Harvesting fallen logs from neighbor's land

[clemsonfor]

He may be worried about liability. It is a plus though having a responsible person there to keep watch over the land. Helps out with trespassers and unauthorized hunting. Maybe use that to help like your a guardian of his land.

thinking the same thing about the watching the land for unwanted illegal hunters etc.

The liability would be a problem too, maybe get a form up that releases him from any liability. I am a member at firewoodhoardersclub.com we have forms that a member worked up just for this reason. Not sure about them really holding up i dont remember if they consulted with a lawyer or not...but it would go a long way in a court if both parties signed and retained a copy that said landowner has no liability.

As a landowner my self i would not let anyone i dont know cut if we did not have a similar form worked up.

 

[TripleR]

Liability is certainly a consideration, we carry a pretty good sized liability insurance policy on our farms.

 

[dave1949]

The trees that are encroaching on, have low branches, and shading the field area are probably the trees he would like to see cut. Of course you need to let him say that.

It might simplify things if you and he could agree that you would cut into the woods X feet in from the field. He could flag anything in that band that he doesn't want cut. That's pretty clear and easy to verify, plus you would be doing something useful for him too.

I wouldn't take dead wood if it's getting punky, it's not worth the effort if you have better choices. It's actually good for the woods to leave it lay and rot anyways.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

My first thought from the thread title was LIABILITY. I've considered allowing someone to take a few trees off my place but stopped cold when I thought about the risks.

 

[randy41]

there's only liability if the landowner is negligent. the law assumes that if someone goes in your woods and cuts up fire wood that they know what they are doing and what the inherent risks are. i'm not a lawyer but i checked this out when i had folks coming here to buy produce.

 

[dave1949]

Liability varies from state to state. Here allowing access incurs no liability unless something purposely malicious could be shown. I'd ask a lawyer if "access" covers working with a chainsaw for starters if I were to consider that.

Anything "for fee" on land in Maine is entirely different. If consideration or benefits other than money can be construed to be "for fee" is another lawyer question.

I'm not sure if the person is someone you know or not should carry much weight. Insurance companies don't consider friendship when they go looking for money to offset their claim payouts.

All of that uncertainty, the expense of finding legal answers you trust, and potential trouble makes it easier to just say no to private individuals unfortunately. If someone wanted trees removed that had enough value they can contract with a timber outfit and have much better liability protection.

 

[deanwerden]

I cut wood from my neighbors bush and never even once thought that if I got hurt I would blame him. COME ON PEOPLE. I have a deal where I cut fallen trees, dead trees and I'm aware of the risks involved in cutting firewood but if I dropped a tree on my head I wouldn't sue the guy after he gave me a free source of firewood. Here's how it went down.

hey I see you have a lot of dead ash trees
I don't burn wood
I do, would you mind if I cut some fallen or dead trees
sure

 

[KiotiKowboy]

I cut wood from my neighbors bush and never even once thought that if I got hurt I would blame him.

Trust is a wonderful thing

 

[two_bit_score]

I cut wood from my neighbors bush and never even once thought that if I got hurt I would blame him. COME ON PEOPLE. I have a deal where I cut fallen trees, dead trees and I'm aware of the risks involved in cutting firewood but if I dropped a tree on my head I wouldn't sue the guy after he gave me a free source of firewood. Here's how it went down.

hey I see you have a lot of dead ash trees
I don't burn wood
I do, would you mind if I cut some fallen or dead trees
sure

YOU wouldn't. But your spouse, minor children or others might not see it the same way when the funeral bill and hospital bills comes in and the paychecks stop coming. Now if you're a single hermit that may be different.

 

[Jstpssng]

Like others, my first thought when I read the headline was liability. I would expect a certificate of insurance showing a General Liability policy of at least 500k, as well as liability policy for every vehicle you would be using. In my state there is also a form to fill out and send to the state in lieu of worker's comp...provided you will be working alone.
these are all things which we require of all our contractors... it may seem a bit overboard, but lawyers have made it necessary. If you were somebody he knew, it would be different.