Hunting BLM in Wyoming

[338 win mag]

In sure this has been covered before but I've been doing some e-scouting and I found some BLM roads that travel through some landlocked private land in the middle of BLM. Can I only travel through the private if it's a county or state maintained road? The roads in question are simply named 'BLM road' on On-X maps. Just want to stay on the right side of the law.

 

[ClearCreek]

In sure this has been covered before but I've been doing some e-scouting and I found some BLM roads that travel through some landlocked private land in the middle of BLM. Can I only travel through the private if it's a county or state maintained road? The roads in question are simply named 'BLM road' on On-X maps. Just want to stay on the right side of the law.

If it is a county or state maintained road, then yes, you could travel the road but, make damn sure that is the case. With the road labeled "BLM road" on OnX then I would doubt it is a county or state maintained road. The other option that is a possibility is the BLM has an easement through the landlocked private land for public travel but, again make darn sure that is the situation.

You should be able to find out if the BLM has an easement on that piece of land by contacting the nearest BLM office and talking to their reality person.

ClearCreek

 

[UTK14]

In the area I've hunted in WY, there are roads all over on the BLM, but no access to them because they travel through private. Unless it's a County Road you're probably out of luck.

 

[338 win mag]

Thanks guys. That reaffirms what I already thought

 

[vanish]

Even county roads sometimes look like they go through private ranches as the line never stops, but really they end on either side of the ranch.

 

[BrentD]

Go to the Wyoming game and fish hunting website and find their interactive maps. Using them, you can turn on and off county road coverages and you will see which roads are county and, therefore accessible. Many of them pass through private land. Roads on BLM,

of course, are available to the public.

 

[Crawfish-MI]

Best bet is the county GIS department website, which typically have up to date maps of the roads maintained by the county. In some cases certain stretches of road may be public and maintained by the county but interconnected by private segments that are privately maintained. You can't tell by looking at it, and you can't rely on signs. Some (many?) ranchers and outfitters will not hesitate to post roads as private that are, in fact, public roads.

This is one weakness of OnX. I use OnX for property boundaries, but when it comes to roads, I buy the paper BLM maps, then go to the county GIS page, find the public roads, and trace the public roads or road segments on the paper map with a highlighter.

 

[338 win mag]

Best bet is the county GIS department website, which typically have up to date maps of the roads maintained by the county. In some cases certain stretches of road may be public and maintained by the county but interconnected by private segments that are privately maintained. You can't tell by looking at it, and you can't rely on signs. Some (many?) ranchers and outfitters will not hesitate to post roads as private that are, in fact, public roads.

This is one weakness of OnX. I use OnX for property boundaries, but when it comes to roads, I buy the paper BLM maps, then go to the county GIS page, find the public roads, and trace the public roads or road segments on the paper map with a highlighter.

Thanks! I'll check it out

 

[wytex]

The Road and Bridge Depart. of each county knows which roads are public. Email the Superintendent for the R&B Depart. and they will answer your questions about specific roads.

Many CR at some point will have a cattle guard across them and posted signs at the cattle guard. Most times this represents where property lines change and/or pastures change. The road does not become private at that spot. Some CR also go right through what looks like ranchers yards, they can still be public also.
Someone also mentioned that the BLM offices may have a map on display that shows which roads are public . BLM offices are scattered across the state.

 

[PrairieHunter]

I see road ownership as the next opportunity for on X maps to improve it's service.

 

[Gone Fishing]

I was able to find Carbon County and Albany County road maps online from their county websites. I wish the news was better for me. I found several roads that are private that I was hoping were public.

So you might want to search for your particular county online.

 

[Mallardsx2]

I have run into the same issue. I found the roads that only navigate the BLM and do not cross the private tracts and marked them up on my map. I wonder how many people drive right across those private stretches and just plead the 5th if they are ever confronted. Some according to my sources dont have cattlegaurds or signs up showing them turning into private ground....so ya better be careful.