The Corner Crossers: The Most Important Public Land Access Case today
Many people have, by now, heard of the “corner crossers” case. Backing up a bit, and like most stories in the West, this one begins with a story about trains. For those unfamiliar with the checkerboard pattern of public and private land in the inter-mountain West, it originates from the 19th century expansion of the transcontinental railroads. The U.S. government sought to encourage the building of railroads westward by granting land to railroad companies, with alternating parcels remaining public. Why keep those parcels public? Our ancestors wanted what was best for us, they wanted us to have access to them and they didn’t want the railroad companies to have exclusive ownership of the land. Likewise, this also meant that the American people (managed in public trust by our government) retained control of timber, minerals, and water on those parcels, with the American people owning those resources while also benefitting economically from railroad development.
In Wyoming in 2020, four elk hunters from the state of Missouri used a ladder to cross from one corner of public land to another. The Missouri hunters wanted to access about 6,000 acres of public land that is “corner-locked” with private parcels. One of the men is a surveyor by trade, so the group’s GPS coordinates were accurate, and the use of a ladder made it so that they respected private property, knowing that corner crossing falls under a gray area of the law. The private corner was owned by Iron Bar Holdings LLC, where the 22,000 acre Elk Mountain Ranch is located. Elk Mountain Ranch is owned by Fred Eshelman, a North Carolina businessman who made his money in pharmaceuticals, who spends most of his time in North Carolina.
The ranch manager called law enforcement on the hunters, and personnel from Elk Mountain Ranch tried to disrupt the hunt. Shortly thereafter, the corner crossers had civil and criminal trials. The criminal trial was for trespass, for which they were found not guilty in 2022. Elk Mountain’s owner filed a $7 million civil lawsuit in 2022, arguing that people corner crossing reduces the value of the 22,000 acre ranch so much that significant fines had to be paid. A district judge dismissed the case in 2023, saying that corner crossing that doesn’t touch the private parcels is not trespass, citing the 1885 Unlawful Inclosures Act, the law prohibiting blocking public land. The ranch owner appealed to the Tenth Circuit in 2024, where a three judge panel unanimously upheld the district court. This ruling made corner crossing legal in the 6 states in the Tenth Circuit (Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Utah) so long as the crossers are careful not to touch private land.
In July 2025, the ranch owner petitioned the United States Supreme Court to review the Tenth Circuit’s decision, arguing that allowing people to cross from public corner to public corner constitutes an illegal “taking” of private property without just compensation. We are waiting to see whether the Supreme Court will hear the case, thereby setting a national precedent which would ensure national (not just states under the Tenth Circuit) access to millions of acres of public land.
Before the corner crossers case, the legality of corner crossing in Western states had no clear legal precedent with no definitive state or federal laws addressing the issue, with many states choosing to punt the issue due to its controversy. What’s going to be important if the Supreme Court hears this case is their interpretation of the Unlawful Inclosures Act, which prohibits blocking public land. Outdoorsmen and conservationists need to keep an eye on this case, as it is the most important issue relating to public land access in 2025, especially on the heels of Senator Mike Lee’s attempt to sell off millions of acres of public land through a backdoor Congressional budget reconciliation process. Senator Lee’s land grab would have enabled land owners like Fred Eschelman to purchase checkerboard parcels in greater numbers than other everyday people looking to purchase public land. If either of these cases were to move ahead, millions of acres of public land would be lost to Americans.
One thing that you can do to try and enshrine corner crossing in the law is push your state legislators to clarify corner crossing in your state, independent of the Supreme Court. Reach out to your state representatives and let them know that you want to be able to cross from corner to corner, mentioning the Tenth Circuit and your concerns about the impending Supreme Court case. Likewise, at the local level, through county board meetings or town halls you can make your voice heard to local officials and your sheriffs. When the ranch manager called local law enforcement on the corner crossers, who went on to issue them citations to appear in court for the initial criminal trial, the sheriff could have refused to do so depending on how they interpreted the law. Therefore, making your local leaders aware of your community’s views on corner crossing could assist with these types of decisions on the ground. Most importantly, stay active and engaged, and look out for news on the Supreme Court this summer.
- Sagebrush Institute