Anyone know the legal answer: BLM adjoining Private

[Alan Ebright]

What's the legal answer. Are you allowed to drive on a public dirt road, through private land, to access BLM land? I've had an instance where the owner told me that I couldn't do it. Nobody at the BLM could give me a difinitive answer. This land is checkerboarded following a creek.

 

[Common Sense]

If it is a "public" road, you can drive on it. However, if it becomes private when you cross a property line...

 

[#1Predator]

Here's my answer.........it depends. Public land can be "land-locked". This happens when public land is completely surrounded by private land with no "public" roads or trails to access the property. Checkboarding (buying every other section of government land) was a buying strategy that many western ranchers used in order to double their grazing area while spending the least amount of money. Checkerboarding is just that - buying land in such a fashion that it forms a checkerboard pattern thereby locking out every other section (640 acres) of public land. The rancher maintains access to the locked out land through his property via a private ranch road while locking out the public with the ranch gate. Yes, this is legal. The private property owner is not obligated to allow public access through his land.

In order for a road or trail to be recognized as "public" it must exist because of some condition that makes it public. These are just three basic examples:
1) The road/trail is publicly maintained (tax money is used to maintain/build the road/trail).
2) The road/trail is declared public land by eminent domain (the right of a government to force the owner of private property to sell it, if it is needed for a public use. The right is based on the doctrine that a sovereign state has dominion over all lands and buildings within its borders, which has its origins in the landholding system under feudalism).
3) (here's the tricky one) The road/trail has been in continuous documented use by the public for no less than seven contiguous years. The "documented" requirement is very very difficult to get. Most people do not document their travels by date and time. Although I have seen one instance where a gold miner documented every visit to his BLM mining claim (averaging 3 visits every month) for 23 years. When the owner of the road locked him out, he was able to prove "continuous documented use" for 23 years. In this case, the private road was deemed to be "public" through continuous use. "Continuous" is a sticking point. Just exactly how often is "continuous"? Three times a month is continuous, but is three times a year also "continuous"? Maybe, maybe not.

So...back to my original answer ....it depends.

 

[Skyler]

If the road has a BLM number designation, then it is an open route. Otherwise, like has been said, it all depends. There may be an easement, there may not be.

 

[flingem71]

Ranch owners who have land locked BLM sections....like homemade apple pie!

DISCLAIMER: some of the things I say may be unfiltered, offensive, or even complete B.S.

 

[Marty]

If it is a posted, public route; a landowner restricting access is the one breaking the law.