Scavenging downed timber - is it ok where you live?

[newbury]

There is no excuse for taking your wood without asking. I would be upset about that too. As for the ATVs crossing through, I would give that a little thought. You mentioned that you are new to the area. Have the locals been using your ROW to get from one riding area to another for quite some time? If your ROW is the only way for folks to get from one place to another on their ATVs, you may be facing an uphill battle.

Here's the ROW


The road at the bottom connects to the ROW about 100 yards to the west, and loops around to reconnect about 2500 feet east of my property line



So it probably saves them at least a minute of road travel.

I would consider putting up "access by permission only" signs with your name and phone number at the bottom. If people are responsible enough to call and ask, I'd explain a few rules and let them pass.

One of my rules would be no ATV's

But it seems that the general consensus on TBN today is that it is not ok to scavenge downed trees without permission off from others land.

Darn - There was a nice 4' diameter oak laying down up the road a few miles I wanted to try out my new to me Stihl 088 on.

 

[dave1949]

There must some legal distinction between a right-of-way and an easement. Of course any such fine points would be lost on the good old boys.

Anyways, around here, a ROW often refers to a strip of land that is owned by, and provides access to, the same owner whose land has no road frontage. People talk about a "deeded right-of-way" and it is usually a 20'-50' wide strip of land intended for a driveway. I am not sure if there is any real legal distinction between outright owning of land and owning a deeded ROW that passes through the land of another owner.

An easement is an agreement to allow prescribed uses of a defined amount of land that is not owned by the holder of the easement. The power company has an easement on my land where their poles run up from the road, for example.

 

[mvwicker]

If it is a power company ROW talk to them. I know on mine I was able to fence and as long as I had a gate that they had access to, be both put one of our own locks on, it was no problem and no ATV's. After all if you raised livestock you would want to contain them given that you own property on both sides. I also didn't like the "death spray" they used every five years and as long as I keep it bush hogged they have no problem not spraying. They do come in about every five years and cut back tree limbs that are encroaching and could take down a line. I am fine with that and they clean up well. About the only thing I can't do is build any structures or plant any trees on the ROW.

MarkV

That "death spray" should be avoided if possible. The electric company felled a mulberry under their transmission line in my backyard and asked if they could paint the stump with herbicide to prevent regrowth. I foolishly agreed. The next year, one yew 6ft away and one viburnum 8ft away were dead. Another yew 10ft away is still stunted like a bonsai after 5 years. It is nasty stuff, with a big kill radius.

 

[newbury]

If it is a power company ROW talk to them. I know on mine I was able to fence and as long as I had a gate that they had access to, be both put one of our own locks on, it was no problem and no ATV's. After all if you raised livestock you would want to contain them given that you own property on both sides. I also didn't like the "death spray" they used every five years and as long as I keep it bush hogged they have no problem not spraying. They do come in about every five years and cut back tree limbs that are encroaching and could take down a line. I am fine with that and they clean up well. About the only thing I can't do is build any structures or plant any trees on the ROW.

MarkV

Yeah, I'd like to fence the whole thing, but SWMBO can't understand paying for 1.25 miles of fence to keep people out.

 

[Obed]

We have been living on our property in the woods for about 3 years. The property was vacant before we moved onto it and built our house. The locals and some people "not so" local had been 4-wheeling here for years. Since we have moved onto the property, the 4-wheeling has decreased but has not completely stopped. Whenever I see 4-wheelers, I stop them and have a chat. I am always nice to them, even if they were doing something stupid. I tell them that as long as the 4-wheelers follow a few rules, I will not shut down the 4-wheeling access.

My rules are simple. 1. Stay away from our house. 2. Stay on the paths; don't make new paths. 3. Don't ride when it's wet. 4. Drive slowly.

Most of the 4-wheelers have been respectful. I have had some minor issues but they haven't been frequent. I am somewhat sympathetic to young people that want to play in our woods. I think that being outdoors is much better for the young folk than playing video games and watching MTV so I give our visitors a little leeway.

Obed

 

[newbury]

There must some legal distinction between a right-of-way and an easement. Of course any such fine points would be lost on the good old boys.
<snip>

Here they call it a ROW. But in looking for a pic in a prior reply I also found



Someone had cut across another of my pieces for a logging road (permitted here) but had cleared a landing about 105'x50' on my PLANTED PINE land (generally not permitted without permission). Red line is road, purple part of my boundary.

Not a GREAT loss, but c'mon guys ASK, we are on the property roles and in the phone book. It's like they view themselves as having eminent domain.

 

[TCJatko]

I agree with others that a right of way, or easement, permits only the power company or selected others to cross your land. It's not open to the public. Taking of wood is theft. I'd contact your local sheriff's department.

 

[dave1949]

Here they call it a ROW. But in looking for a pic in a prior reply I also found

Someone had cut across another of my pieces for a logging road (permitted here) but had cleared a landing about 105'x50' on my PLANTED PINE land (generally not permitted without permission). Red line is road, purple part of my boundary.

Not a GREAT loss, but c'mon guys ASK, we are on the property roles and in the phone book. It's like they view themselves as having eminent domain.

Really? Someone can cut a logging road across your land just because that is convenient for them, or is there a legal easement/row for that? The landing is over the top IMHO.

 

[JakeBrake]

I am a sixth generation Mississippian. My ancestors were here before Mississippi was a state. A couple of years ago a wholesale power company bought a ROW across my property. The power company had a "Certificate of Public Convenience" issued by the state. The "Certificate of Public Convenience" places the full weight of the law behind the power company. I had no choice except to sell the ROW to the power company. I could have gone to court to quibble about the price. The power company did pay well in my opinion. A deed was recorded at the county courthouse.

Per the terms of the deed I still own the ROW (and pay taxes on it). I can do anything on the ROW (pasture, hay, crops) that will not interfere with the HV transmission lines. I can keep trespassers off the ROW. The power company provided fences, gates, and locks across the ROW at my property boundary.

In Mississippi no one has the right to access private property without the owner's permission. Certainly, no one has the right to salvage downed timber without the owner's permission.

 

[newbury]

Really? Someone can cut a logging road across your land just because that is convenient for them, or is there a legal easement/row for that? The landing is over the top IMHO.

Yup, if they are landlocked. They are supposed to ask, but "asking" doesn't apparently mean they have to contact anybody.

For example about two years ago we bought an uncles 80 acre parcel's taxes. Here if somebody doesn't pay their land taxes they are sold by a small advertisement in the local paper. If this happens for 3 or 5 years in a row and the owner doesn't make an effort to buy them back you own the land. If they do notice they can buy them back from you before the time is up for what you payed plus a nominal interest rate,
To complicate it taxes are sent by range, bound and parcel. So on 1 80 acre plot I've got it's divided into 4 separate tax bills.
The uncle, a well known dentist, has LOTS of little tax bills like this. The town was sending this bills to a demised aunt's address with his name on it, and getting no reply. They were also sending a bunch of other parcel bills to his correct address. He didn't notice, so it went up for sale, I think like $75. If we or someone had continued paying that $75 for say 5 years, we would have owned the 80 acres. We gave it to him for a birthday present.

My point here is that it seems a lot of people don't try to hard to get an answer, so whoever made the road across my land MIGHT OF sent a letter to the vacant land.