BLM

[muleymaniac81]

In researching areas to apply for, I came across NMDGF's unit maps. Awesome tool, wish more states had this feature. My question is this, many units have a LOT of BLM land. Can anyone access BLM land, or is it by landowner permission only? I have been told both ways. Here in OK, if you walk on some of the BLM land around here, you might end up dead. Thanks for the help,

Mitch
MM81

 

[30inchbuck]

BLM is public land so anyone can. However there are some LO that think that there grazing lease means it is their land. Lock gates etc. Do your research make sure it is BLM and you have not crossed over deeded land and you are fine with the law.






Outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man.

 

[fishfurlife]

You are right about the BLM land here in Oklahoma, it is dealt with just a touch different I believe. Since there really isn't a whole lot of it, I believe it is leased just the same as private land would be. Therefore, you can't onto it.

In New Mexico it is completely different, BLM is public ground. The above is correct as well. Just try not to cross private land to get to public. However, from my experience, several land owners will let you cross their place. There are several instances that Major oil Lease roads cross through private land and I have not had problems getting the okay to cross these tracks of land in my vehicle.

 

[mozey]

If you stay on BLM you'll be okay if it comes down to a court case. However, there's still the chance that a jerk landowner will try to bluff you off of his "private" hunting preserve, or accuse you of crossing his deeded land to get to the BLM, and they don't seem to mind making as much noise as possible so as to spook every critter within a two-mile radius. This has happened to me twice within the last ten years. Both jerks initially made threats to call the sherriff and then backed completely down when I pulled out my BLM map and challenged them to show me exactly which private property I was standing on. Make certain you have the most recent BLM map and a GPS and know how to use them both. You can't rely on fence lines, as fence lines rarely seem to follow boundaries.

I keep hearing about topo maps that delineate boundaries that can be downloaded on a GPS. Look forward to getting myself one of those...