My state is trying to pass a bill we're land owners won't have to post there land for no hunting/trespassing. How has this affected you guys that have it? They are also saying your going to have to have written permission to hunt the private land. What's everyone's thoughts on this I have mixed feelings about it. I wonder if the paying hunters and guides will make it harder for us locals to hunt. Its definitely going to make getting permission harder and have more cost for the hunter but ease on the land owner since he doesn't have to post his land. I have always wondered how the big farmers keep track of all the signs they have to post.
Ok states with laws that don't require land owners to post the land?s
- Thread starter zr600
- Start date
Sounds like New Mexico. I must have written permission to hunt on private land. If it's not posted, it's a little fuzzy - it's unlawful to knowingly enter private land to hunt. With today's high quality maps, I think it'd be pretty hard for one to say he/she didn't know a parcel was private.
Here's our laws:
http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/download/publications/rib/2017/hunting/14-Criminal-Trespass.pdf
Here's our laws:
http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/download/publications/rib/2017/hunting/14-Criminal-Trespass.pdf
I find it odd that one would consider hunting privately owned land without permission, regardless of whether it is posted or not...
The landowner should not be required to make sure you know you can't hunt there...the hunter should assume they cant unless they have express permission. I dont have a sign in my front yard, but I dont allow random folks to have cookouts and a slip-n-slide there...
The landowner should not be required to make sure you know you can't hunt there...the hunter should assume they cant unless they have express permission. I dont have a sign in my front yard, but I dont allow random folks to have cookouts and a slip-n-slide there...
Yep, I've always been real cautious about it and assumed it's my responsibility to know where it's private and to either get permission or stay off.
I can see the rationale for being more lax on unposted property. After all, if an owner doesn't care that others access his/her land, leaving it unposted is simpler than posting "welcome" signs, but then puts the onus to post on what could be the majority of landowners who want to clear those requesting access first.
I can see the rationale for being more lax on unposted property. After all, if an owner doesn't care that others access his/her land, leaving it unposted is simpler than posting "welcome" signs, but then puts the onus to post on what could be the majority of landowners who want to clear those requesting access first.
Originally Posted By: liliysdadI find it odd that one would consider hunting privately owned land without permission, regardless of whether it is posted or not...
The landowner should not be required to make sure you know you can't hunt there...the hunter should assume they cant unless they have express permission. I dont have a sign in my front yard, but I dont allow random folks to have cookouts and a slip-n-slide there...
North Dakota's law goes back to the homestead days before established roads etc. In the horse and buggy days if land was not planted one would take the shortest route to your destination. If someone for whatever reason did not want you crossing their land, they had to post it. If the land is or was posted and you had no road you still had legal ingress and egress 36 feet on either side of the section line, rather it was legally posted or fenced or planted or not. These laws may be antiquated but until changed they still stand, you don't want somebody on your land you must post it except for occupied building sites and 440 yards around them. I am a life long ND resident and land owner, I have no problem with the existing law but well know and understand the opposition to it, respect for other people's property is not what it was. Attempts have been made before to change the law but always defeated but each time by a less and less margine, this may be the year it gets passed, hope not, I'm still old school
The landowner should not be required to make sure you know you can't hunt there...the hunter should assume they cant unless they have express permission. I dont have a sign in my front yard, but I dont allow random folks to have cookouts and a slip-n-slide there...
North Dakota's law goes back to the homestead days before established roads etc. In the horse and buggy days if land was not planted one would take the shortest route to your destination. If someone for whatever reason did not want you crossing their land, they had to post it. If the land is or was posted and you had no road you still had legal ingress and egress 36 feet on either side of the section line, rather it was legally posted or fenced or planted or not. These laws may be antiquated but until changed they still stand, you don't want somebody on your land you must post it except for occupied building sites and 440 yards around them. I am a life long ND resident and land owner, I have no problem with the existing law but well know and understand the opposition to it, respect for other people's property is not what it was. Attempts have been made before to change the law but always defeated but each time by a less and less margine, this may be the year it gets passed, hope not, I'm still old school
AWS
Custom Accessory Maker & Retired PM Staff
I think ND is one of the last states not to have a "No Trespass law". Most of us have had to deal with landowner permission for many years. That's why GPS Public Lands Mapping is so popular. I have a ten state chip in my GPS so I can hunt all over the west and know I'm not on private property. I usually back it up with BLM maps for the areas I'm going to hunt, I have loose leaf binders for each state with the BLM maps in it and keep the current one on the dash. With the BLM maps I can spread them out on the table at night and plan my hunting route for the next day. I also carry a small computer that is 12v chargeable and a wifi hotspot in the truck to access the local county assessor data if there is any discrepancy between the GPS chip and the BLM map and to find out who the land owner is if I find a spot that just screams "Coyote Stand". It sounds expensive but every tool that I use cost less than one fine for trespassing.
All this is great for settling an argument with a landowner/lessee, more than once I've been confronted with a BLM land lessee that told me that it was private land and I was trespassing, after pulling out the maps and GPS the threat to call the sheriff is with drawn and we usually have a decent conversation as they are really surprised to see someone that actually cares about whether they are trespassing or not. BLM lessees only lease the grazing rights and can not lock the access gates. BLR and State Land leases can deny access depending on the Lease and the state. Be carefull though there are many places that there is just a small strip of private land between the road and BLM land that the land owner can deny access, it is called land locking and turns the BLM land into the land owners private no tax hunting land.
When I find "No Trespassing Signs" on BLM lands that's when the assessor data is really handy also as sometimes land swaps have taken place and the chips and maps are out of date, county tax records are usually up to date.
All this is great for settling an argument with a landowner/lessee, more than once I've been confronted with a BLM land lessee that told me that it was private land and I was trespassing, after pulling out the maps and GPS the threat to call the sheriff is with drawn and we usually have a decent conversation as they are really surprised to see someone that actually cares about whether they are trespassing or not. BLM lessees only lease the grazing rights and can not lock the access gates. BLR and State Land leases can deny access depending on the Lease and the state. Be carefull though there are many places that there is just a small strip of private land between the road and BLM land that the land owner can deny access, it is called land locking and turns the BLM land into the land owners private no tax hunting land.
When I find "No Trespassing Signs" on BLM lands that's when the assessor data is really handy also as sometimes land swaps have taken place and the chips and maps are out of date, county tax records are usually up to date.
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Wyoming doesn't require landowners to post their property. It is the hunter's responsibility to know ownership. Not to hi-jack the thread, but we (I used to teach) once had a foreign exchange student from Sweden. She was an avid hunter and she went hunting with the host family (another teacher. The host "father" told me it was interesting explaining the no trespassing signs. Sweden apparently has a law that roughly translates into "every man's right" when it comes to hunting. Of course, she also couldn't quite grasp the idea of slob hunter's, leaving a gate open, littering, shooting a sign, etc.
rudymontana
New member
In the past( 10 yrs. ago?) Montana landowners had to post their land to keep trespassers off. Only bird hunters could hunt on private land that wasn't posted. Then the trespass law changed so that private land owner do not have to post their land at all. No trespassing for any reason. I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THIS LAW. THEY OWN IT AND PAY THE TAXES ETC.I do have a problem with old section line roads being farmed and fenced.This has happened on more than one occassion. We are fortunate that Montana has public land and lots of block management areas. Rudy
Ok now I have another question say you are on land you have legal access to and you shotna deer or what ever the game is and it runs into land that you don't have permission to be on what is the process to go in legally and get your game? Currently we can access the land legally without a fire arm go directly in retrieve our game and go directly out. I just wonder what the writing is for this situation in other states that have the law for land owners not to have to post there property?
Plant.One
Well-known member
Originally Posted By: zr600Ok now I have another question say you are on land you have legal access to and you shotna deer or what ever the game is and it runs into land that you don't have permission to be on what is the process to go in legally and get your game? Currently we can access the land legally without a fire arm go directly in retrieve our game and go directly out. I just wonder what the writing is for this situation in other states that have the law for land owners not to have to post there property?
here in michigan if you dont have permission to access the property, if your animal you're tracking crosses onto a property like that, you're SOL - which since this is a family site means "Sorry, Out of Luck"
so you'd have to acquire permission from the property owner, or hope that animal came out the other side on property you do have permission to access, otherwise its a lost animal.
some years back, my brother lost a nice buck this way. Good heart lung shot, solid blood trail, but crossed onto a leased property bordering ours. Property lessee only gave us permission to go about 50 yds onto the property to the top of a small hill and then refused to let us track any further because "his dad was hunting down that way and we weren't going to disturb him as he's got age related health issues and may not live to see another hunting season" but of course 'they'd let us know if they found anything'
there were no shots from over that way, so we're pretty sure that translated into "[beeep], it stumbled in and fell down in front of the old man and we're keeping your deer, sorry about your luck".
legally speaking, there's nothing we could do about it. it traveled onto his property, its his to do with as he chooses.
nice guys and all.
here in michigan if you dont have permission to access the property, if your animal you're tracking crosses onto a property like that, you're SOL - which since this is a family site means "Sorry, Out of Luck"
so you'd have to acquire permission from the property owner, or hope that animal came out the other side on property you do have permission to access, otherwise its a lost animal.
some years back, my brother lost a nice buck this way. Good heart lung shot, solid blood trail, but crossed onto a leased property bordering ours. Property lessee only gave us permission to go about 50 yds onto the property to the top of a small hill and then refused to let us track any further because "his dad was hunting down that way and we weren't going to disturb him as he's got age related health issues and may not live to see another hunting season" but of course 'they'd let us know if they found anything'
there were no shots from over that way, so we're pretty sure that translated into "[beeep], it stumbled in and fell down in front of the old man and we're keeping your deer, sorry about your luck".
legally speaking, there's nothing we could do about it. it traveled onto his property, its his to do with as he chooses.
nice guys and all.
Same in NM. We have a legal requirement to make every reasonable to attempt to recover game. However, that requirement stops at a property boundary - trespassing is not authorized. No permission? No access. I have had several wardens tell me to contact the game and fish in that situation and they will attempt to facilitate access to help with recovery. But in the end, the landowner has final say. If he/she doesn't want you on the land, that critter can lay there and rot and there's nothing to be done.
Mr. Poppadopalis
New member
I have 6 different Plat Map books, each one covers a certain county and has all the information a guy needs.
To top it off I also have the Hunt Maps for my Garmins. Nebraska and Colorado. Put them all together and you have all the information one could ever need to know whether you are on public or private.
In Colorado and Nebraska it is solely your responsibility to know where you are at all times.
Plus this is a good selling point for potential new land. Show the land owner the book and he will say - You can hunt these sections etc.................
I called a rancher the other day and he said I can hunt West of County Road #21. Never made it that far but I will there next weekend!
To top it off I also have the Hunt Maps for my Garmins. Nebraska and Colorado. Put them all together and you have all the information one could ever need to know whether you are on public or private.
In Colorado and Nebraska it is solely your responsibility to know where you are at all times.
Plus this is a good selling point for potential new land. Show the land owner the book and he will say - You can hunt these sections etc.................
I called a rancher the other day and he said I can hunt West of County Road #21. Never made it that far but I will there next weekend!
OLE RASPY
New member
Originally Posted By: liliysdadI find it odd that one would consider hunting privately owned land without permission, regardless of whether it is posted or not...
The landowner should not be required to make sure you know you can't hunt there...the hunter should assume they cant unless they have express permission. I dont have a sign in my front yard, but I dont allow random folks to have cookouts and a slip-n-slide there...
RIGHT. How I feel bout it to.
The landowner should not be required to make sure you know you can't hunt there...the hunter should assume they cant unless they have express permission. I dont have a sign in my front yard, but I dont allow random folks to have cookouts and a slip-n-slide there...
RIGHT. How I feel bout it to.
Mr. Poppadopalis
New member
Originally Posted By: OLE RASPYOriginally Posted By: liliysdadI find it odd that one would consider hunting privately owned land without permission, regardless of whether it is posted or not...
The landowner should not be required to make sure you know you can't hunt there...the hunter should assume they cant unless they have express permission. I dont have a sign in my front yard, but I dont allow random folks to have cookouts and a slip-n-slide there...
RIGHT. How I feel bout it to.
Exactly - However, there are many fence jumpers out there. Just because you have a load of private ground doesn't mean it's private to all!! Plenty of TRESPASSERS out there!!
The landowner should not be required to make sure you know you can't hunt there...the hunter should assume they cant unless they have express permission. I dont have a sign in my front yard, but I dont allow random folks to have cookouts and a slip-n-slide there...
RIGHT. How I feel bout it to.
Exactly - However, there are many fence jumpers out there. Just because you have a load of private ground doesn't mean it's private to all!! Plenty of TRESPASSERS out there!!
If the law requires property to be posted, what is there to stop someone from ripping down the signs and walking in? I would guess it happens all the time.
I manage a small ranch, but that small ranch has 5 miles of border fence. This is a SMALL ranch, a big ranch could easily have a hundred miles of fence. Its pretty hard to patrol that much fence, let along maintain signs every 50 or 100 feet. I find signs torn down on a regular basis, every year I have to put up or replace at least a half dozen, and I only have it posted every couple hundred feet. We are not required to post it, at least for hunting. But, I do because of people that try to play dumb, it also makes it quite a bit easier to convince law enforcement to issue a citation when the property is clearly marked.
In this day and age of good quality maps and phone apps and GPS, there is very little reason for anyone to be unsure. Laziness, or lack of respect for private property is about the only reason I see.
I manage a small ranch, but that small ranch has 5 miles of border fence. This is a SMALL ranch, a big ranch could easily have a hundred miles of fence. Its pretty hard to patrol that much fence, let along maintain signs every 50 or 100 feet. I find signs torn down on a regular basis, every year I have to put up or replace at least a half dozen, and I only have it posted every couple hundred feet. We are not required to post it, at least for hunting. But, I do because of people that try to play dumb, it also makes it quite a bit easier to convince law enforcement to issue a citation when the property is clearly marked.
In this day and age of good quality maps and phone apps and GPS, there is very little reason for anyone to be unsure. Laziness, or lack of respect for private property is about the only reason I see.
Plant.One
Well-known member
you can never stop a tresspasser from tearing a sign down.
we maintain just over 2 miles of border posting on our property, most of it likely unnecessary because we have good neighbors.
we try to post between every 50-75' and typically go back and refresh our signage every 2-3 years as they degrade (we're just using paper cardstock style signs for cost efficiency - plastic signs fade just as fast, and become brittle over time as well)
even if a trespasser were to tear down a sign or two - especially along the road side borders - they'd be hard pressed to justify to a LEO that they didn't see the other 50 signs that mark the outside borders in that area as they approached that section of the property they accessed it through with the "missing" signs.
thankfully for us, weve not had much trouble over the years and our laws state that you must have permission to access even unposted property - and since my dad rarely if ever gives permission to anyone, if we had to call on someone it'd be relatively open and shut.
we maintain just over 2 miles of border posting on our property, most of it likely unnecessary because we have good neighbors.
we try to post between every 50-75' and typically go back and refresh our signage every 2-3 years as they degrade (we're just using paper cardstock style signs for cost efficiency - plastic signs fade just as fast, and become brittle over time as well)
even if a trespasser were to tear down a sign or two - especially along the road side borders - they'd be hard pressed to justify to a LEO that they didn't see the other 50 signs that mark the outside borders in that area as they approached that section of the property they accessed it through with the "missing" signs.
thankfully for us, weve not had much trouble over the years and our laws state that you must have permission to access even unposted property - and since my dad rarely if ever gives permission to anyone, if we had to call on someone it'd be relatively open and shut.
masshunter
Active member
Implied consent here, goes back to the days of the Pilgrims.