Do You Post Your Property?

[roxynoodle]

You don't want strangers hunting on your land. Although my property isn't big enough for anyone to hunt on, they cause me problems being in the farm fields all around me. A lot of them are idiots, drunk and running around with guns. I have had them shoot at my horses, presumably they thought that was fun. Another guy shot a deer that was standing in front of my house! That bullet could have come in. I had 2 shooting at me while I was riding. I called the sherriff on them, but it didn't do any good. During deer season around here I can't let my horses outside or ride or do much of anything. I realize many hunters are responsible, sane people and I have no issue with them.

 

[jpm]

when i bought my property i walked it and found beer bottles and trees shot up so to try to protect my family and my large black 140 lb dog up went the
signs because all i remember are the storys when i lived on long island were
how wasted guys got hunting and would shoot at any thing!! I told this to the locals and they understood cause they had the same crap happen to them also.the end result was a few guys that have hunted the land for years
were able to hunt a way from were my house was going to be, but i still have
some yahoos driving up my driveway being totally obnoxius, but its slowing down

 

[Dargo]

Gees, I was forced to post my property after several issues with strangers not only hunting on my property, but leaving me gifts of beer bottles, washing machines, trash bags of trash, clear cutting their own trails, and driving pickups over all sorts of trees I hand planted a couple of years ago. After posting the first thing I noticed was that someone seems to want to collect my signs. It doesn't appear to matter how big of a post or how high up in a tree I put the sign, they steal it.

So, early this year I hired a company to come out and, more or less, cut in a steep ditch all the way down the side of my property that has a road running along it. It seemed to work fine and the ditch did help with erosion issues. I also replaced about a dozen signs. Now that hunting season is getting close at hand I drove up by my property for the first time in months (it's only 20 miles away, but it's been a busy summer). Not only are most of my signs gone, but someone has taken the time to use a backhoe to fill in several sections of my ditch to allow easy entry to my property again! Needless to say, it's starting to really tick me off.

Hopefully you have better luck than what I've had.

 

[MikeD74T]

I have a friend that lives up in the NEK. I've been up there a few times myself. From what I have seen and some of the people that I have encountered doesn't surprise me a bit from what you wrote. Those folks up there are nothing short of the Rednecks of other parts of this country. Post your property and be prepared to defend it against those creeps that stalk your place without permission. They are low life scum that have no respect for your property or anyone else's. My friend has also told me a few stories about the folks up there.
Talk about idiotic people with small brains. Carry a gun and be safe.

Speaking of "idiotic people with small brains". Generalizations about people usually misrepresent the subject. Currently in rural NH , Vt and many other states locals are selling off small parcels of land to "folk from away" to maintain their last vestiges if survival. These "folk" often bring their "away" values with them. This thread has many fine examples.

In the 2004 deer hunting season a local had his tires slashed while parked on my property. His vehicle was well off the main road & well out of site. The only other persons seen on the access road were a group of hunters from Nashua NH, a suburb of Lowell, MA, that the local has reported for illegally shooting and abandoning a doe on his property the previous year. He owns 1100 acres behind me that he bought in anticipation of laws requiring written permission to hunt. None of his land is posted.

Last deer season another from "away" had some stuff stolen from his camp, chainsaw, 4 wheeler seat & plastic. He demanded the local snowmobile club find out who did this ??????? He closed the snowmobile trail across his property when they didn't get his stuff back yet continued to use a neighbors property to access his and continued to use the trail system. He has since been given written notice ,with copies to the Police Dept., that he is no longer welcome on the abuttors' land.

Last bird season I gave 3 MA hunters permission to access my back property, against my wife's wishes, because abutting property is posted & my property accesses over 2000 acres that is not. I explained the lay of the land to the hunters & sent them on their way. Before they were off my lawn a grouse went up from an alder patch and all 3 let loose. My wife went ballistic & I revoked permission to hunt.

One of your bretheren called a Maine town , "But Hole,ME, because they didn't require a building permit.

"Talk about idiotic people with small brains."

My property remains unposted yet I don't have the trash or vandalism proplems my neighbors have. All togeather I prefer the company of "Those folks up there are nothing short of the Rednecks of other parts of this country." They watch out for my property & I watch out for their way of life.
MikeD74T

 

[PineRidge]

Liability issues prevent me from opening our property to the public. To many folks are (sue happy) tend to pass responsibility on today and bite the hand that feeds them. Understand?

 

[dubba]

I don't post my relatively small acreage. I leave the bow hunters alone during the bow season, but as soon as the other categories open up I take a ride in the tractor every other morning & both Sat & Sun. All it takes is one ride to the back of the property & up the other side to see the hunters shake their head & walk away. Funny thing is that they don't realize the deer don't care about the tractor or the dog I have taken many nice pictures of deer, moose, & turkeys (the winged kind, not 2 legged) from my tractor seat with the dog standing alongside...

 

[K7147]

I have a friend that lives up in the NEK. I've been up there a few times myself. From what I have seen and some of the people that I have encountered doesn't surprise me a bit from what you wrote. Those folks up there are nothing short of the Rednecks of other parts of this country. Post your property and be prepared to defend it against those creeps that stalk your place without permission. They are low life scum that have no respect for your property or anyone else's. My friend has also told me a few stories about the folks up there.
There use to be a snowmobile trail that went right across his hay field. The field was getting ruined because the snowmobilers would use it when the snow was almost non existant. He put up signs and moved the trail to a cart path along the outer edge of the field. Now all the locals are pissed at him for managing his own property. His friend, next door neighbor, won't even talk to him now because he moved the trail. Talk about idiotic people with small brains. Carry a gun and be safe.

I’ll also take issue with your comment about the NEK. The NEK or “Northeast Kingdom” for those of you who are unfamiliar with the area is perhaps one of the most beautiful and unspoiled places I’ve ever seen. The population is varied and interesting. Some of those “low life scum” you have referred to include the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, noted “world class” physicians, major icons in the movie industry, movers and shakers in the financial world, many well known authors, and even lowly me! I’ll grant you that many of the more prominent residences are “hidden” on these private properties, however, they include a full blown castle and some waterfront properties that would make a king envious.

Just because a man makes his living with his hands, has not had the best of educational opportunities, or lives in the “boonies” doesn’t mean he’s any less of a decent human being. The “low life scum” mentality transcends all social and economic classes and every section of every state. Thankfully, the opposite mentality can be found in exactly the same locations.

We each have our own paradise in our mind’s eye and I’d prefer you not open your zipper on mine!

 

[EddieWalker]

Not only are most of my signs gone, but someone has taken the time to use a backhoe to fill in several sections of my ditch to allow easy entry to my property again! Needless to say, it's starting to really tick me off.

Hopefully you have better luck than what I've had.

Dargo,

This must be about the most brazen thing I've heard of!! It just boggles my mind what these people must think to bring in a tractor to fill in your ditch so they can tresspass on your land.

I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to leave there new driveway open and watch for them. At least now you'll know where they are coming in from.

I know you can't booby trap your place, it's not only dumb, but not very productive. One thing you might consider though is a mud bog that will get them stuck. Something not very obvious in a location that they will drive through. The longer they are there, the better your chances are of catching them.

I don't think game cameras will accomplish anything and if they are spoted, the trespassers will just steel them. If they can't get them out of the tree, they will just cut the tree down. Wishful thinking at best.

Sure wish you the best of luck in your battle, because that's just what it sounds like. War between you and those who want to destroy your land.

Sorry,
Eddie

 

[YanmarFever]

Now I know the real reason so many of y'all carry a weapon on your tractors and person...It's not for the snakes and coyotes...idiots...

Its for the 2 legged wolves ! I carry a 44 mag in the tool box of my yanmar and a cell phone when im out mowing , tilling or spraying.

 

[JSUnlimited]

Mine is posted. Although any of the ATVs and any other unauthorized persons "know" that where they are is not on THIER property, I figure that in order begin to have a leg to stand on in defending myself in court should something happen to them while on my property, I can say it was posted and they knowingly were trespassing.

The local sheriff stated that it is a good idea for anyone to post their property (keep out, no tresspasing, etc.) in plain obvious view. In the event that something does happen, it could be beneficial for you. You know the "victim" will say that they "did not know they were trespassing (even though they are not on thier property)". However if the signs were obvious, they would be hard pressed to use that excuse since hopefully they passed right by them without reguard to you and your family, thus knowingly trespassing.

This is kind of like McDonalds having to put on a cup of coffee that is is hot! I would think that most would know that it is hot, however because this is such a litigious society, it's better to cover your rear from those that say "well I did not know!"

 

[jand38]

Captain Jack I can not believe what I just read,what is open woods 10 ft from your home or 50 ft? Posting of land would mean everything if enforced. Why should I be scared of people for telling them to stay off my property? From what I read is everyone scum? Must be if they they harm you for standing on your rights as a land owner. Can they come in and use your bath room at their convenice? Why not?
I pay the taxes and no one has the right to use of my property (except law enforcement) but I the person who bought and paid for the land by working hard, saving and all the other things one has to do to pay for any item they buy. Why can I not camp out on the city dewllers front lawn when I come to the city or use their back yard for a party ,did not have the land posted and I believe you said posting of land was useless.
Relax be happy life 101 my defention of life 101 is "I will stay off your property and you stay off mine "oh so simple so easy to do I know because I have practiced this all of my life and it works. MD

 

[jand38]

I can not believe what I have read about this topic it just shows that parents have not taught their children right from wrong and when they become adults the trend continues their children learn the same and practice the lack of character.
I should not have to supply ATV owners a place to ride I should not have to supply hunters a place to hunt I should not have to supply a place to party. I should not park my car in their front yard, swim in their pool or just make use of their property as I see fit simple, simple , simple and use the Golden Rule when in doubt. MD

 

[slowrev]

I post my property. Too many houses too close together here for safe hunting.
Also one guy down the road is a sue happy idiot with troublesome kids. Just doing what I can to cover my butt.
In KY you can't hunt on non posted land without landowners permission.
Ben

 

[kossetx]

Most Texans probably don't unserstand what most of you Northeasterners are going through. I grew up in western pa where most land went unposted. Simply driving up to a place and asking for permission to hunt or fish was all that was required. It was nice and most times permission was granted. Usually the land owner would tell you the stories much as you all are talking about and ask you to comply. It was nice but I could always see it getting out of hand.

I've lived here in TX since 1981. Almost all land here is private. In TX, all of the private land is considered posted, whether there is a sign or not. It kinda makes things much more simpler. In the 25 years using family land, I've only seen trespassers 1 time and seen signs maybe a couple more times, and none in the last 10 years.

I certanly miss having access to thousands of acres of land like I did in the Northeast, but I also like going to my place and knowing who I'm going to run into. No one.

Sorry the idiots are ruining your places.

 

[dmccarty]

We live on a private road that is about 2,100 feet long and dead ends in our land. The last 1,000 feet or so we own both sides so we have put up a gate that has a couple of posted signs. There are also posted signs on the trees along the road. We are legally posted per the state statues.

I'm still picking up trash that people had tossed and dumped over the years before we closed the road which is one of the big reasons for the gate and posted signs. I came home today and noticed something off the road and across the ditch on our land to the east. Monday when I came home I noticed that someone had driven past the open gates turned around and left. This happens from time to time so I did not think much of it. Today I saw what they had left. They had come in to dump a litter box.

Now think who did this for a second.

Our road passes through a subdivision of nice houses. Not McMansions but a nice mix of houses. 3 miles down the road past two traffic lights is a public dump station. Its free to property owners of the county. There is also service into the subdivision by a private trash hauler. All the lots are on 2-3 or 5 acre lots that are very wooded.

So someone had a full cat litter box. Instead of putting into the trash, dumping it on their land, or going to the dump, they brought it to my land and dumped it. Nice people. Remember these are nice houses with a decent standard of living. In could have been someone outside of the subdivision but there are so many other places they could have dumped if they drove into the development. So almost certainly it was someone that lives here. Most likely a teenage who can drive who has a kitty....

Later,
Dan

 

[MikeD74T]

Land ownership in an interesting concept. Land's existance pre-dates man by untold years & presumable will post date man as well. Native Americans didn't believe they owned the land, rather they belonged to the land. Then along comes "ownership", which in reality is just the exclusivity of use. When there was no one else around exclusivity was free. If someone else wanted "your" land they just took it from you by force. In modern times for continuance of that exclusivity one pays a tax. This tax is something of value, usually money, that others would rather have than the use of "your" land. The tax collectors protect your right to pay the tax for as long as you can. If you can't or won't pay the tax collectors takes your exclusivity & sells it to someone else. Another forceful takeover today is called eminent domain.
New Hampshire local government is primarily funded by property tax, no income or sales taxes. Like any tax code there are/were big business interests that leveraged laws in their favor. In NH they were the lumber & paper businesses. Wood growers are like any other farmer, they harvest their crops & eat or sell them. Since wood crops take many years, even generations, the woodsmen devised a harvest tax, paid at harvest, and negotiated a lower land tax to be paid each year. Not to appear self serving they included all farm land in the deal. Part of the hype was also the concept of keeping the forests open to hunting, fishing, and recreational pastimes of the era. The program is called "current use".
Skip forward to today. My 2.something acre houselot is assessed at about $250K. The adjoining lot of pine, in current use, is about assessed at about $160 per acre. At $25/thousand I pay $3,125.00 & the abuttor pays $4.00 annually per acre. If the acre of pine was "wetland" the tax revenue would be 37 1/2 cents anually.
There are no restrictions re;posting one's land but there is another 2 +/- % discount for not posting it to non-motorized uses. NH law says foot traffic is legal on the land of others unless specifically prohibited by the owner. If all of this land gets posted eventually the people paying the bill will revolt & current use will go away. Higher taxes will force many, including vacationers/part-timers, to subdivide or sell. When the NH forest barons of the 1890's finished stripping the land and saw years of taxes ahead with no crop to sell they sold the land to the federal government & the White Mtn. National Forest was formed. Abuttors will tell you what kind of neighbor the National Forest Service is. The land is pretty much unused and pays no taxes. Most recently in northern NH the paper baron sold several thousand acres to the State of NH. Now every environmental group is trying to prohibit uses previously allowed by the paper company and it no longer pays taxes. It won't be too many generations before paying taxes no longer even guarantees exclusivity of use. So NH current use landowners (I am one actually )-post your land & I'll vote to rescind your tax break then maybe I'll have enough money left over after tax time to buy some of your land. MikeD74T

 

[MDM]

The problem we have is city dwellers buying 5 acres of property, which in turn, gives them the right to hunt anywhere they want. Atleast that is what they think. We locals call them "Akronites". As most of them are up from Northern Ohio and come down during deer season and shoot about anything that moves. We also refer to them as the "Great White Hunters" because most don't know 1/2 as much as they think the know about hunting. I guess a new gun, new 4 wheeler, and a membership to Buckmasters gives them right of passage. There is always a case of some Akronite shooting some farmer's cow or goat or horse. I just went to strictly bowhunting- less Akronites around during bow season. I have to laugh when I see an Akronite with a 90lb doe strapped to the roof of their SUV and they walk around all swelled up thinking they have really accomplished something.

 

[Eagle Nest]

i do post one side of my property the other sides are water or swamp i have lived here 6years the 1st year i had problems with duck hunters they would park there trucks on neibors property and walk across mine to get to the water the 1st time i confronted somebody on my property i was threatened the 2nd time i confronted somebody this person told me i could not do anything to them because thay were in the water i said to him that may be true but sooner or latter you are going to want to go home i told this person i hope you like walking because i own about 1/2 mile each way of shoreline and if you step one foot on dry ground that would be tresspassing at that time this person threatened me but this time the odds were even this person walked all the way back to his truck without stepping one foot on my property the 2nd year of duck hunting all of the problems of tresspasing was cured i have a local sherriffs deupty that asked if he and his two sons could hunt on my property.

 

[JSUnlimited]

I have to laugh when I see an Akronite with a 90lb doe strapped to the roof of their SUV and they walk around all swelled up thinking they have really accomplished something.

I've seen that around here..really funny!

 

[JimR]

I just found a tree stand in one of my trees a hundred odd feet away from the house, so I should post. I don't mind people hunting my land - happy about it, as we have a deer problem, but I do want to be asked first.

And I'm worried about the liability...

It is illegal to hunt within 500 feet of a dwelling in Ma. I would remove the stand and call Fish and Game.