Supreme Court cements public lands victory in Wyoming corner crossing case

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court today declined to hear an appeal from businessman Fred Eshelman in his lawsuit, Iron Bar Holdings v. Cape, which asserted a trespass claim against hunters who accessed public land via "corner crossing" near Elk Mountain, Wyo. Corner crossing refers to stepping diagonally from one parcel of public land to another at a corner shared with private land, typically in areas where private and public parcels are arranged in an alternating checkerboard pattern. Conservation groups that filed amicus briefs in support of public access during the lower court proceedings cheered the decision, which cements in place the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling that federal law prohibits private landowners from using state-law trespass claims to block members of the public from accessing federal land via corner crossing.

"The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to deny review of the Wyoming corner-crossing case is a landmark victory for fair and equitable access to public lands across the West. By letting the Tenth Circuit's ruling stand, this decision confirms that the public can access millions of acres of federal land, affirmatively advancing long-overdue goals of legal clarity and stronger community connections to our shared natural spaces. It's a powerful affirmation that public lands truly belong to the public," said Pedro Hernández, California State Program Manager of GreenLatinos.

"Today's ruling marks a significant victory for public land access in Wyoming," said Rob Joyce, Director of the Sierra Club Wyoming Chapter. "It not only clarifies where and how the public can access these lands, but also confirms that the public can use and enjoy thousands of acres that landowners have falsely claimed for themselves."

"The courts have confirmed that private landowners cannot block public access and treat these public lands as if they own them," said Dagny Signorelli, Wyoming Director for Western Watersheds Project. "In Wyoming, landowners often claim excessive power to block access to public lands, but today we got a final answer from the courts that landowners cannot assert what amounts to an ownership interest in public checkerboard lands and block public access to them."

The "checkerboard" is an artifact of the construction of the railroad, dating back to the Civil War. The intent was to give the railroads every other square mile of land as a real estate asset to sell off to finance the expense of westward expansion, and to incentivize agricultural operations near the railroads. But as the parcels were sold off to farmers and ranchers, some landowners began to assert private property rights in a manner aimed at blocking access to the intermixed public lands. Millions of acres of public lands lie within this checkerboard pattern and, legally, are to be managed for public benefit and multiple uses, including public recreation.

The current case and controversy began in 2021, when a party of Missouri hunters used GPS devices and a specially designed ladder to travel across public checkerboard parcels in the Elk Mountain area of Wyoming, and Eshelman had them cited for trespassing. After the hunters were found not guilty of criminal trespass in state court in 2022, Eshelman sued them for civil trespass. Today's Supreme Court decision puts an end to Eshelman's claims.

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.