Am I wrong to close my land to hunting....

ByronBob · Mar 21, 2005

That's why I believe you need to build a relationship with the landowner so he understands your out to just hunt and not step on the exotic plants on purpose.

Somewhere between the treehuggers and off road jeep society there must be a middle ground somewhere. All the answers here seem to be either post it and let nobody do what they enjoy or don't post it and let every wild weekend warrior loose. A middle ground must exist somewhere.......

I think the NYS DEC are trying this with the ASK permission stickers but apparently that program still ain't cutting it. If a landowner knew who was there and the law covered them from liability would it matter or is everyone just saying no because being bothered isn't worth it??

Docsknotinn · Mar 21, 2005

In Michigan we had a similar program. If you opened your land to hunting their was a discount on property taxes. Hunters were supposed to get written permission. There was no liability exemption. It was good for the paper and timber companys but that's about it. There really is no longer a middle ground other than state and federal lands open to hunting. Not too many hunters can offer enough to a landowner for them to risk everything they have worked for so some one else can use it for free then claim they slipped and fell on a stump or from their treestand.

ByronBob · Mar 21, 2005

But does the state cover the landowner from liability to get sued? I thought NY did that as it was identified earlier in this thread.
You can sue anyone regardless of the laws on the books right? I don't know but I would imagine you could sue someone even if their land was posted. We could worry ourselves to death but it's not worth it.
States need to review how the laws read. Maybe it's the way that it's worded which stinks.

ByronBob · Mar 21, 2005

I got this from the DEC...................

The NYS General Obligations Law protects landowners from liability for non-paying recreationists. The protection does not apply in cases of willful or malicious failure to guard or warn against dangers (e.g. an open well). Also, normal liability insurance which most property owners have, usually protects them against lawsuits. Hope this helps.

David E. Odell
Regional Wildlife Manager
NYS Dept. of Env. Cons.
6274 E. Avon - Lima Rd.
Avon, NY 14414
Phone (585) 226-5460
FAX (585) 226-3009
e-mail: deodell@gw.dec.state.ny.us

Docsknotinn · Mar 21, 2005

I think you might be making the assumption that homeowners standard liability will cover an instance like this. That would be true here IF you had a residence that was insured on the property but not if the land in question is separate from a residence or insured building. IMO the law you put up is vague enough that even in NY I would not allow anyone to hunt my land. I agree it's not worth worrying about. No one on my land..no worries. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

LBrown59 · Mar 21, 2005

( Tom, thanks for the link. That page is full of good info.

 Yes you are right, I could be in trouble if a child comes onto my land. )
*******
 This is why there is no way I would have a pond or a lake on my land!

poorboy · Mar 21, 2005

ByronBob, I agree with what you are saying. BTW, even Fort Knox allows hunting with a few guide lines. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Poorboy

dholly · Mar 21, 2005

Sadly, I have to agree. Society as a whole is getting more and more litigous. What makes anyone think that some clown who seriously hurts himself trepassing uninvited on your property won't try to get rich off a lawsuit, or even attempt to settle for a 'nuisance' fee. I don't care to lose what I have, or put my family at risk however small.

Years back, my father bot 800ac at the end of a dead end dirt road miles from anything/body. It was previously owned by an attorney who had moved to FL decades earlier. To say multiple generations of locals grew up hunting that property without permission would be an understatement. ****, on opening day, there would be cars lining the road forever.

It took several years and the efforts of several law enforcement agencies to finally get some folks to recognize our new Posted signs. Just when we thought everything was under control and limited to a select handful of close friends, I happened upon a group of 12 hunters pushing a field brought in without permission by one of those 'close friends'. Who needs that? Now it is family ONLY.

I feel for you duke, it isn't a happy spot to be in.

LarryD · Mar 21, 2005

It's a sad circumstance but even the timber companies are putting up gates and fences to limit access to people on their massive acreages. I talked to one of the security guys on a section of Weyerhauser property we used to hunt and he said it was due to vandalism and littering.

I was always taught that you carried everything out that you carried in and left the area like you would want to find it.
Now it seems like I'll take out two extra bags of trash on a 3 day hunt.

The other problem is some "hunters" are really only out to burn up a box of shells. I have litterally walked down a dirt road and seen dozens of saplings blown apart with several dozen (10?) boxes of shotgun shells. Now I've personally never hunted saplings but if anyone has a good recipe maybe I'll try it. I guess my point is that that type of behavior disturbes me when out in the wilderness and what's to say that same guy won't start shooting at the next movement in the bush...and I've been known to go in after 'em (deer).

It's getting very hard to find areas to hunt and if you do find a place, there seems to be a whole bunch of other "hunters" out there as well.

In response to the original question, I hunt every year and NO, you're not wrong to restricting your land. A true hunter will respect that.

ByronBob · Mar 22, 2005

What those guys did was wrong. If I was the owner I'd shut it down. But what's difficult as a hunter is the pair of guys that Riptide had come to his house.
Here's a few men who, asked the right way trying to build a relationship with an owner and with some dialogue might be a fine hunting group. However it's anyone's right to say no to them but they did it right by asking first which is a lot better then a lot of yahoo's do.
I've always preached to everyone hunting with me to bring your stuff out of the woods which you brought in and more. A thank you card with a gift certificate and or a nice Thanksgiving turkey or ham or both. Make the owners understand that you appreciate their generosity.
But this respect needs to be earned by the hunters. But it can't be earned unless the owner is willing to try. Lawsuits seem to be as easy to do now a days as changing your underwear. But don't we face lawsuits everyday if we get into an accident, someone slips and falls on the ice on your sidewalk ect..ect.. ect..
We can analyize everything to death but we need to still live. Hunters are portrayed as malcontents. Is there any instances where they have worked out well or is that not the case anymore?
Like many threads here I know we can argue both sides of the fence forever. I respect all of the points made here because they are valid. I wanted to try to explain how a hunter who just enjoys being outside and doesn't have the money to own his own land thinks. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

I wish there were laws more cut and dry to eliminate the owners from ever being sued from a person hunting on their property and maybe some land owners would feel differently.