Update on Wyoming corner crossing

[HighGrouseHunt]

The bad behavior argument is just a bad argument for all the reasons stated repeatedly in this thread. Just because some people are bad and don't follow the rules, it doesn't mean that everything should just be shut down for everyone else. That's like saying, “Hey when we have a 2 week elk season, some bad apples poach and shoot an elk a day early or a day late, so we should just shut down elk hunting all together.” Some folks might recognize that this sort of logic was applied toward spring bear hunting right here in WA…

I tend to think that clarity in corner crossing is only going to reduce the negative interactions between landowners and public land hunters. The less ambiguity there is, the less there is for either party to get worked up about. The problems come when both parties think they are “right” but no one in the legal system steps in to clarify the issue.

When law enforcement just ignores the issue, it pisses off the landowner, and rightly so. When there is a legal sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of hunters who believe they should be able to access public Lands if they can do so without making any physical contact with any private land, that infuriates many hunters (myself included). If corner crossing were to become “legal” I could see the types of hunters engaging in that act changing significantly. For arguments sake, maybe in this current state of legal limbo it truly is just a bunch of “bad apples” now. If it becomes legal, I image the ratio of conscientious of hunters doing it is going to increase significantly. Maybe those good guys start getting pissed at the cheaters too, and calling them in as well now.🤷

PS. Purely out of curiosity, in the Rock Lake example, if a private landowner allows the public to launch their boats from private property onto public water, and there are a couple hundred acres of BLM land down the lake that would otherwise be 100% inaccessible (even through corner crossing), is it OK to pull up on and recreate on those public lands? It seems like in the absence of that access point, all of the landowners on the lake would have enjoyed exclusive access to those lands.

My gut says it's totally fine to recreate on them, but given the statement that “it’s all Private I might be off base.

[Platensek-po]

If you have permission from the private landowner to launch then once you are on the public land yes you can access it. As long as the BLM land comes down to the lake shore

[Rainier10]

I just want to be clear I’m fine with corner crossing. I’m not fine with crossing at a corner with a game cart, a quad, a side by side, a jeep or cutting the corner by five feet, ten feet, twenty yards.

And also to be clear enforcement isn’t going to do anything about any bending of the rule.

[ducks4days]

Corner crossing perpetuates bad behavior in some people. That's it. Some will do it right, some won't. It doesn't matter if a few dozen people decided it's not illegal. It will just create more issues with landowners and hunters. I don't care what your opinion is anymore. I know it to be true. There is a direct correlation to people believing they are allowed to access public land no matter what, such as corner crossing and trespassing and property damage. Your opinion is nonsense. 

Fewer restrictions to firearms increases firearm crime. It doesnt matter if a minority of people decide the freedom is worth it. It will just create more death and injury. I dont care what your opinion is anymore. I know it to be true. There is a direct correlation between people believing they are allowed to access guns no matter what, and death and other violent crimes. Your opinion is nonsense.

In case it isnt obvious, I am being facetious. The flip flopping of logic based on whatever pre-held beliefs are had is just dumb. We shouldnt blanket punish the general public to discourage the crimes of a select few criminals, even if there is a proven correlation (which has not been proven, its just your belief). Like Platensek said, you sound a lot like a Liberal talking about guns, which I guess goes to show people nowadays have a lot more in common than they think.

[chukardogs]

 It all needs to be addressed and hopefully a case like this may drive a groundswell of support for mandating that any tax paying citizen should be able to use public land within the rules that apply to that land. No private land owner should have the right to keep the public off of an adjacent piece of public land or a lake for that matter. Yes yes, I know I'm probably living in some dream world but right is right!
FWIW, as far as cattle grazing rights go, I've hunted the last 32 years on forest service land that have cattle grazing all over it. As far as I know, if a rancher has a forest service cow/calf grazing permit/lease, the only right he or she has is that his or her cattle can graze on that land. He or she doesn't have any other rights regarding or involving that land use. If a person has a mineral claim on public land, they have no other rights beyond the minerals on or under that land.
 I suppose if a person leases a piece of private land, the leasee would have the same rights as the property owner as long as the actual owner doesn't have any issues with how the land is being used. I actually know a few people that would give a lease on a piece of land for grazing and have an absolute caniption fit if they found out it was being used for hunting instead. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that when leasing land, the use would or could be stipulated on the lease.
 The fact is, American citizens pay taxes and have rights. Those taxes allow those citizens to use public land within the confines of the laws that govern that land. No one should be able to stop any law abiding, tax paying citizen from gaining access to that land. The Laws need to be changed or added to so those rights are cemented for the future generations of any group of society that wants to use that land. If placing easements on such properties that block the public from their land is what is needed so be it, it's time!