'Corner Crossing' at checkerboard Fed/Private survey corners may be a protected right - or not

[California]

In Wyoming an out of state landowner (North Carolina resident, 'pharmaceutical magnate’) can block access to 6,000 acres of public land that is accessible by 'corner crossing', that is within his checkerboard 22,000-acre hunting ranch if the courts rule in his favor.

He filed a $7.75 million trespass civil suit against four Missouri hunters claiming their corner crossing is trespassing which caused him millions of dollars in damage, by stepping from public land to public land through his airspace at a common corner without ever touching his land.

The Missouri hunters replied that the federal Unlawful Enclosures Act of 1885 that generally prohibits blocking passage to federal property, ensures their right to corner cross.

Owner then filed a subpoena against Google to name the critic who described this, claiming the critic interfered in his pharmaceutical business. Revealing the critic's identity would have allowed the landowner to sue him or her for defamation in Germany or India.

Two steps back for ranch owner in corner-crossing fight

Because of a “possible jurisdictional defect,” Denver court says Fred Eshelman can’t yet appeal a Wyoming judge’s decision that corner crossing is OK.

oilcity.news

 

[Dftodd]

Well.... we know what that idiot is out for.....

 

[Snobdds]

I know the owner of that ranch. He's a hardcore liberal that can't stand hunting and goes out of his way to prevent it.

The funny thing is, that area of Wyoming is checkered with private, BLM and national Forrest land. A person really dosen't know where boundaries are without a survey and a deep knowledge of how to interrupt that work. So they relay upon the OnHunt app and software to use GPS coordinates to know where they are at.

The irony in the trial was, the only way this rancher could make a case is with OnHunt app and that app showed the hunters did not cross is property and they crossed at the corner. It was the funniest thing to watch.

I want his ranch though, and he wants to sell it. This was just a ploy to preserve the value he thought he had being surrounded by land nobody could access. Even in the trial, he said the economic impact was around 7 million. This is how much value his ranch lost by not being exclusive access.

My lawyer has been in touch with him...

 

[riptides]

Some people are ruthless.

 

[tacticalturnip]

There is a word used to describe part of the female anatomy that is rather insulting, I'd use that words to describe this fellow.

All I can do is wish him a train to the face.

 

[dodge man]

I can picture the scenario I think. They cross a corner where they theoretically aren’t touching his ground with their feet but their shoulders arms etc are trespassing. If I’m picturing it correctly he is correct, it would be trespassing and if he fenced his ground they could only get across it by climbing his fence.

Lots of things going on here from a legal point of view, easement by necessity, adverse possession, estoppel and some other things I can’t think of. The bottom line is he is just being a pain in the behind.

 

[dodge man]

I read a lot of the above described information on enclosing federal land. It sounds like he is going to lose based on past legal precedent.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Get a rope

 

[5030]

I will say that owning hunting land in North Central Michigan, I deal with trespassers all the time, especially during hunting season. They all claim the same thing, 'we didn't know' even though the land is marked and posted. When they see I'm carrying (usually a 44 Smith), their attitudes change real quick. Open carry is legal here btw. Heck, when I'm up there, I open carry in Walmart or if we go to a beanery, I'm carrying... In fact up there, most people are.

 

[scott_vt]

I know the owner of that ranch. He's a hardcore liberal that can't stand hunting and goes out of his way to prevent it.

Good Afternoon Snobdds,
That says it all right there !!

 

[Chewwy]

I know the owner of that ranch. He's a hardcore liberal that can't stand hunting and goes out of his way to prevent it.

The funny thing is, that area of Wyoming is checkered with private, BLM and national Forrest land. A person really dosen't know where boundaries are without a survey and a deep knowledge of how to interrupt that work. So they relay upon the OnHunt app and software to use GPS coordinates to know where they are at.

The irony in the trial was, the only way this rancher could make a case is with OnHunt app and that app showed the hunters did not cross is property and they crossed at the corner. It was the funniest thing to watch.

I want his ranch though, and he wants to sell it. This was just a ploy to preserve the value he thought he had being surrounded by land nobody could access. Even in the trial, he said the economic impact was around 7 million. This is how much value his ranch lost by not being exclusive access.

My lawyer has been in touch with him...

The owner is NOT a liberal by any means. He has donated lots of $$s to conservative causes. Easy to find his name by googling key words associated with this thread.

I don’t know his stand on hunting.

 

[Snobdds]

The owner is NOT a liberal by any means. He has donated lots of $$s to conservative causes. Easy to find his name by googling key words associated with this thread.

I don’t know his stand on hunting.

Well, I know him so...

People put a lot of faith in google.

 

[California]

Blocking public access to public land isn't a liberal position for this idiot to take.

The federal Unlawful Enclosures Act of 1885 was written specifically to address this situation. Lets see if he can get some Wyoming politician to write him a special exception.

 

[TxSteveS]

I will say that owning hunting land in North Central Michigan, I deal with trespassers all the time, especially during hunting season. They all claim the same thing, 'we didn't know' even though the land is marked and posted. When they see I'm carrying (usually a 44 Smith), their attitudes change real quick. Open carry is legal here btw. Heck, when I'm up there, I open carry in Walmart or if we go to a beanery, I'm carrying... In fact up there, most people are.

I don't think this case is the same. These guys crossed over a 4-way corner fence post from public land to public land. They never set foot on any private land according to the fences.

That's a tough sell saying that if I wave my hand over the fence over your property that I'm trespassing without ever touching anythiing. I'd argue that the FAA owns the space over your (and my) land. That law has been established for awhile with regards to drones.

Someone mentioned earlier that he was placing the $7+ million value because the court proved that he did not control the public acreage he surrounded? I'll give him credit for having a set of balls: "Y'all reduced the value of my surrounding property because I don't have full control over your (public) land any longer and I can no longer sell my ranch including the public land that, until you proved wasn't landlocked, I could 'sell' with my ranch". Balls.

 

[Snobdds]

Blocking public access to public land isn't a liberal position for this idiot to take.

The federal Unlawful Enclosures Act of 1885 was written specifically to address this situation. Lets see if he can get some Wyoming politician to write him a special exception.

He wasn't blocking anything, his theory was if two opposing corners were public land and one had to cross...it was impossible to do so without crossing his land which they had no permission to do. Basically he was trying to split a hair 4 ways.

The court was correct when they said, how could you possibly deduce a way to say someone was trespassing when both feet were in the public domain. It was simply a matter of circumstance that any other part of the body traveling through space trespassed for a brief second.

 

[dodge man]

I don’t know the exact setup in this case but the “trespassers” have another way to get to where they were going? Often in cases of access and easements that comes up. In other words was the federal lands they were trying to get to landlocked?

 

[Snobdds]

I don’t know the exact setup in this case but the “trespassers” have another way to get to where they were going? Often in cases of access and easements that comes up. In other words was the federal lands they were trying to get to landlocked?

No not land locked. Just only accessed through a corner.

This use to be land given to the UP for the railroad. The government in their wisdom gave it in a checkerboard pattern. All railroad land was given like this. Why, I don't know as it's only created issues later on.

Think of the BLM land as yellow and the private as the grey. They can go from grey to grey all day long.

 

[Torvy]

I'm just thinking if you buy the place we ought to have a TBN hunt on the land just to celebrate. I'm more than happy to drive up to Wyoming. Been through most of it many times. Beautiful.

 

[Snobdds]

This is just a map showing the checkerboard issues. This did not happen in the clearwater NF.

Just an example.

 

[Snobdds]

I will let anyone come hunt.

I want it because the small box is where my cabin is in the National Forrest. The snow gets deep sometimes as early as the first part of October and all the animals high tail it to the large box, which is where this ranch is. They only give out 100 licenses a year and if you don't own land, it's hard to get a off national Forrest permit.

I will need Haydude to come do the hay as that is not my area.