The corner crossing debate has a new front. On May 14, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and the Public Land and Water Access Association filed a lawsuit against the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks in Lewis and Clark County Court after the department declared corner crossing illegal. The case is the latest in a growing legal conversation about how hunters access public land.
Corner crossing has become an increasingly popular tactic as public land hunters look for ways to reach remote areas far from roads and other hunters. As land and lease prices continue to climb, and pressure on public ground grows, this once uncommon strategy has escalated into a continuing conflict between hunters and private landowners. At the center of this issue is a simple question: can a hunter step from one corner of public land to another without setting foot on the private land in between? A courtroom verdict, however, only applies within that court’s jurisdiction, leaving the broader question unresolved.
The issue now has another opportunity to make it back into the news and courts. The Trump administration’s Department of the Interior recently announced a proposed expansion of hunting and fishing opportunities across 92 million acres of federal land. As hunters look for access points to newly opened ground, corner crossing is likely to become a growing flashpoint, and the absence of a legislative solution along with the Supreme Court declining to take up the most recent corner crossing case could lead to a surge of legal battles across the country.
How this gets resolved is an open question. Some see the courtroom as the right venue, as the Montana lawsuit illustrates. Others argue the issue is better addressed through state and federal legislation where elected representatives can weigh in on a problem that affects the hunters and landowners who live with it every day. As the judicial wheels turn in Montana, it’s up to hunters to decide where to find a final solution in either the courts or the capitals.
