Supreme Court Declines To Hear Corner Crossing Case

The United States Supreme Court denied an appeal to hear the corner crossing case brought by Iron Bar Holdings against three hunters who harvested an elk on public land. Those hunters accessed that public land by corner crossing—moving from one piece of public land to another where their corners meet. In the West, it’s common to have pieces of public land locked in a checkerboard pattern of private land, making access tricky.

Denying the appeal leaves in place a decision by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which makes corner crossing legal in Wyoming, Utah, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, and New Mexico.

The caveat, of course, is that the hunters who crossed public corners of land near private parcels held by Iron Bar Holdings, a ranch near Casper, Wyoming, did so by utilizing survey markers that denoted exact corners of public land. Those aren’t present in many places, and relying solely on mapping apps isn’t a way to guarantee you’re actually still on public land.

Flylords covered this topic in-depth earlier this year, and you can read all the details of the case here. But the Supreme Court denying to hear an appeal means that corner crossing is likely to be addressed by state legislatures, and soon.

Washington state, for example, doesn’t have plans to change its approach to enforcing trespassing laws as of yet, even with the precedent the Supreme Court has set, according to the Spokesman-Review. 

“Staci Lehman, a spokesperson for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said wardens typically see one or two cases a year that involve corner crossing in Eastern Washington, and that they are treated like any other trespassing case,” wrote Michael Wright for the Review. 

“She added that the agency has no plans to change its guidance for law enforcement officers in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision.”

Hunters aren’t the only ones who can potentially benefit from this ruling. Anglers who want to access portions of rivers located on public land, but locked inside that checkerboard of private, have an avenue to pursue. It’s worth remembering, however, that the hunters who successfully corner crossed did so with the aid of physical U.S. Geological Survey markers, and relying solely on digital maps isn’t a way to guarantee you’re in the clear.