Public access land blocked

[quailguy]

GAO discussion of blocked access to public land.

 

GAO discussed the lack of public access to federal land, focusing on the Forest Service's and the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) efforts to resolve access problems. GAO noted that: (1) about 14 percent of the land managed by the Forest Service and BLM lacks adequate public access; (2) private landowners' major reasons for not granting the public access to cross their land concern vandalism, potential liability, and their desire for privacy or exclusive use; (3) inadequate access to federal land can reduce the public's recreational opportunities and interfere with the agencies' land management activities; (4) the Forest Service and BLM can use fee simple acquisitions or perpetual easements to acquire public access; and (5) in fiscal years 1989 through 1991, the Forest Service and BLM acquired permanent, legal public access to about 4.5 million acres of federal land.

• View Report (PDF)

[bigjohnsd]

I have a friend, retired Judge, he and his brother (Physician and Helicopter owner/pilot) will fly into some landlocked BLM land here in SD to either deer or antelope hunt.  This has been known to piss off the surrounding landowner that believes he has tacit ownership of said public land.  

 

Frequently when land is sold out west the listing will list the Private acreage (what you are actually buying) and the BLM land it "controls".

[mccuha]

Well. You guys inspired me.  I called our congressman that is real good friends to one of my best friends.  We know each other. Any way.  I told him what was going on .  He’s a hunter to so he understands access.  He said that he would work on it   Said said it would be after the first of the year before he’d be back in Columbia.  I believe him. 

[KCrowley]

1 hour ago, bigjohnsd said:

I have a friend, retired Judge, he and his brother (Physician and Helicopter owner/pilot) will fly into some landlocked BLM land here in SD to either deer or antelope hunt.  This has been known to piss off the surrounding landowner that believes he has tacit ownership of said public land.  

 

Frequently when land is sold out west the listing will list the Private acreage (what you are actually buying) and the BLM land it "controls".

 

Randy Newberg,  who is an activist on this issue, also helicopters into landlocked public areas.  I love it.

[grouse28]

Every state has different land laws, some very confusing.

In PA there can be no “landlocked” parcels. Courts will assign a land viewer to assess the situation and recommend a right of way to the parcel doing the least harm to the “granting” neighboring parcel. Judge would then determine financial compensation to the grantor.
Had a client that specialized in purchasing land lock parcels for a song then acquiring a right of way to them and selling them for profit.

[WI Outdoor Nut]

I am dealing with another parcel I want to push access to.  I believe it is a public road, and owners have it blocked off about 1.5 miles to what is public land, on top of MLF open land between there.  I don't know how they can gate the road.  I need to reach out to that biologist and see what we can do.  

[co_setter]

23 minutes ago, WI Outdoor Nut said:

I am dealing with another parcel I want to push access to.  I believe it is a public road, and owners have it blocked off about 1.5 miles to what is public land, on top of MLF open land between there.  I don't know how they can gate the road.  I need to reach out to that biologist and see what we can do.  

Many counties have gis maps that show publicly owned Right of Way.  The county does not need to own the land for it to be a legal road, but if they have a gate on public property that's a slam dunk.

[caleb]

39 minutes ago, WI Outdoor Nut said:

I am dealing with another parcel I want to push access to.  I believe it is a public road, and owners have it blocked off about 1.5 miles to what is public land, on top of MLF open land between there.  I don't know how they can gate the road.  I need to reach out to that biologist and see what we can do.  

 

County highway department might be a place to start.

 

The problem is that there seem to be no penalties for people trying this stuff.  If we treated it as theft of a public resource with appropriate fines and restitution, I suspect there'd be a whole lot less of it.

[RuffChaser]

I have a piece I am asking the DNR to loo into. It is listed as state forest land and I have hunted it and ran the dogs for Spring WC/Banding on it in the Spring. It's not a big chunk of land but it holds a few grouse and WC. Low and behold a about 6 weeks ago it suddenly was posted. I called a friend at the DNR and she told me it was still showing up as state forest land. She told me State Forest land in MN isn't sold very often, which I suspected, so I think this someone that owns some adjacent land trying to close the public off from this piece as well. If so they are an a-hole just like anyone else that does this crap.

[Canuck]

Ten years or so ago, we had a new rancher buy a lot of land in our area. He immediately put gates on a bunch of access roads so that he would run cattle on the land. He was soon told he could not do that, both by people leaving the gates open, and by damaging them in some cases. He then removed the gates and installed Texas Gates which also drew the ire of locals and had to be removed.

 

So, the new rancher had to fence a number of sections to keep cattle in. When he installed the fences he ignored the road allowance and fenced right up to the shoulder of the road. It was all the locals were talking and complaining about. Then it all got quiet. The summer and fall passed. Then came winter and the first snow of the season. Time to get the snow plows out...our local operators blew out every fence he had installed. Just folded them over like dominoes. The new comer learned how things work around here and is now a local character.

[SelbyLowndes]

In some cases a landlocked property owner can obtain a private easement by judicial proceeding.  The government, of course can just condemn.  There are limitations to the private easement deal.  For example if the owner or his predecessor in title landlocked himself (by selling off access property) the right is barred.  Just compensation is required just as if it were a public condemnation...SelbyLowndes

[co_setter]

45 minutes ago, caleb said:

 

County highway department might be a place to start.

 

The problem is that there seem to be no penalties for people trying this stuff.  If we treated it as theft of a public resource with appropriate fines and restitution, I suspect there'd be a whole lot less of it.

In some states that is interpreted as hunter harassment.  That would put a kink in thier plans.

 

[Quig]

A guy needs to bring a extra lock and chain to the gates in question. Now nobody goes in or out for a while.

[GB Jack]

On 12/10/2020 at 8:18 AM, WI Outdoor Nut said:

I am dealing with another parcel I want to push access to.  I believe it is a public road, and owners have it blocked off about 1.5 miles to what is public land, on top of MLF open land between there.  I don't know how they can gate the road.  I need to reach out to that biologist and see what we can do.  

Often times , they just “ do it” and worry about consequences later , however , I have run into this quite often , there is no “access” gautenteed to mfl , and some

giant parcels are grandfathered in by listing each bordering 40 in a different llc , etc. there was a huge case of it up by me , I think the guy owned some fishing tackle company or something . Ill

see if I can find the article  

 

ironically , ive hunted around here , even called the state. Last time I checked , according to onx, it has been pulled completely out of mfl access ? 
 

http://archive.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/bipartisan-plan-would-improve-access-to-hidden-wisconsin-hunting-land-b99167800z1-237541471.html/

 

[ryanr]

On 12/9/2020 at 6:23 PM, bigjohnsd said:

I have a friend, retired Judge, he and his brother (Physician and Helicopter owner/pilot) will fly into some landlocked BLM land here in SD to either deer or antelope hunt.  This has been known to piss off the surrounding landowner that believes he has tacit ownership of said public land.  

 

Frequently when land is sold out west the listing will list the Private acreage (what you are actually buying) and the BLM land it "controls".

Randy Newberg and a friend did that (hired a helicopter in and out) in an episide and talked about how to do it on his show Fresh Tracks (he only hunts public land and explains how to go about it every episode.)

 

I always wondered about those advertisements you see in magazines, etc for purchasing pretty cheap land out West.  Figured you'd end up buying something that was landlocked by other private land and no access easement.