Rancher charged in attempted stealing of elk horns from helicopter hunters

[rookieforever33]

Overall this highlights the corner crossing being a slippery slope. Whoever came up with this checkerboard design was obviously giving a good deal to adjacent landowners when it happened. Those people are all gone, but landowners are still reaping benefits. Does corner crossing automatically mean you can land an aircraft wherever you want on public land? Do states need to create rules like Alaska has about fly in hunts? I personally believe allowing corner crossing by walk in hunters is GREAT. But is aircraft landing there ok? I dont know. Can you tunnel in? Parachute? Unfortunately the only way this will get worked out is in the courts. The way into the courts is people pushing the limits, then people getting mad about it. I do NOT agree with this rancher or his actions. But would he have been right to sue over a helicopter landing their? Do ranching or outfitting leases include language about other access points? Hopefully the corner crossing court decision doesn't get caught up in a fight about something like this before it gets a foothold as a regular practice.

 

[Jethro]

Corner crossing checkerboard aren’t relevant in this situation

 

[StupidLightweight]

Does corner crossing automatically mean you can land an aircraft wherever you want on public land? Do states need to create rules like Alaska has about fly in hunts? I personally believe allowing corner crossing by walk in hunters is GREAT. But is aircraft landing there ok?

You're discussing two very different issues, corner crossing and landlocked public land.

Corner crossing is land access from adjacent public property. This would be your checkerboard scenario. The issue has been settled. Stepping over airspace and not setting foot on private property is not trespassing, nor should it be.

Landlocked public land is different. These are completely surrounded by private land. It could be 50 feet or it could be half a mile of private property that prevents land access to public parcels. You can't tunnel in to these locations or hop a corner fence. To get to landlocked public land, the only options are crossing private property or by using an aircraft.

Some ranchers don't don't charge a thing for access to public, others charge whatever they want, and another group won't allow access for any amount of money. For these public properties, the only legal access is by air.

A rancher has every right to sue a helicopter for landing on adjacent public land, but the only winners in this scenario would be the attorneys. Since the dawn of aviation, aerial access has been legal in our country for going from point A to point B, and the Unlawful Enclosures Act of 1885 should make it impossible for individuals or states to prevent access to our public lands.

 

[LFC911]

The ranch owner would have been better off giving them access or guiding them than what this $h!+ storm is going to create. How many folks have looked up the tail number to that copter or looked for BLM in X county?