Oregon Senators Introduce SB 1545 To Protect Union County Corner Crossing

Senators Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, and Anthony Broadman, D-Bend, unveiled Senate Bill 1545 to resolve legal uncertainty over "corner crossing" and to protect residents who move between adjoining public land parcels that touch at a corner. The measure, filed for the legislative session that begins Feb. 2, aims to shield people from trespassing allegations while also limiting negligence claims against adjacent private landowners.

Corner crossing refers to stepping from the corner of one public parcel directly onto the corner of another public parcel when private land borders both sides. The issue is common where federal land is interspersed with private holdings in a checkerboard pattern, such as in parts of eastern Oregon. McLane said, "Legal clarity improves access to public lands and protects landowners." He added, "Oregonians deserve common sense from Salem on how and when we can access public resources. Senate Bill 1545 makes Oregonians’ access to our lands clearer."

Broadman framed the bill as balancing access and stewardship. "Our public lands are part of our heritage and who we are as Oregonians," he said. "Senate Bill 1545 will help preserve access for hunters exercising our rights to access federal lands across our state. We also owe it to the tribes, ranchers, farmers and timber owners to ensure corner crossing doesn’t interfere with working Oregon lands and their stewardship of our state. Our proposal strikes that balance."

The bill won endorsements from a bipartisan group of 10 legislators and from outdoor and hunting organizations. The Oregon Hunters Association provided public support. Amy Patrick, OHA’s policy representative in Salem, said, "Oregon’s public lands are incredibly important to hunters, hikers, bird watchers, anglers, and all Oregonians seeking to enjoy the state’s natural beauty," and added, "Providing some level of legal certainty ensures public land access when such access is vital to everything we do. OHA thanks Senators McLane and Broadman for spearheading this critical effort." Patrick also noted the bill expects people to "walk directly from one public parcel to another" at corners and would protect adjacent private owners from negligence claims if a person were injured while corner crossing.

The legislation was prompted in part by a Wyoming case in which hunters were charged with trespassing after a corner crossing; the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for the hunters. Patrick described Oregon law, as part of the Ninth Circuit, as a gray area that state lawmakers now hope to clarify.

Not all voices back the approach. Shaun Robertson, a Grant County resident and former Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife employee, said he supports access but favors land exchanges and purchases to eliminate public-private conflicts. "I think it’s the wrong approach," Robertson said of the bill.

For Union County residents who hunt, recreate, or manage working lands near federal parcels, SB 1545 could make day-to-day access less legally fraught while protecting neighboring landowners from added liability. The bill will move through Salem this session, and its hearings will determine how courts, land managers, tribes, ranchers, and outdoor users will share the corners of Oregon’s checkerboard lands going forward.