The Resistance Runs On More than Beliefs! It needs money too

SCOTUS Slaps Down Elk Mountain Ranch Owner & Carpetbagger
The  lands where you ATV, snowmobile, hunt, fish and hike with your family,  over 2.4 millions acres in Wyoming, continue to be yours to enjoy and  pass on to the next generation.

The U.S. Supreme Court announced  Oct. 20 that it will not hear the case of Fred Eshelman, Elk Mountain  ranch owner in Carbon County. The North Carolina carpetbagger has  unsuccessfully claimed for four years the right to prohibit corner  crossing access, losing every one of his multiple court decisions and  appeals.

“It preserves a very important public access to public  lands ruling from the 10th Circuit that ensures in checkerboarded lands,  the public can reach the public lands,” said Casper, Wyo., attorney  Ryan Semerad, as quoted by Wyoming Public Media. Semerad has represented  the appellees on the case.

The case centered on access to public lands in the “checkerboard,” the alternating sections of public and private land.

Four hunters from Missouri stepped across section corners in 2021, crossing over Eshelman’s land.

Eshelman  sued the hunters, arguing that they trespassed and asserting the  bizarre claim of controlling the airspace above his land. (Who does he  think he is, the Federal Aviation Administration?)

As  it most often does in deciding whether to take an appeal, the high  court did not provide any explanation on why it declined the case.

The  court’s decision leaves in place the March 2025 10th Circuit Court of  Appeals’ unanimous ruling upholding the legality of corner crossing.”

Wyoming  Public Media continued, “Semerad said the court’s denial to review the  previous ruling is a bit ‘bittersweet. Our ruling is safe and preserved,  but we did miss out on the opportunity to expand the reach of our  victory.’”

Because the Supreme Court did not take the appeal, the  10th Circuit Court ruling will not apply nationwide. The ruling only  applies to Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas,  along with the parts of Yellowstone National Park that stretch into  Idaho and Montana.

The law is murkier in other states across the country.

“The  Supreme Court’s action affirms a principle hunters and anglers have  long understood: corner crossing is not a crime,” said Devin O’Dea,  Western Policy & Conservation Manager for Backcountry Hunters and  Anglers (BHA). The organization has been a primary fundraiser for the  legal challenges.

“Access to 3.5 million acres of public lands  has been secured because four hunters from Missouri took a leap of faith  across a corner, and the Wyoming Chapter of BHA stood up in their  defense. It’s a victory worth celebrating and a key domino in the fight  for public land access across the West,” O’Dea said.
 

“Today’s  win is historic, but it cannot be mistaken for a finish line,” said Jack  Polentes, BHA Policy & Government Relations Senior Manager,  “Powerful interests will continue to test the boundaries of public  access in statehouses and courtrooms across the country.” 

Want to know more? Check out these resources:

Click here for the Sierra Club.

Click here  for Backcountry Hunters & Anglers.

Click here for Advocates for Multi-use of Public Lands

Click here for Utah State Attorney General

Click here for the Albany County Democrats platform, p. 8

Click here for the Wyoming State Republican Platform, 19. Water and Land Rights.

Click here for the Wyoming Outdoor Council.

Click here for the Trust for Public Lands - Wyoming.

Click here for the Nature Conservancy - Wyoming.

Click here for the Wyoming Chapter of the Sierra Club.

Click here for the Wyoming Wildlife Advocates.

Click here for the Defenders of Wildlife.

Click here for Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.