Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game wyoming questions

Ive hunted antelope in wyoming two years in a row now and I'm still confused on the road closures. I used a gps with the wyoming hunting map loaded so we always knew where we were. There were roads marked as closed for access to hunting(I assume oil & gas) that crossed private land but entered huntable land farther in. We never used these roads instead we hiked into those areas using all the adjoining blocks of BLM and state lands, but there were a lot of hunters using these roads to croos private land. Is it common for hunters in wyoming to ignore these "access closed" signs or are the signs not legal? I'll have to do more research because I'm hooked on antelope and will definately be going back.

A couple things happen a lot in WY.

Ranchers and other private land owners put up signs indicating that roads are a "private road" when the truth is the road is public. This is done as a bluff to the majority of people who will read the sign, assume its true, and move on. It's a common game.

The other thing is that due to there being so few officers spread out over such a big area enforcement of valid trespass complaints is spotty in many areas and almost nonexistent in others. This leads to people (usually not locals) going anywhere they damn please with no regard for a landowner's property rights.

Do your homework ahead of time and know what's public and what's private. Then if you are challenged by someone who claims you are on their property, and it's likely to happen, you are on firm legal ground. (no pun)
I say this from the point of view of a landowner who has seen both sides of the issue. I won't have trespassing but I hate the game some landowners play in order to bluff people off public land.

I've seen the same thing happen and I asked a game warden about it.

He said if the road was maintained by federal, state or county funds(ie public) it couldn't be legally closed by a landowner. However, if it was maintained by the landowner (ie a two track leading off a county road) than it was his road and his digression.

I think a good GPS is really a help when dealing with these situations.

Bullcamp pretty much nailed it.

To address what oldslowdog said, there are county maintained roads in my county that ranchers have "posted" as private roads and have also strung fences across the road a short distance down from the intersection with the main county road.

I'm sure this practice is illegal but getting something done about it depends on the influence the land owner has in the particular county. I wouldn't recommend going through or around such an illegal fence or damaging it in any way. Some of these guys have been getting away with this stuff for years and in their minds they are in the right. Ugly stuff could happen.

I have encountered a cattle feedlot extended across a township road in an attempt to keep people off public access land in SD. I drove through the cattle feedlot anyway as it was dry, the rancher on his 4-wheeler "greeted" me before I got through the gate on the opposite side.
I politely told him I knew that this was a public right-of-way and proceeded on my way... he told me to find a different way out, I did, but it was an unmaintained two track and I was probably trespassing.

If it is an oil/gas road and the intersection is located on private land, yes it can be closed. Many times the Game and Fish themselves, along with BLM and USFS close roads during hunting season.
Yes it's quite normal for folks to ignore road closed and foot traffic only signs and proceed along their merry little way. And it's also quite normal for GF and county sherriff to completely ignore trespass complaints even when detail on the vehicle is given right down to and including license plate number and vin number. It's also not unheard of for a summons to be issued via us mail or local authorities for such offense.
Any "landowner" that is purposely posting public roads/land is opening themselves up to loose any leases they may have on that land, so it's not done very often, and sometimes it's done by "sportsmen" attempting to keep some place to themselves.
Best if you are hunting someplace where there is a lot of private lands to have a GPS unit with the land ownership maps downloaded onto it.

For sure on having the GPS unit. I've had to use mine a couple times when confronted and told I was on someone's private property.
Oops..... Guess I wasn't trespassing after all. Nice bluff though.
I've also used it to settle the issue of people who thought it was OK to trespass on me.