Corner crossing
{{Short description|Diagonally crossing from one public land to another}}
File:Corner_Crossing_Graphic.webp
File:Corner_Crossing_Legality_In_US.svg
Corner Crossing is the act of stepping from one parcel of public land to another at the intersection (or "corner") of two public parcels that are diagonally adjacent, without setting foot on the private land that borders them. This situation frequently arises in checkerboarded land. While no private land is physically touched, the legality is disputed in the U.S. because it may involve crossing private airspace.
If corner crossing is illegal, some public lands are necessarily landlocked and hence inaccessible.{{Cite news |last=Howe |first=Ben Ryder |date=2022-11-26 |title=It’s Public Land. But the Public Can’t Reach It. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/26/business/hunting-wyoming-elk-mountain-access.html |access-date=2025-06-02 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} There are 8.3 million acres of public land across 11 states that would be inaccessible without corner crossing.{{Cite web |title=onX Corner-Locked Report |url=https://www.onxmaps.com/onx-access-initiatives/corner-crossing-report |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=onX Maps |language=en-US}}
Legality
In 2017, a Montana house bill to criminalize corner crossing failed.{{Cite web |last=Gray |first=Jessica |title=‘Corner-crossing’ bill will carry hefty consequences |url=https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/outdoors/2017/03/22/corner-crossing-bill-will-carry-hefty-consequences/99488576/ |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=Great Falls Tribune |language=en-US}}
In 2021, hunters in Wyoming were charged with trespassing on private land they never actually set foot on when they crossed between two parcels of public land at the corner where they touched.{{Cite news |last=Thuermer Jr. |first=Angus M. |date=2022-09-02 |title=Ranch owner: Corner-crossing damages could exceed $7M |url=http://wyofile.com/ranch-owner-corner-crossing-damages-could-exceed-7m/ |access-date=2022-09-03 |work=WyoFile |language=en-US}} Landowners allege their airspace was violated. A jury found the hunters not guilty, but a civil lawsuit was also filed by the landowners.{{Cite news |last=Thuermer |first=Angus M. Jr. |date=2022-04-30 |title=Jury finds four corner-crossing hunters not guilty of trespass |url=http://wyofile.com/jury-finds-four-corner-crossing-hunters-not-guilty-of-trespass/ |access-date=2022-08-30 |work=WyoFile |language=en-US}} This civil lawsuit was escalated U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit,{{Cite web |last=Eggert |first=Amanda |date=2025-03-20 |title=Access to public land through corner crossing remains legal |url=http://www.hcn.org/articles/access-to-public-land-through-corner-crossing-remains-legal/ |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=High Country News |language=en-US}} and in 2025, the court sided unanimously against the land owners. As a result, precedent was set deeming corner crossing to be legal in the circuit's 6 states: Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Oklahoma and Kansas.{{Cite web |last=Jr |first=Angus M. Thuermer |date=2025-03-19 |title=Corner-crossing decision: Congressional act overrides Wyoming trespass laws |url=http://wyofile.com/corner-crossing-decision-congressional-act-overrides-wyoming-trespass-laws/ |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=WyoFile |language=en-US}} The ruling has nuance: the court “interpreted the UIA to allow corner-crossing if access to public lands is otherwise restricted,” meaning that corner crossing when there is another path to the public land still exists in a legal grey area.{{Cite web |title=Is Corner Crossing Legal? An Update on the Latest Court Ruling |url=https://www.onxmaps.com/onx-access-initiatives/corner-crossing-report/is-corner-crossing-legal |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=onX Maps |language=en-US}} The landowner has signaled intent to take the case to the Supreme Court. If the court sees the case and rules in favour of the hunters, then corner crossing would become legal across the entire US.{{Cite web |last=Eggert |first=Amanda |date=2025-05-23 |title=Landowner looks to appeal civil trespassing case to SCOTUS |url=http://montanafreepress.org/2025/05/22/landowner-looks-to-appeal-loss-in-corner-crossing-case-to-us-supreme-court/ |access-date=2025-06-02 |website=Montana Free Press |language=en-US}}