I used to let people access public land through a ranch. The public is such a joy to deal with. Not anymore.

Serious question. What if you helicoptered in?

According to the article, the court decided that the land owner owns the airspace over the land also, so no access by air either.

Interesting. They could then go after aircraft and airliners for trespassing.

Interesting. They could then go after aircraft and airliners for trespassing.

Thanks Jim that’s really interesting.

If they control the access and are the only ones who can access it it, then they should be taxed on the public property like it is theirs, at a very high tax rate.

Your best bet is to check with Montana FWP. Talk to the warden that is assigned to the area the properties you’re interested in are located. Your maps need to be current because BLM land often changes from year to year. Where I hunted in NW Colorado, the warden was our best source for up to date information.
The BLM office or whatever agency controls those properties that your interested in should also be able to let you know if you can access the property.

Colorado addressed the corner crossing issues through land trades. There is no legitimate reason for private land owners to control access to publicly funded land.
It’s not uncommon for land owners, who own thousands of acres, to harass hunters that are legally hunting public land that adjoins their property.

The parcels I saw landlocked were state lands, not BLM. GW would still be a good reference I imagine.

I have no dog in this fight as I’m not a land owner nor am I a western states hunter. But, I’ve been following this particular corner crossing case since it’s inception and quite frankly I feel it’s bs. If you’re a land owner you can’t be denied access to your property, now you may have to pay for access via a legal easement, but you can’t be denied.

What really irritates me about this particular case is the only reason this is an issue is because the landowner was using that public land as if it were private land and making money off it. It’s simple case of an over bearing land owner who’s mad that hunters are exercising their rights to use land that belongs to the public.

If states are going to continue to have land locked public land with no access, then it should be sold or leased to the bordering landowners.

Don’t misunderstand me though, I’m not saying landowners need to open the front gate to their land and allow every person equal access, I’m only talking about corner crossing from public to public land.