Two public land access organizations filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks' position that corner crossing — stepping from one parcel of public land to another at a shared corner point, without touching private land — is unlawful in Montana. The Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers is among the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit brings Montana into a national debate that gained significant attention following a Wyoming case centered on Elk Mountain, where hunters who corner-crossed onto public land were criminally charged, then acquitted. That case drew widespread coverage and sharpened the legal and political lines around a practice that public land advocates argue is the only way to access checkerboarded sections of federal land that are otherwise landlocked by surrounding private ownership.

Montana's checkerboard land pattern — a legacy of 19th-century railroad land grants — affects access to hunting and recreation across much of the state. FWP's position that corner crossing is unlawful has frustrated hunters and hikers who see it as effectively ceding access to public land without any legislative action. The plaintiffs argue the agency's stance lacks legal basis and has a chilling effect on lawful recreation.

The lawsuit is the latest front in what has become one of the more contentious public lands fights in the West. For Helena-area hunters and recreationists who rely on access to public land in the surrounding mountains and plains, the outcome could have direct practical consequences for where they can legally go.