Trespasser.....what would you do?

[ultrarunner]

My uncle found a truck on his property and got title doing a lien sale...

I found a Honda trail bike and turned it in... not reported stolen and made a claim as abandoned property and just before time lapsed it was claimed.

All the Deere stands at my brother's place he removed... never heard a word and some appeared abandoned... one did have a nice extension ladder...

 

[oosik]

I've experienced trespassers on my property. When we first moved down from Alaska it was folks fishing in my lake. They had "permission from the owner" excuses. That was immediately resolved. Then there was a second group of fishermen who indicated they had permission.

I was burning mad!!! I called the State Police and filed a criminal trespassing report. Three men got 30 days and $1000 each. That worked very well. Word spread and since that time - no more trespassing fishermen. That was 40 years ago.

Since that time I've had "wandering" folks who indicated they were lost. True or not-??? I turned them away - gently. For about ten years my mile long driveway was shown as a county road on the Metsker maps system. That did not help but finally got fixed also.

As it stands right now - no fishermen, no hunters. I have enough projects just managing my land. I have no desire to manage the public.

 

[Hay Dude]

30 years ago, me and my dad threw hands with 3 punks fishing in our lake.
They claimed they were from the “Bass Fisherman’s Association” and had permission to bass fish anywhere they wanted. We confronted them and they got ignorant. I let one swing at me first. One of them found out what the word “jackhammer“ meant.
They came back days later and vandalized my dads property at night. Fished out dozens of rainbow trout my dad had raised in a small but deep fish hatchery pond, he had next to the lake, too. Over the years, he had many trespassers at the lake. It was an attractive nuisance. Once used for cows to drink from, it became a place to trespass. I wonder if they were just thinking “this land is your land, this land is my land” or were they just ignoramuses?

I remember when I was a kid, people having signs saying “trespassers will be shot” and that’s no lie. They would shoot you if caught on their property. Everyone just accepted it. We posted heavily and put up barb wire fence. They just went over it.
Now you almost have to threaten the cops to get people off your property around here. If you do it yourself, the cops or a judge may actually cite YOU, not the trespasser. I called the cops because some creep was walking on our private shared lane. The cops response to me was “yeah….I live on a private lane, too….what are you gonna do?“

 

[Agvg]

Hmm, very different from my land with right to roam is the law

 

[Jstpssng]

When I was growing up it was widely known that the local apple orchardist defended his crop from thieves with rock salt.
That ended when his son did two years for assault with a deadly weapon.

 

[Jstpssng]

Hmm, very different from my land with right to roam is the law

It’s a bit complicated in my state, where land is privately owned but the fauna belongs to the state. Now there’s a move for a constitutional amendment to make all flora; trees and other plants including mushrooms public domain.

 

[ultrarunner]

It’s a bit complicated in my state, where land is privately owned but the fauna belongs to the state. Now there’s a move for a constitutional amendment to make all flora; trees and other plants including mushrooms public domain.

The end of farming…

Why bother taking the risk of putting in a crop when it is public domain?

 

[Agvg]

It’s a bit complicated in my state, where land is privately owned but the fauna belongs to the state. Now there’s a move for a constitutional amendment to make all flora; trees and other plants including mushrooms public domain.

Here I own the land including everything, of course no body can hunt, fish or chop trees and grass whitout permission from me.

But anybody can camp for three days but you must stay at least 300m from houses and leave no mark.

 

[Root Cause]

Post no tresspassing signs.
Purple paint as required.

Since you have ignored the land for years, I would be a bit more gentle to remove the trespassers the first time. I know they don't have any rights but de-escalation is a good plan.

1st offense- leave a note to take their stands with the partnership name as owner and leave a phone number to call if they want to discuss it further. (use lawyers phone number) They won't call, if they look it up they will see who it is and at maintains some privacy.

2nd offense, take the stands and remove them from the property. Sell them, burn them or turn them over to the police, your choice.
That should sting enough to keep them away.

If you want to really keep hunters out (stand or not), add a cellular camera (I have a Reveal that works well for $5/month) At the least, walk it the week before hunting season starts.

 

[Jstpssng]

The end of farming…

Why bother taking the risk of putting in a crop when it is public domain?

While it may pass a referendum I can't imagine that it would make it through the court system. The Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution specifically states

; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

The only way that might happen is if certain well heeled entities put up the money.

 

[LD1]

Most states require written permission from landowner for hunting....along with valid hunting license.

Penalties are pretty steep if caught without either....like forfeiting the hunting gear you have on you at the time, steep penalties, hunting license being revoked for a number of years, etc.

You have had all good advise so far. Some people are spiteful and hate to see any rash decision come back and cause you more agony.

I'd first try and contact your local game warden/wildlife officer and have them watch the property. They might not be back this year if there was a pile of deer remains....maybe they are done for the year. But hoping they get caught by a warden keeps you out of it when they fail to show proof of permission to hunt.

Aside from that, a note on a tree with contact info and a polite conversation that its private property would be the approach I take. No need to escalate the situation.

The deer remains wouldnt bother me. Nature will take care of that.

 

[Jstpssng]

Here I own the land including everything, of course no body can hunt, fish or chop trees and grass whitout permission from me.

But anybody can camp for three days but you must stay at least 300m from houses and leave no mark.

Any natural pond over 10 acres, as well as any "navigable waters" belongs to the state; we have to allow people to access them for "fishing and fowling" via undeveloped land. That doesn't mean they can use the roads, rather, they are allowed to walk or fly in, and must be below high water mark while utilizing it.
"Navigable waters" means any body of water which will float a 4 foot stick of pulpwood.

I find this type of discussion rather interesting. Laws on this end of the country reflect Colonial Law, as we expanded west they tend to be geared more toward the landowner and less toward the communal good.

 

[oosik]

I will never forget our early years ( 1960 - 1972 or thereabouts ) in Alaska. There was a VERY GOOD reason to not trespass. You could get shot - shot dead. This was especially important if you went out into the wilds - moose or caribou hunting or just exploring. Homesteads could be very large and there were no fences, no gates, no signs, no purple paint. But there was a homesteader. And you better believe - he was well armed. And everyone knew this - only the idiots or fools would challenge this situation. But every year there were a few who had to learn and learn the hard way. Their passing barely made news.

 

[TheMan419]

Since it appears you have been absentee owners for some time I think a bit of a gentle approach is warranted. I would post and purple paint to be sure. Go walk the property before hunting season each year. If you find a tree stand I would take it down and leave it at the base of a tree with a note. I would get a free phone number from google voice and leave that number as a number to all. That way it is difficult to trace back to you. If you choose to leave an email address obviously get a "fresh" one from google or whoever. Have that set to forward the email to your real email address.

In any event with the stands you have in your posession now I would sell them. Not sure what they are worth.

 

[oosik]

About 1987 - we had been here on the land five years - a couple fellows drove in to our house. The gave me the old "saw" - "we have the owners permission". I explained the situation. They said their permission came from the original owner and.... they were not about to leave.

I asked that they wait a minuet - went in the house - got my loaded 12 gage. The conversation that followed was short and to the point. They left but were very mad.

Three days later the County Sheriff arrived and wanted to talk about this incident.

He indicated that I had threatened them. I said - No, I made them a promise and they were unwilling to see it through. My point had been made - they saw the wisdom of backing down. The point being - how could I know if they were there to fish or rob me or do me bodily harm. They were trespassing - did I have to wait and only take action AFTER they made their intentions known. I have the right to ask anybody to leave my property. You say - NO - and act the way these two did - things will escalate. I'm not about to retreat to the house - call the sheriff - wait and hope nothing happens until the Sheriff arrives. Response time out here is right around 45 minuets - if they will even come.

Anyhow - he cautioned me about the use of the shotgun. I indicated that both men had side arms and I was not about to enter further discussion - unarmed.

Bottom line - this "incident" helped establish the No Trespass conditions I expected here on the property. I was fortunate in that I kept my cool. The two were lucky - they could have ended up being coyote food and I just might have had to spend my later years in grey bar city.

 

[Agvg]

I find this type of discussion rather interesting. Laws on this end of the country reflect Colonial Law, as we expanded west they tend to be geared more toward the landowner and less toward the communal good.

Here the right to roam law might be over 1000 years old,as far as i know it was mentioned in laws fro around 1200 but probably much older, whit out it you couldn't travel anywhere in the land.

 

[oosik]

Most interesting. Around here a government law does not give anybody the right to "roam" on private property. With the ability to "roam" anywhere on private property - like it was public land - property taxes must be very low. This is very close to adverse possession -by the government.

 

[dodge man]

I’d probably contact the game warden. Lots of good answers but I generally agree with the start gentle approach.

 

[Agvg]

Most interesting. Around here a government law does not give anybody the right to "roam" on private property. With the ability to "roam" anywhere on private property - like it was public land - property taxes must be very low. This is very close to adverse possession -by the government.

Here i live there are no property taxes on owning land.

 

[oosik]

OK - that explains, in part, the "roam" policy. Here where I live - property taxes are a SIGNIFICANT part of my annual budget.