All public property should have a right of way - easement to it. Just Eminent domain it like the road cutting between my hayfield and pasture. Through out the history of our country the people who have big money can afford to fight the little guy or the government and usually get what they want.
Not a problem. The Constitution requires payment of true value. What is it worth to you to get back there?
And do I as a taxpayer want to pay for that taking so you and three of your buddies can hunt on some little bit of remote real estate?
I'm all for paying the landowner a fair price for the easement using their tax appraisals.
Now you are attempting to twist the system for your benefit. How much is it worth to YOU, to gain easement over HIS property. That is the appropriate price.
That isn't how an easement in to public property works.
It is possible that since the land was seized for a public purpose, and has not been used for that purpose, it could revert back to the original owners or their heirs.
This is typically not how gov't properties become landlocked in the West.
As Gov't properties became available for homesteading, of course the choicest properties were selected and improved upon and became private lands. Choice lands includes anything with a water source, a flat area suitable for tillage, and often the availability of irrigation water.
Dry desert sage brush areas with no source of water went unclaimed, as did rocks and mountain sides. This naturally left many Gov't properties completely surrounded by homesteaded private properties. As years went by, many of these small farms, or ranches failed, or became available for sale by death of the owner, etc. The larger more successful operations bordering these lands purchased them and added to their holdings. The homesteading of properties was available well into modern times.
And yet still, the Gov't land lies there because it was never worth enough for anyone to file on it, even when it was free for the taking.
Quote
Passed on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act accelerated the settlement of the western territory by granting adult heads of families 160 acres of surveyed public land for a minimal filing fee and five years of continuous residence on that land.
The Homestead Act, enacted during the Civil War in 1862, provided that any adult citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. government could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land. Claimants were required to live on and “improve” their plot by cultivating the land. After five years on the land, the original filer was entitled to the property, free and clear, except for a small registration fee. Title could also be acquired after only a six-month residency and trivial improvements, provided the claimant paid the government $1.25 per acre. After the Civil War, Union soldiers could deduct the time they had served from the residency requirements.
The prime land across the country was homesteaded quickly. Successful Homestead claims dropped sharply after the 1930s. The Homestead Act remained in effect until 1976, with provisions for homesteading in Alaska until 1986.
Some keep making the point that this is a wonderful thing for hunters. Actually very, very, few hunters, IF the decision stands. The areas with corner crossings are typically not very large, nor are they that awful numerous. If the terrain were suitable to support huge numbers of game, it would have also supported grazing of livestock and, again typically, have been claimed as homestead. Obviously, there are exceptions.
This is a HUGE step backward for the protection of private property rights of all Americans, for the benefit of a very, very few.
Yes, there are huge tracts of landlocked gov't ground in the West. But most is not available via corner jumping. To get there requires actually walking or driving across private property.
Of course that would be the next step in the Communist agenda, the taking of strips of private property so as to build roads into Gov't ground.
But hey, Con Men get to jump on a soap box and claim great accomplishments, and pass the offering plate. While behind the scenes Con Men are stuffing their pockets at will.
Follow the FUGGGING MONEY!
People who choose to brew up their own storms bitch loudest about the rain.
