Accessing the Inaccessible

[Cml5895]

With the new year comes planning for this coming 2019 hunting trips. Last year I went out to South Dakota for the first time and we went 1/3 on killing a mule deer, which was a pretty nice one for the area. We hunted primarily walk-in access areas that allowed for some quality hunts and stalks. This year in my scouting on OnXmaps, there have been several BLM blocks surrounded by private that look like they could hold deer. These blocks of BLM sometimes touch corners and some border a river. I have two primary questions. One, for anyone who hunts SD, is corner hopping illegal? Secondly, if I stay below the bank on the river (water leverl allowing), am I good to border private land on my way to the public? The last thing I want to do is stir up trouble with land owners, but I also would like to know the rules and not miss out on some possibly great hunting. I have tossed around the idea of trying to speak with neighboring landowners to try to get access permission. Any advice would be great!

 

[MTElkChaser]

SD School and Public Lands

Contact the Office of School and Public Lands at 605-773-3303.

This talks a bit about the differences between “public” and “school lands”, but lays out private lands access pretty generally by saying you must have landowner permission to cross private land. I’d say you could call and request maps, and ask the question too. North Dakota has a specific “program” (called PLOTS) that landowners can opt into for allowing hunters access for “corner hopping”. They have maps and grids of areas that show legal access points across private property - I don’t think South Dakota has the same program, but you can ask. My 2 cents ...

 

[bozeman]

I would contact the SD Game and Fish.....they have always been helpful for turkey hunting questions......best of luck to you!

 

[SWOHTR]

Recommend going straight to the source for any questions regarding corner hopping. “I asked the internet” won’t hold up if you get a fine for trespassing, and if you are on “landlocked land,” someone (landowner) will likely notice and have it investigated. That’s not the time to find out they were right and you weren’t.

Just my advice!


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[nodakian]

ND and SD don’t have much potential for corner crossing issues because by state law every section line has a 33 foot public access easement each side unless specifically vacated by a county commission (very rare). Great public policy to prevent landlocked property. To maintain good landowner relations you shouldn’t drive along section lines unless a trail or road exists, but in general no one can legally stop you from walking.

 

[JV3220]

That 33’ opens up a lot of land!


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[KurtR]

corner crossing is legal. lots of walk in land is checker boarded. the section line thing does open stuff up but be ready to hold your ground as some ranchers out west will try to run you off even when you are in the right. So alot of times i will talk with them just to make sure every one is cool i dont like having to worry about confrontations and just enjoy hunting

 

[nodakian]

I agree with KurtR. It’s always best to visit with landowners. However, if you can’t find them, and you’re sure you’re within 33’ of a section line, you’re good to go. A friend had an owner claim a section line was closed (probably BS), and he didn’t quite know what arguments to use, so he backed off, but I think that’s fairly uncommon.

 

[jmez]

As long as you access the water from a public spot or right of way you can access that way as well.

 

[OFFHNTN]

Once you confirm it with G & F, get a written statement or an email and keep it on you. If someone gives you a hard time you can show it to them. A lot of "unfriendly" landowners and fellow hunters in the world.

 

[530Chukar]

I hunted the black hills and 15a this last season. Make sure you have onX with you. I found a lot of discrepancies between the fence lines and maps. A lot of the walk ins are junk. You will have people trying to run you off if you’re near private but just stand your ground if you’ve got OnX.



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[Cml5895]

I hunted the black hills and 15a this last season. Make sure you have onX with you. I found a lot of discrepancies between the fence lines and maps. A lot of the walk ins are junk. You will have people trying to run you off if you’re near private but just stand your ground if you’ve got OnX.

Thank you for all your guys' input. I use OnX religiously and it is a great rule. But like you said there are discrepancies between what is out in the field and what the maps say. I always lean on the side of caution and don't push my luck if something looks private but is shown public. So with this 33' section line, that is the edge of a private piece and a public piece that has a two track road on it? I guess I am confused with that.

 

[530Chukar]

Thank you for all your guys' input. I use OnX religiously and it is a great rule. But like you said there are discrepancies between what is out in the field and what the maps say. I always lean on the side of caution and don't push my luck if something looks private but is shown public. So with this 33' section line, that is the edge of a private piece and a public piece that has a two track road on it? I guess I am confused with that.

Not quite. If you go back to the old school maps that aren’t really used a lot anymore you’ll see the township and range grids. The area between these lines are townships. A township is then divided into sections, 36 to a township. I believe that these are the lines that they’re talking about if they line up with a fence.


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[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

As long as you access the water from a public spot or right of way you can access that way as well.

Sounded like he was talking about walking the high water line on the bank or parts of the river bottom not necessarily floating the water way, not sure about SD but in places whether you only float and not touch the bottom is the difference between legal and illegal.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

All states have easement rights to cross private lands to reach state or federal. Most states have a Dept. of Natural Resources office where all these easements are available specific to your identified spot. These easements usually have Lat/Long coordinates or other specific locators, but in the end it's your responsibility to stay on those easements without having your weapons loaded (maybe that's an ethics question more than a law in some states).

 

[LongWayAround]

A section line has nothing to do with private vs public. A section is a square mile +/-, the line between the set monuments is the section line. Fences are not always accurate either. A fence could be right on the property line or it could be off several or tens of feet.

I'm a field surveyor and I've used my OnX to find property and section corners at work. It's about as accurate as your cell phone's GPS signal will allow it to be.

I would be cautious before I told a landowner that the fence was not actually his property line but it's a fact that many fences are not accurate.

 

[KurtR]

I hunted the black hills and 15a this last season. Make sure you have onX with you. I found a lot of discrepancies between the fence lines and maps. A lot of the walk ins are junk. You will have people trying to run you off if you’re near private but just stand your ground if you’ve got OnX.



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I love people think a lot of walk in areas are junk

 

[nodakian]

Thank you for all your guys' input. I use OnX religiously and it is a great rule. But like you said there are discrepancies between what is out in the field and what the maps say. I always lean on the side of caution and don't push my luck if something looks private but is shown public. So with this 33' section line, that is the edge of a private piece and a public piece that has a two track road on it? I guess I am confused with that.

I hope I can help without resorting to surveyor/legalese jargon. Two separate issues are in play here: legal access and physical access.

In ND and SD the public can (with a few rare exceptions) travel within 33' either side of a section line, which is a land boundary and a legal matter. Ownership is irrelevant. Therefore, you can travel along the edge of private property as long as you're within that 66' corridor along a section line, and corner crossings are a non-issue. I've traveled and surveyed hundreds of miles along section lines in ND and never had a landowner problem. They know the law and seem to leave folks alone. The trick is knowing whether a fence is on or near a section line. Most are close, and owners I've encountered think the fences are close enough. Sometimes you'll find double fences with up to 50-60 feet between them, in which case the section line probably runs more or less up the middle.

Regarding physical access: Some section lines have trails along them, some just have fences, some have a thin uncultivated strip, and a lot have fully-built county roads and highways. Just be smart. Don't drive where a farm/ranch trail doesn't exist, stay out of cultivated fields, don't make ruts, etc. Be a good steward of the land. If I have to walk a mile I figure it's a bonus--I can always use more exercise.

If you get hassled, keep in mind that you are innocent until proven guilty. An owner that wants to press trespass charges will have to prove your guilt, which will probably mean hiring an expensive surveyor--not worth the money. OnX and other Geographic Information Systems do not show exact legal boundaries, and they are not based on legal land survey data. They are merely graphical, and they have no legal standing whatsoever as far as geographic location. In general, fences, roads, and trails tend to be within that 66' corridor, and such on-the-ground evidence holds more weight in a court than OnX.