State: Corner Hopping A No-No In Wyoming

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A new online map that shows in unprecedented detail which Wyoming state lands are accessible to the public appears likely to resurrect an old debate.

Bob Wharff with Wyoming Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife says many outdoorsmen assume that "corner hopping" is a legal way to access certain state land without trespassing or getting permission from private landowners.

Not so, says the Office of State Lands and Investments.

Corner hopping is stepping from one corner of public land to an opposite corner where the other two corners are private land. The question is whether that constitutes trespassing even if nobody actually sets foot on private land.

State officials say there has been no definitive answer but they contend that corner hopping is trespassing under state law.