23,000+ SQUARE MILES OF PUBLIC HUNTING LAND WE CAN NOT ACCESS

In today’s high-tech world, we have a much clearer perspective of the problem of land-locked public acreage in our western states. Today you can access phone apps such as onX to see exact property boundaries. With more than 49 million acres of state land technology has made planning your next hunting or fishing trip much easier. For those old enough to remember we would order printed maps and carry them in our backpacks and frequently refer to them to avoid straying onto private land. Today we just need to worry about keeping our smart phone charged.

A recent look identified 6.35 million acres of state land that are entirely landlocked scattered across 11 western states. The only access is by obtaining permission from an adjoining landowner. In the past private-land permissions were easily acquired, this was not a large obstacle to access. However, as land ownership patterns continue to shift, there are more and more no-trespassing signs and gated roads, and inaccessible public lands now present a major barrier to hunting and fishing.

Landlocked State Owned Acres

 Arizona: 1,310,000 acres
• California: 38,000 acres
• Colorado: 435,000 acres
• Idaho: 71,000 acres
• Montana: 1,560,000 acres
• Nevada: 1,000 acres
• New Mexico: 1,350,000 acres
• Oregon: 47,000 acres
• Utah: 116,000 acres
• Washington: 316,000 acres
• Wyoming: 1,110,000 acres

To put things in perspective 640 acres = 1 square mile. That means that in Montana there are 2438 square miles of property that you cannot access for hunting or fishing. You can do the math on the other states but there is a collective total of 8085 Square miles that we the US Sportsman cannot access. Imagine the hunting and fishing opportunities that must abound in these areas.

Keep in mind the above numbers only reflect state owned land. There are an additional 9.52 million Federally owned acres that are land locked as well or an additional 14875 square miles with no public access. This is an area greater than the size of New Hampshire and Connecticut combined.

If there is going to be anything done regarding this, it is important that we contact our elected officials and express our opinions! In addition, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership is a great resource and a leader in defending critical habitat, productive hunting grounds and great fishing spots.