HELENA — A group of conservation advocacy organizations are suing the State of Montana to “cement the legality of corner crossing” in Montana.
On Thursday, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and the Public Land and Water Access Association filed a lawsuit against Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks in Lewis and Clark County District Court.
The legal action comes one day after Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras, a Republican, addressed the Montana Environmental Quality Council about corner crossing.
(WATCH: Lt. Gov. Juras discusses corner crossing with Montana lawmakers)
Corner crossing is the act of stepping from adjoining corners of public land without stepping on the adjacent private land.
While there is no state law or case law directly addressing corner crossing in Montana, FWP, under the Gianforte administration, has stated that corner crossing remains unlawful in Montana, and people should obtain permission from the adjoining landowners before crossing corners. Wardens have been instructed to use their discretion to cite individuals for trespassing if caught corner crossing.
The new lawsuit argues that FWP's policy on corner crossing is “incorrect and unlawful.”
"Though not an attack on the agency overall, as both BHA and PLWA are currently defending FWP as intervenors in separate litigation, we fundamentally disagree with the Department on this issue and believe this must now be decided before a neutral court,” said Jake Schwaller, Chair of the Montana Chapter of BHA, in a press release. “There comes a time when we simply need to stand up for our public land, and this is our time."
The plaintiffs in the case say they had met with FWP several times about corner crossing, but believe the lawsuit is their path forward to resolving the debate.
“Montanans deserve clear, consistent guidance on how they can access their public lands,” said Alex Leone, Executive Director for PLWA, in the press release. “There is a commonsense path that respects private property while ensuring public lands aren’t effectively blocked. We’ve worked in good faith to find that solution and remain ready to do so.”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL COMPLAINT
According to data from onX, there are around 1.5 million acres of public lands locked behind private property in the Treasure State. About 871,000 acres of public land in Montana is “corner locked.”
Much of the recent debate on corner crossing has followed developments last year in a Wyoming corner crossing case.
(WATCH: Corner Crossing in Montana explained)
In October, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the 10th District Court of Appeals on Iron Bar Holdings v. Cape. The case stems from a land access dispute in Wyoming. In 2022, the ranch, owned by pharmaceutical executive Fred Eshelman, sued a group of hunters who used a ladder to corner cross onto public land that was locked in by Eshelman’s property. The suit alleged that the hunters trespassed when they passed through the airspace over the private property.
A federal district judge agreed with the hunters, stating that nothing they did violated federal law. When the 10th District Court of Appeals took up the case, it ruled a property owner could not create an obstacle that would limit free passage over public lands.
Since the Supreme Court did not take the case up, the ruling effectively became case law. However, that ruling only impacts states in the 10th Circuit; Montana is in the 9th Circuit.
MTN has spoken with several lawyers, including a prosecutor, about the issue of corner crossing. They agreed to provide background as long as it was off-camera due to the clients they represent. The consensus from the lawyers was that most county attorneys don’t pursue corner crossing trespassing cases.
Juras also testified before the EQC that she was not aware of a true corner crossing trespass case that had gone to trial.
