal Court Moats said its not particularly unusual for a judge to settle a matter by handing down a summary judgement, even when a trial is pending.
Hunters Found Not Guilty of Trespassing in Wyoming Corner-Crossing Case Other costs, however, would be subject to Skavdahls final ruling on the civil suit and also limited to whats allowed under court rules. In certain places, maybe. If youd like to access landlocked public land via corner crossing, get in touch with your state legislators. Dave Willms is an attorney, hunter, senior director for Western Wildlife at the National Wildlife Federation, and former policy advisor to the Governor of Wyoming. A U.S. District Court judge's ruling in favor of four hunters in a Wyoming "corner-crossing" case of alleged trespassing in Carbon County is likely to be appealed and could drag on, says a legal expert. . Make a donation today and help us keep digging. The report identified nearly 16 million acres of state and federal lands in the West that arent accessible without permission from an adjacent landownermuch of which is due to checkerboarding. That, the judge said, would amount to no more than $100. In fact, it seems like its fairly narrowly tailored to just the railroad checkerboard, he said. WGFD still quotes that decision on their website as guidance for public land hunting. He told MeatEater that his group believes corner crossing violates private property rights. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. MeatEater Land Access Initiative Donation, American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon. Corner crossing needs to be addressed by the state legislature and or the BLM. With the UIA, Congress protected legal access to federal property, especially in the West, by restricting landowners actions and structures.
Corner crossers: Wyoming ranch owner broke federal access law Thats not crystal clear to me when I read the opinion. The hunters attorney also predicated an appeal to the 10th Circuit Court, and Cape said the two sides will meet on Thursday to discuss where the case will go from here. Its a big deal, Brad Cape told MeatEater. That passage was prescient. Still, Magagna and other private property advocates say that the act of corner crossing intrudes on the adjacent landowners private airspace. For more background on the situation, wed suggest reading the first article here and the second here. They would be blown to Nebraska within a day. Fantastic, here are the ground rules: I wouldnt count on any help from the Wyoming legislature in this matter. And they are often more unified and organized than hunters. Semerad says they fully expect an appeal. ANY other crossing by vehicles etc will be trespassing and will probably be treated as harshly as possible in the courts.
Public Land Hunters Win Corner Crossing Case in Wyoming He also points to another public trust exemption to private airspace that might be useful to them: the states stream access law. GearJunkie may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. train outta Carbon County. Later, the abandonment of homesteaded farms and a high-profile railroad land scandal returned millions of acres of generally isolated and disjointed tracts of land to the Department of the Interior.. In some cases, land brokers have gone so far as to advertise checkerboarded sections of public land as essentially coming with the ranches they have for sale, the hunters claim. | While the appeals court said that when the government granted land to the Union Pacific Railroad it implicitly reserved right to access through that land, the Supreme Court reversed. We loved that, he said. Even an acquittal wouldnt necessarily open the door for everyone to begin corner crossing all over Wyoming, but a guilty verdict would certainly be a setback for the public cause. This ruling doesnt make corner crossing legal across the country. There is no specific state or federal laws regarding corner crossings, the agency states in a pamphlet that appears to have been updated in 2013. Defending the district courts decision is therefore imperative. Meanwhile, in the piecemeal division of the public domain through the Homestead Act, public lands that had little economic value went unclaimed, and frequently became closed in by adjacent private holdings, the TRCP-onX report explains. But a federal judgemoved that claimto his venue at the hunters request, agreeing that the issue involved federal statutes. But it does have a persuasive value in other cases. If there is an appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, (which must be filed within 30 days after the entry of the final judgment in this case) the decision of the appellate court would still only be about Wyomings trespass statutes and how they intersect (pun intended) with the checkerboard ownership in Wyoming. Corner crossing can provide access to relatively small parcel of land; in some cases, however, it may be the only potential means of access to otherwise-inaccessible large tracts of public land. Your email address will not be published. Tell them you want them to sponsor a bill clarifying the legality of corner crossing in your state, and that youll be watching to make sure they follow through..
New Criminal Charges Dropped, but Corner Crossing Case - MeatEater Instead of hoping a single case will become a corner crossing silver bullet, MeatEaters Director of Conservation, Ryan Callaghan, encourages hunters and public land users to focus on maintaining their advocacy for the long haul. Remember the verse, This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land ? A question is this precedent applicable to all federal lands in all states, or just in Wyoming?
Rich Landowner Bullies WY Elk Hunters in Corner Crossing Case Yet we can go float and fish that river even though were in private airspace. But if you put your foot on the ground or if you drop anchor, you can be cited for criminal trespass., Willms said hed argue that point if he were the one in front of the judge: So, my point there is, we've kind of carved out another exception, from a public trust standpoint, for water. Usually, a plaintiff who looses a civil case is required to pay all attorneys fees.
Judge rules Missouri hunters didn't trespass when "corner-crossing In fact, it may not even make corner crossing legal in every situation in Wyoming. I felt totally confident from the very beginning that what we were doing was OK, he said. It would be persuasive authority in all states within the 10th Circuit, which are Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas and Oklahoma to the extent that their trespass laws are the same or substantially similar. After considering the matter, Eshelmans attorney Greg Weisz wrote, Plaintiff Iron Bar Holdings, LLC has determined the interest of judicial economy and justice warrant Plaintiff withdrawing the claims related to the Waypoint 6 issue and possible physical surface trespass by any of the Defendants on the Plaintiffs real property,. Editor here can hold the money.
Judge rules in favor of corner-crossing hunters - WyoFile Heres what I didnt understand about the ranchers damages case: He claims that if the border-crossing practice becomes the new legal policy, the value of his lands are dramatically diminished (to the tune of almost $8 million, in this case). Eshelmans attorney, along with the BLM, also did not respond to inquiries. Of course, the four hunters who have been battling these cases for years also have reason to celebrate. . But the judges decision is nonetheless a big step in the right direction and a huge win for public land hunters and anglers. In the Pacific Railway Act of 1862, Congress provided an incentive and subsidy to the train industry to build a transcontinental railroad. This issue of trespassing has an ugly history. It's important to remember that the idea of public lands as the national treasure many Americans view them as today had yet to coalesce in the 1860s. The federal civil trial as-yet unscheduled may address the two metal T-posts driven into Elk Mountain property at the four-corner intersection. Access to 8.3 million acres of public land in 11 western states is in limbo due to questions over the legality of corner crossing. Under pressure from Eshelman and his local ranch manager, Wyoming prosecutors charged the four hunters with criminal trespass. Published September 23, 2022 at 4:30 PM MDT Listen 4:41 (Will Walkey/Mountain West News Bureau) A "no hunting" sign on Rattlesnake Pass near Elk Mountain, Wyoming The best way to understand the controversy around "corner crossing" is to drive around on a county road through southern Wyoming. The public should be appreciative for what theyve done. The. . You rely on us for the facts. The owner of the Elk Mountain Ranch broke federal law by blocking four hunters' access to public land and by harassing and . WyoFile stands behind everything we publish and expects commenters to do the same. He claimed that the hunters had damaged his propertys value to the tune of $7 million, and the case was presented before Chief U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl. As a result, the public has long been deprived of access to land it owns. Thats where you force the issue.
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