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Missouri Hunter's Wyoming Corner Crossers GoFundMe

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    Missouri Hunter's Wyoming Corner Crossers GoFundMe

    TLDR Version - Four Missouri hunters are being legally harassed by the Carbon County DA for corner crossing which is not illegal in Wyoming. They have been acquitted on one charge in a recent jury trial. Meateater had a podcast interviewing them this week. They need your help regarding legal fees.

    Meateater Podcast Ep 342: Getting Busted for Touching Air

    Missouri Hunters Corner Crossing Case GoFundMe Link


    Wyoming AG Corner Crossing Opinion

    Wyoming's Criminal Trespass Lawsuit

    Wyofile Article with body cam video where both the Conservation Officer and Sherriff's Deputy State that they will not cite because the attorney won't prosecute.


    I am sure that some of you have been following the case of the four Missouri hunters and their corner crossing case in Wyoming. Meateater had a podcast with two of them today.

    They were acquitted last month of charges stemming from a 2021 misdemeanor trespassing citation. Charges were filed against them three days before the commencement of that trial from an incident in 2020 where they weren't given citations. In both cases, Carbon county Sherriff's Deputies and Conservation Officers told them they weren't violating the law and they should go hunt. The owner of the Iron Bar Ranch, North Carolinian pharmaceutical millionaire Fred Eshelman, has also sued the four Missouri hunters in civil court for violating Iron Bar Ranch airspace.

    In addition to being told by local law enforcement that they were not violating any law, the Wyoming AG issued an opinion in 2004 that corner crossing did not violate the statute encompassing trespass to hunt or fish, though it may still violate the criminal trespass statute.

    The Missouri hunters obviously have significant legal fees to cover.

    They also gave testimony for hunter harassment charges against Iron Bar Ranch employees that have not been acted upon by the Carbon County Attorney's office.

    Because of the checkerboard pattern of land ownership in most western states, there are currently 8.3 million acres of landlocked public land that can only be accessed by corner crossing. The legality of corner crossing varies from state to state, but there is no Wyoming statute that addresses corner crossing.

    #2
    If the Meat Eater guys do as good of an interview with these guys as they did with Cam Hanes, their go fund me should go up about $6. It's very sad what they have become.

    Regardless, the corner crossing issue is very important. I hope these guys win, and organizations like TRCP, BHA, and RMEF are helping these guys to a certain extent as well.

    Comment


      #3
      Just for clarification, corner crossing IS illegal in Wyoming. Otherwise the four couldn’t have been charged. The fact that these guys were found not guilty doesn’t change the law. That said, it shouldn’t be illegal IMO as long as you have legal ingress to the checkerboarded public land.

      Comment


        #4
        Many hunters are tired of the lying, sorry thieving SOB landowner’s and outfitters who have the full support of the game and fish as well as the sheriffs department’s. All the guys I run with corner cross. I have even been shot at by a landowner while trying to retrieve game. I took the high road and called the game and fish and the sheriff. They all supported the land owner when I was trying to press charges. The landowner and his co-conspirators think that they own all of the public lands.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Drycreek3189 View Post
          Just for clarification, corner crossing IS illegal in Wyoming. Otherwise the four couldn’t have been charged. The fact that these guys were found not guilty doesn’t change the law. That said, it shouldn’t be illegal IMO as long as you have legal ingress to the checkerboarded public land.
          No it is not illegal. Criminal trespass is illegal but corner crossing is not by statute.



          Look into the facts of the case, the landowners forced the DA, sheriff, to issue complaints against the men. All charges except civil trespass have been dismissed or they were found not guilty.
          Thee civil trespass case is in federal court now. The hunters are bringing up the federal inclosures act for their defense: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?...land%20subject

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by ladrones View Post
            Many hunters are tired of the lying, sorry thieving SOB landowner’s and outfitters who have the full support of the game and fish as well as the sheriffs department’s. All the guys I run with corner cross. I have even been shot at by a landowner while trying to retrieve game. I took the high road and called the game and fish and the sheriff. They all supported the land owner when I was trying to press charges. The landowner and his co-conspirators think that they own all of the public lands.
            GW in Wyoming do not support this type of activity, they will not cite for corner crossing.
            And the sheriff tried to not cite but the DA insisted.
            NM may be that way but not in Wyoming, sorry for your troubles.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by wytex View Post
              GW in Wyoming do not support this type of activity, they will not cite for corner crossing.
              And the sheriff tried to not cite but the DA insisted.
              NM may be that way but not in Wyoming, sorry for your troubles.
              I have no problem’s with it as it was many years ago. But I do make it an annual event to ruin three water holes for the outfitters and landowner by making the corners and the water hole coordinates public info as much as I can.

              Comment


                #8
                If I was younger and a little more industrious, I'd assemble my "corner fence" building rig, and head up to the hills to make a bundle off those landowners.


                Of course if I was a young, industrious lawyer, there may be another way to make a killin up there.


                In the end, I suspect these guys are just gonna screw this up for everyone.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by ladrones View Post
                  I have no problem’s with it as it was many years ago. But I do make it an annual event to ruin three water holes for the outfitters and landowner by making the corners and the water hole coordinates public info as much as I can.
                  Well, where are these watering holes???

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by wytex View Post
                    No it is not illegal. Criminal trespass is illegal but corner crossing is not by statute.



                    Look into the facts of the case, the landowners forced the DA, sheriff, to issue complaints against the men. All charges except civil trespass have been dismissed or they were found not guilty.
                    Thee civil trespass case is in federal court now. The hunters are bringing up the federal inclosures act for their defense: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?...land%20subject
                    "found the corner pin using a GPS", in 2004. I remember my GPS in 2004 was accurate to like 30 some feet. I can't imagine how long they looked to find that pin!

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Drycreek3189 View Post
                      Just for clarification, corner crossing IS illegal in Wyoming. Otherwise the four couldn’t have been charged. The fact that these guys were found not guilty doesn’t change the law. That said, it shouldn’t be illegal IMO as long as you have legal ingress to the checkerboarded public land.
                      There is the criminal statute and the Wyoming AG's opinion posted above. The criminal statute does not address your body violating the airspace. The other appropriate statute is trespassing to hunt or fish, and the Wyoming AG's opinion is that corner crossing does not violate that.

                      The county attorney has decided to use a very liberal interpretation to charge these guys. This happens more often than you think.
                      Last edited by El General; 06-21-2022, 12:43 PM.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by ladrones View Post
                        I have no problem’s with it as it was many years ago. But I do make it an annual event to ruin three water holes for the outfitters and landowner by making the corners and the water hole coordinates public info as much as I can.
                        That sounds like a fitting response to me.


                        Dale, the inclosures act prohibits folks from fencing off public lands, I believe they are using this in their defense, what we have heard anyway :

                        43 USC Ch. 25: UNLAWFUL INCLOSURES OR OCCUPANCY; OBSTRUCTING SETTLEMENT OR TRANSIT
                        From Title 43—PUBLIC LANDS

                        §1063. Obstruction of settlement on or transit over public lands
                        No person, by force, threats, intimidation, or by any fencing or inclosing, or any other unlawful means, shall prevent or obstruct, or shall combine and confederate with others to prevent or obstruct, any person from peaceably entering upon or establishing a settlement or residence on any tract of public land subject to settlement or entry under the public land laws of the United States, or shall prevent or obstruct free passage or transit over or through the public lands: Provided, This section shall not be held to affect the right or title of persons, who have gone upon, improved, or occupied said lands under the land laws of the United States, claiming title thereto, in good faith.

                        (Feb. 25, 1885, ch. 149, §3, 23 Stat. 322.)

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by wytex View Post
                          That sounds like a fitting response to me.

                          )
                          Doesn’t really matter. Eventually the greed and ego of a few will ruin things for many.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by wytex View Post
                            That sounds like a fitting response to me.


                            Dale, the inclosures act prohibits folks from fencing off public lands, I believe they are using this in their defense, what we have heard anyway :

                            43 USC Ch. 25: UNLAWFUL INCLOSURES OR OCCUPANCY; OBSTRUCTING SETTLEMENT OR TRANSIT
                            From Title 43—PUBLIC LANDS

                            §1063. Obstruction of settlement on or transit over public lands
                            No person, by force, threats, intimidation, or by any fencing or inclosing, or any other unlawful means, shall prevent or obstruct, or shall combine and confederate with others to prevent or obstruct, any person from peaceably entering upon or establishing a settlement or residence on any tract of public land subject to settlement or entry under the public land laws of the United States, or shall prevent or obstruct free passage or transit over or through the public lands: Provided, This section shall not be held to affect the right or title of persons, who have gone upon, improved, or occupied said lands under the land laws of the United States, claiming title thereto, in good faith.

                            (Feb. 25, 1885, ch. 149, §3, 23 Stat. 322.)

                            The federal government also shouldn’t have the right to tell private landowners how they fence their own land.

                            So who gives 1st???

                            There are chicken shots on both sides, and the only thing we can be certain of, is that the federal government will screw this all the way up.


                            Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                            Comment


                              #15
                              What I don't understand is "the violation of airspace". Is that really a thing? Where does the airspace end? Could someone parachute in? Can I have pilots arrested for flying over my property?

                              Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

                              Comment

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