Posting private property

[dave1949]

Thanks for the comments so far, all very useful. I forgot to mention that the daughter of the previous owners live next door and they have been great and keep and eye on the place for us and she is how the previous hunters contacted us. She hosted a party when we first bought the place and we were able to meet some of the neighbors. It was really great of her.

As for deer management, I agree 40 acres is not really enough but we have a huge deer population and I routinely see 8-10 deer per weekend on the property and I've seen a few nice bucks as well, plus tons of turkey. Literally 22 turkey the day after Thanksgiving no less. There is a small (2-3 acres) "wetlands" type area in the back of the property and I know a lot of deer bed down there. What I mean by management plan is I may only allow bowhunters to take doe to help with population control, for example, and leave the larger bucks for me. Or I may not allow any buck under 6 points to be taken, etc. I just need more time to really get a feel for what is there, what I want, and what the land can bear.

Nice neighbors, that's always a plus.

It sounds like you have very rich wildlife plot. If the house has been unoccupied for some years, and there are people around on abutting lots, your lot could have become the deer gathering place. That would explain the hunting interest, it has probably been productive for some time now.

I think you are on the right track, watch and observe until you have a good idea of what is what. One thing I have experienced with high deer counts, is fairly mature forest areas (it was mostly red oak and maple) get browsed as clean as whistle. Between the full canopy and the deer, the ground was bare of seedlings, brush, grasses, etc. You can learn a bit about your land and the deer pressure level by fencing the deer out of a small area, say 50' x 50'. After a couple years, compare what is growing inside the fenced area to the outside.

 

[two_bit_score]

Every time I see one of these threads about a new owner posting property I am reminded about a story I was told about 40 years ago by an old hardware store owner in a small town in East Texas.

He related about how people from Houston or Dallas would come in and buy property and the very first thing they would do right after walking out of the closing is to go to the hardware store and buy posted signs. After they put them up the problems really started.

Wonder how long it will be before bhh is posting about a boundary dispute, trespassing hunters, kids riding four wheelers, etc, etc.

bhh, in all seriousness.....please spend some time and vist with the adjacent property owners and others in the area and then think long and hard about those 'posted' signs.

Maybe you've already done that. In that case carry on and I await your future posts.


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[forgeblast]

Post it, Its yours. You seem to have a good relationship with the neighbors and their hunting buddies are doing the right thing by asking but I will still show where your property line is. Helps let others know where to put and not put hunting stands.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

In NY you need to post the entire property in order for it to be legal. If you don't want people trespassing you need to do it properly. If you don't do it properly then you can't press charges if someone does trespass.

I have found it is easier to post the property and let people ask for permission then to just have anyone and everyone going through there. This allows you to control who has access to your property and if you don't want a particular person on there and they go on it anyway you can have them arrested.

 

[nybirdman]

In NYS,I belive the law says a poster every 600ft.(check to be sure).And remember posters only keep out the honest hunters,use your local address not something away.Your land do what you want,but I would contact the neighbors or current hunters(who would be the best to keep an eye on the place).As far as the stream access,NYS law now if you don't touch bottom or shore you can access(canoe ect.)"some"deeds include the river or stream bottoms(these are rare).

 

[/pine]

Here in GA if you are on posted land hunting etc....you are required to have (in your possession) a written dated letter/missive saying you have permission to be there...permissions are seasonal and must be re-instated yearly....

 

[sam5570]

Thanks for the comments so far, all very useful. I forgot to mention that the daughter of the previous owners live next door and they have been great and keep and eye on the place for us and she is how the previous hunters contacted us. She hosted a party when we first bought the place and we were able to meet some of the neighbors. It was really great of her.

As for deer management, I agree 40 acres is not really enough but we have a huge deer population and I routinely see 8-10 deer per weekend on the property and I've seen a few nice bucks as well, plus tons of turkey. Literally 22 turkey the day after Thanksgiving no less. There is a small (2-3 acres) "wetlands" type area in the back of the property and I know a lot of deer bed down there. What I mean by management plan is I may only allow bowhunters to take doe to help with population control, for example, and leave the larger bucks for me. Or I may not allow any buck under 6 points to be taken, etc. I just need more time to really get a feel for what is there, what I want, and what the land can bear.

if you got deer you gonna have people we have delt with that for over 30 years we figured the only way to be fair was nobody but family hunts got it all posted every 50 ft a sign had to take a neighbor to court for trespasing after he ingnored my brother telling him he couldnot hunt that was 4 years ago not had any problem sense my opnion you just need to be firm with the people and most of them will get the message

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Here in GA if you are on posted land hunting etc....you are required to have (in your possession) a written dated letter/missive saying you have permission to be there...permissions are seasonal and must be re-instated yearly....

That doesn't apply to NY. People can legally go on private property if they choose to unless it is legally posted. It is a stupid law but one that we are stuck with

 

[moeh1]

NY is every 600 feet and each corner need to be marked both ways. There is a legal differnece between the no hunting and..." and "no trepassing" at all signs, as was explained at a recent conference I was at. One prohibits what it says, but not people coming thru... Worth doing your research. Also, there are "ask" type posted signs essentially inviting hunter to ask permission. Enjoy the new property.

 

[dmccarty]

Every time I see one of these threads about a new owner posting property I am reminded about a story I was told about 40 years ago by an old hardware store owner in a small town in East Texas.

He related about how people from Houston or Dallas would come in and buy property and the very first thing they would do right after walking out of the closing is to go to the hardware store and buy posted signs. After they put them up the problems really started.

Wonder how long it will be before bhh is posting about a boundary dispute, trespassing hunters, kids riding four wheelers, etc, etc.

bhh, in all seriousness.....please spend some time and vist with the adjacent property owners and others in the area and then think long and hard about those 'posted' signs.

Maybe you've already done that. In that case carry on and I await your future posts.


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Posting HIS land is not going to cause problems with his neighbors. Posting his land is not going to cause "a boundary dispute, trespassing hunters, kids riding four wheelers, etc, etc." Those problems will occur with or without the signs. Years ago you did not have to worry about being sued because someone riding a horse on your land got hurt. When we were looking for land we were at a parcel talking with the owner. The owner, who was in his 80s, was born on the land that had been in his family for over a 100 years. As we were talking, a couple of guys moved onto his land while rabbit hunting with dogs. The owner asked me if I would go with him to get these guys off his land which I did. There is plenty of land around us that is posted by landowners whose families have owned the land since it was granted by the king. The signs don't cause the problems, it is the people who have been using other peoples land without permission that cause problems.

Later,
Dan