Overview
- The Supreme Court on Oct. 20 declined to hear Wyoming landowner Fred Eshelman’s appeal, leaving the 10th Circuit’s March ruling intact.
- Within the 10th Circuit—Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Kansas, and Oklahoma—corner crossing is affirmed as lawful when no part of a person or gear touches private land.
- The case began after four elk hunters used a ladder at a checkerboard corner by Eshelman’s Iron Bar Ranch; a jury acquitted them of criminal trespass as the landowner later pursued civil claims based on airspace.
- Mapping firm OnX estimates the decision unlocks roughly 3.5 million acres of public land in the six-state region, while more than 8 million acres remain corner-locked outside the circuit.
- Attorney Ryan Semirad, who represents the hunters, called the denial a preserved win and said it could prompt similar test cases in other circuits, though the ruling is not nationwide.