You Shall Not Pass: Historical Origins and Modern Solutions to Public-Private Land-Use Conflict

As increasing populations and competing interests have exacerbated the historic conflict between public and private interests in land, cooperation, as well as a potential shift in public policy, may need to be considered. But for these shifts to occur, any predicate that private property rights should be somehow stronger or more easily enforced than that of the public to access land owned by a state or the federal government should be challenged. This Comment will analyze the historical events that led to a significant shift in land ownership and use conflicts in the American West. The historical element will focus on the Homestead Act of 1862 and the Fence Cutting Wars in Wyoming and Texas. The different reactions to these early conflicts, which include the Unlawful Inclosures Act, will be analyzed, as well as legal solutions and examples of collaborative approaches that have been implemented in other states. Even in states where land has already been privatized, sometimes through illegal means, there are still ways for landowners and states to maintain or even increase public access opportunities and mitigate the negative impacts of land privatization and subdivision.