N80
Super Member
Yep, liability is a huge issue and yep, it is a shame. It makes it impossible for those of us who are fortunate enough to own land to share it with those who are not as fortunate. A real shame and whatever we think about lawyers (I have a family full of them), they are absolutely the root cause of the problem. That and individual greed.
My land is adjacent to my B-I-L's farm. I bought my property from him. For his entire life they have let the local folk fish on thier ponds. They didn't mind and it was nice for the locals. Unfortunately these folks took the privilege for granted and continued to fish on my 10 acre pond (which my B-I-L owns a small portion of). My land was clearly posted with no hunting and no fishing signs. I did not want them fishing on my place for three reasons, the first was purely selfish in that I also fish and did not want them catching my fish. The second was that they absolutely polluted the place. They would not carry one single peice of trash back out with them. My shoreline was constantly littered with fast food bags, beer cans and plastic bait containers. The third was liability; I was aware it was an issue butreally didn't worry since they were the ones trespassing.
So I ran them off, always firmly but politely. One fellow gave me a bunch of lip about having fished on this pond (MY POND) since he was a child, be he too left and did not come back. Well, this created a bit of friction between me and my B-I-L. He, after all, had known these folks for years. And they complained to him about me. He urged me to relax and not worry about it. I'm sure he thought (and my still think) that I was an uptight jerk, but I stuck to my guns. (I later found out that the other local landowners had always been upset about his free use policy because the locals figured they could do everyone else that way too.)
Well, this went on for about a year until someone, somewhere in the state drowned while fishing on a pond that was posted and that they had no permission to fish. I do not know any details but they sued the ladnowner. I do not even know if they won (which is often irrelevant since WINNING a lawsuit can be an extremely expensive victory for the defendant!) But, my B-I-L got wind of this and it chafed him so much he posted all of his land and ponds, put locks on the gate and spread the word, no more fishing. For the most part the problem is solved. We win. The locals lose. And its a sad thing. Thanks to lawyers.
I also agree that you have to be careful who you give permission to. Even friends can abuse the privilege and before you know it, your friend's friends are using, and sometimes abusing your place. It is a slippery slope.
My land is adjacent to my B-I-L's farm. I bought my property from him. For his entire life they have let the local folk fish on thier ponds. They didn't mind and it was nice for the locals. Unfortunately these folks took the privilege for granted and continued to fish on my 10 acre pond (which my B-I-L owns a small portion of). My land was clearly posted with no hunting and no fishing signs. I did not want them fishing on my place for three reasons, the first was purely selfish in that I also fish and did not want them catching my fish. The second was that they absolutely polluted the place. They would not carry one single peice of trash back out with them. My shoreline was constantly littered with fast food bags, beer cans and plastic bait containers. The third was liability; I was aware it was an issue butreally didn't worry since they were the ones trespassing.
So I ran them off, always firmly but politely. One fellow gave me a bunch of lip about having fished on this pond (MY POND) since he was a child, be he too left and did not come back. Well, this created a bit of friction between me and my B-I-L. He, after all, had known these folks for years. And they complained to him about me. He urged me to relax and not worry about it. I'm sure he thought (and my still think) that I was an uptight jerk, but I stuck to my guns. (I later found out that the other local landowners had always been upset about his free use policy because the locals figured they could do everyone else that way too.)
Well, this went on for about a year until someone, somewhere in the state drowned while fishing on a pond that was posted and that they had no permission to fish. I do not know any details but they sued the ladnowner. I do not even know if they won (which is often irrelevant since WINNING a lawsuit can be an extremely expensive victory for the defendant!) But, my B-I-L got wind of this and it chafed him so much he posted all of his land and ponds, put locks on the gate and spread the word, no more fishing. For the most part the problem is solved. We win. The locals lose. And its a sad thing. Thanks to lawyers.
I also agree that you have to be careful who you give permission to. Even friends can abuse the privilege and before you know it, your friend's friends are using, and sometimes abusing your place. It is a slippery slope.
atvs on toys for tots runs,my club did a poker run for a lady who lost her husband to cancer with overwelming bills.Even the winners gave it all to her!
