Supreme Court Rejects Corner Crossing Appeal 👊

While we continue to slowly inch towards the weekend, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get into what this beautiful Tuesday has to offer.

Here's what's worth reading about so far this week:

JUMP THOSE CORNERS
SUPREME COURT REJECTS CORNER CROSSING APPEAL

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in a landmark "corner crossing" case involving four hunters, solidifying the legality of the practice across much of the Western United States. This decision ensures public access to millions of acres of public land, reinforcing a tradition of shared resources for hunting, recreation, and more. The ruling, rooted in a 5-year dispute out of Wyoming, has far-reaching implications for land access across the American west.

The act of corner crossing involves stepping from one parcel of public land to another at their shared corner, briefly passing through the airspace above adjacent private property without touching or damaging it. This practice is vital for accessing isolated public lands in the "checkerboard" pattern—alternating square-mile sections of public and private land—created by 19th-century railroad grants. These patterns span states like Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Kansas, and Oklahoma, and effectively cover millions of acres…

📸 Fish and Wildlife Officers Bust Armed Man for Illegal Elk Hunting During Archery Season. Washington State Fish and Wildlife Officers investigated a report of a man illegally hunting elk with a rifle during archery season. The complainant, an elk hunter, encountered a local man using a cow call suspiciously and claiming he was “just hiking.” Doubting this, the complainant set up a trail camera, which later recorded the man carrying a rifle. The officers visited the suspect’s last known address for a knock-and-talk, but as they arrived, a car pulled into the driveway and then sped off. The vehicle’s license plate was expired, and during a traffic stop attempt, officers saw the passenger toss two rifles into the woods.

They soon detained the suspects, recovered the rifles (one loaded, matching the trail camera footage), and interviewed them. The passenger admitted to being in the area with a rifle and cow calling but denied hunting elk, claiming he threw the rifles because the driver was a convicted felon. The driver was later cited for driving with a suspended license and other traffic violations, while the passenger was cited for having a loaded rifle in the vehicle, with charges for illegal big game hunting during archery season pending referral.

🐻 Idaho Hunter Kills Charging Grizzly Bear in Self-Defense. Last Friday, a hunter in Idaho's Caribou-Targhee National Forest shot and killed a male grizzly bear in self-defense after it charged him at close range in the North Antelope Flats area of Island Park. The incident occurred while the hunter was hiking through dense timber during a big game hunt. Using his hunting rifle, he stopped the bear before it could make contact and promptly reported the incident to the Fremont County Sheriff's Office.

Idaho Fish and Game responded quickly, conducting a thorough investigation and confirming the hunter acted in self-defense. Grizzly bears, protected under state and federal law, are known to inhabit the Greater Yellowstone area and parts of northern and central Idaho. IDFG emphasized safety measures for hunters in grizzly country, such as carrying bear spray, hunting with partners, staying alert for bear signs, retrieving game meat quickly, and making noise to avoid surprising bears, especially in thick vegetation or near creeks where most attacks happen.

🙏 Teen Hunter Mistakenly Kills Man in Tragic Kentucky Hunting Accident. On Saturday, a tragic hunting accident occurred in Lincoln County, Kentucky, where a juvenile hunter, described as a teenager, mistook 67-year-old Danny Wilson for a deer and fatally shot him in the leg. The incident took place on private land near Eubank and Waynesburg, approximately 65 miles south of Lexington, while the boy was hunting with his father. Wilson succumbed to his injuries later at a local hospital.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the incident. Authorities have not disclosed the boy’s exact age or the ownership of the private land where the accident occurred.

🎥 How does Parks Canada track elusive wolverines? Well, it goes something like this…

Using remote cameras and run poles that collect hair for DNA, Parks officials can monitor their movements without disturbing them.

Oh, and one more thing…