This is why I post my land.

[Revi]

Here in Central Maine we have had a nasty incident. Kerry Hebert was shot by a guy hunting on his land. Another guy was run over by a four wheeler on his own land. It would be nice to trust people, but I have had my sugarhouse shot up many times and now I prefer to be the only person with a firearm on my land.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/starks-landowner-shot_2012-10-31.html

[mapleack]

Thus the reason I carry all the time. If I was wounded like this man the other wouldn't be around to tell tales.

[spud]

I posted all my land this year and I already have some neighbors upset. I spent a lot of money setting up my woods and I would rather no hunter around. I have told my neighbors that my deer shoot back.

Spud

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

what about "hunting with permission only" signs. when I used to hunt across the street from my house the whole mountain is un-posted but I would still go and ask the land owner if I could thats just common courtesy. But I do understand the frustration you guys are going through. Just last week I was leaving hunting camp (4 whell drive only access) and I come across a NJ plate Durango parked on the side of the road. So I stopped took picture of license plate and overall vehicle in case something happened.

[western mainer]

Here in Maine you have to have written permission from the land owner on you, but that doesn't stop them from hunting on your land.
Brian

[spud]

The same rules are in Vermont. Although if a person is caught hunting on your posted land it is just a slap on the hand. Once you know who that person is you then can have a trooper to serve papers to them. If they ever get caught again they get arrested and spend a few nights in the county jail. If a hunter shoots a deer and the wounded deer then runs on your posted property the hunter by law must contact the property owner before entering the property. If the owner still says (keep off my land) then the hunter must call the game warden and the two can go fetch the deer on the posted land. Keep in mind though if you put posted signs on your property and you don't register it at the town clerks office (and pay the five bucks) your land really is not posted at all. A person has the legal right to hunt your land if you don't post it right. When I went to the town hall to (pay and register) the lady told me I was only the seventh person in the town to post my land the right way. She said there are hundreds of properties in town that are posted wrong and because of this the game warden and the police will not help you.

Spud

[gmcooper]

Revi,
I hear you on posting. We usually have to post our farm not because we do not like hunting but to keep out some of the nuts that ruin it for all. We have seen it all here from hunting in the pasture full of cattle, to leaving open all the gates, hunting right out side the back door of the barn, driving the pickup thru the hay feild so they didn't have to walk thru the wet grass. We do allow a few to hunt here with permission. Every year we hear of a landowner or two getting threatened by hunters for posting land they feel it is their right to hunt on. The story you posted a link to sure has some missing details. I have to guess the hunter doing the shooting has some connections some where to have kept his name out of the press. Whole thing happened not far from my neighbors hunting camp.
Mark

[Mark]

I had some hunters hunting the back side of my 300 acre sugarbush. They had even cut trees for a shooting lane, good thing they were not maples. I loaded up a few friends and drove around to their camp on their other side, they did not know who we were. We got out and loaded our guns and started to walk out in their 40 acres. We were stopped and told to get off their property. That is when I told the to stay off mine, they looked a little surprised.

[Bruce L]

Two years ago caught a neighbour(who should know better) climbing over our fence into the bush,right beside the "No Trespassing" sign,said his dogs couldn't read signs,told him I was sure he was able to read. I then said call your dogs back or his dogs may not make it back out.He said that wasn't very neighbourly,but told him trespassing on posted property isn't either.

[sugaringman85]

Fortunately we have not had to post our land. We have had very good luck with hunters, only had one issue with three turkey hunters that opened our pasture and left the gates open. Luckily we know the game warden and he drove by and waited till they came out...Needless to say he had a nice chat with them and we never saw them again.

[red maples]

I had a tree stand disappear from my woods a few years back but I think it was kids. neighbor had one go missing as well same time as me. I still haven't posted yet. thought about it though we all know store bought stand aren't cheap!!! I don't get too many trespassers and the one that do I know who they are and they are just passing through. We have quite a few hundred acres of woods behind my property all separated into different owners who let people on to hunt so every once in a while (and I have verbal permission to hunt all of it but usually stick close to the house. unless I feel like walking) I will see some orange float by then again then again ...oooops another guy got turned around and is lost!!! so I have to wave him down and tell him how to get out of the woods. Had one said he was walking around for 3 hours. just kept going in circles. I said yep you passed me sitting up here in the tree 3 times.....:rolleyes:

[ToadHill]

The funny thing about most trespassers is that they are big on property rights when it comes to what they can and can't do with their property. They don't want the government or anyone else telling them what they can do with their property. But when it comes to your property they think they have the right to go on it and do whatever they want. Our biggest problem has been jackers and road hunters. A few years ago they shot a 10 pointer at the end of my driveway at 10 o'clock at night. Two weeks ago they shot a doe and fawn at 9 o'clock at night. Last year they shot two different times right next to my parents house. This year the game wardens caught them shooting a decoy at night right at the end of my driveway. There were four of them in the truck. The traffic on our road goes up 10x during hunting season. It's a big pain in the butt. Gives honest hunters a bad name.

[Revi]

There are a lot of details missing in the story, but we do know that this was not a hunting accident. It will be some kind of a criminal charge. This is not the first time a landowner in Starks was injured by people using property. Another friend was on his land and got run over by a four wheeler driven by a trespasser. I think most people are okay, but it only takes one or two to set you back thousands of dollars or to ruin your health. We post our land access with permission only. I think it sounds better.

Here's a little more about Kerry Heber:
http://www.kjonline.com/news/starks-shooting-victim-needs-further-surgery_2012-11-03.html

[rchase]

Two years ago caught a neighbour(who should know better) climbing over our fence into the bush,right beside the "No Trespassing" sign,said his dogs couldn't read signs,told him I was sure he was able to read. I then said call your dogs back or his dogs may not make it back out.He said that wasn't very neighbourly,but told him trespassing on posted property isn't either.in vermont i bear hunt with dogs and if you have a permit to hunt with dog you can retrieve your dog off posted land. you cant go and shoot a bear when its on your land but you cant go and get your dog. mabye shooting poeples dogs is ok in canada. but it is illegal in vermont.

[hounder]

Also illegal and a felony in New York. If land is posted, we can not get dogs without owners permission, if they refuse then we call game warden to come and get dogs. I have never had anyone not let me get the dogs, but asking goes a long way.

[Leo]

Hi, in Minnesota you may enter posted property unarmed to retrieve your dog.
I also always post my property. I always want to know who is in my woods.
Thanks
Leo

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

in vermont i bear hunt with dogs and if you have a permit to hunt with dog you can retrieve your dog off posted land. you cant go and shoot a bear when its on your land but you cant go and get your dog. mabye shooting poeples dogs is ok in canada. but it is illegal in vermont.
i dont know about using dogs to hunt but I have been told since I moved here you can shoot a dog if you see it chasing deer.

[driske]

That dog issue is touchy. Every fall my cousin comes over with his coon hounds. We turn them loose on in our woods, but in minutes they can be a mile away.
This has lead to some interesting and tense encounters with the neighbors. Ahem.....
I bought our property from my Dad in 1977. He bought it from Grandpa in 1951. Grandpa bought it from the lumber company in 1922. It remained open and unposted until 1986. Then a string of petty thefts and rouge 4 wheeler activity prompted us to put up the signs.
Times change, people change. We still welcome hunters who ask permission and a county snowmobile trail crosses the property.

[Mark-NH]

A huge thank you too all generous land owners who keep their lands open for others. I realize there are and always will be idiots out there but you refuse to let this very small minority rule your lives.

[wiam]

in vermont i bear hunt with dogs and if you have a permit to hunt with dog you can retrieve your dog off posted land. you cant go and shoot a bear when its on your land but you cant go and get your dog. mabye shooting poeples dogs is ok in canada. but it is illegal in vermont.


It is quite legal for me to shoot a dog on my property if I am defending my livestock in VT and I will. If you have dogs you should be able to control them.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

A huge thank you too all generous land owners who keep their lands open for others. I realize there are and always will be idiots out there but you refuse to let this very small minority rule your lives.

Very well said Mark Thank You

[GeneralStark]

Interesting thread. I grew up hunting but have not in many years, but I do respect those that do as long as they utilize the resource respectfully and safely. Last week I was working in the woods, wire tying some new mainline, when I heard a gunshot go off very close. I did not see the individual but I did yell to let them know there was a human out working. This was also in close proximity to several houses. I was taught to never fire a weapon unless you are certain that no individual or property will be harmed, but you never know others' level of respect or responsibility, or if they are even sober at the time.

I do not own the land I sugar on and the landowners have given permission to a couple folks to hunt though they have concerns about this. They have no interest in posting their land as they want others to enjoy it and I agree with that philosophy. None of the neighbors have the land posted either and they all encourage others use the land respectfully, though motorized vehicles are not appreciated. We are contemplating some safety zone signs around the buildings on the property however.

I really wonder though why anyone would hunt in an active sugarbush as it seems to me that the risk of injuring someone working in the woods or doing damage to someone's equipment is too high. Letting your hunting dogs run wild through a sugarbush seems thoughtless and disrespectful. That said I also feel that using dogs to tree a bear or using bait to attract any animal is a cowardly and disturbing act and shows no respect for a valuable resource. Clearly many of us have different opinions here, but this makes no sense to me whatsoever.

[Revi]

I post my land because of the people who have no respect for our property. The others are okay, but it's hard to filter them out. We have had our sugar house shot up 5 times and now are sadder but wiser. We removed ourselves from Maine Maple Sunday and are trying to maintain a lower profile nowadays. The person who shot the place up is in jail now, but since we fixed the place up and put a bulletproof box in front, plate steel on the door and lexan on the windows we haven't had another incident. We can't afford to be nice anymore. We tried that and it didn't work. I am the only one who hunts there now, but if there was a respectful person who asked me I may allow somebody else to hunt there.

It isn't the same world here anymore. There are people who would steal an evaporator, take the money and buy drugs. They don't care who you are. They just want to know if the place is unguarded. I wouldn't start another business around here, but if I did I would make security my first priority. This guy who got shot allowed people to hunt his land and got shot for it. It's better not to allow access around here in my opinion. Other people can make their own decisions, but for us it's better not to allow access. It's cost us too much already.

I originally thought that we could start a business and that people would respect it because of the hard work and the fact that it improved the area. Now I know that any remote farming enterprise is in trouble nowadays. If you can't hold it, you can't have it.

I have another business in another part of the state and I have much less problem with security. That's where I will put my effort until it looks safer around here.

[maple flats]

I never posted my land until I had a Forest Stewardship Plan, in that posting is required. Now all is posted, but I have given permission to some to hunt on it.

[rchase]

Interesting thread. I grew up hunting but have not in many years, but I do respect those that do as long as they utilize the resource respectfully and safely. Last week I was working in the woods, wire tying some new mainline, when I heard a gunshot go off very close. I did not see the individual but I did yell to let them know there was a human out working. This was also in close proximity to several houses. I was taught to never fire a weapon unless you are certain that no individual or property will be harmed, but you never know others' level of respect or responsibility, or if they are even sober at the time.

I do not own the land I sugar on and the landowners have given permission to a couple folks to hunt though they have concerns about this. They have no interest in posting their land as they want others to enjoy it and I agree with that philosophy. None of the neighbors have the land posted either and they all encourage others use the land respectfully, though motorized vehicles are not appreciated. We are contemplating some safety zone signs around the buildings on the property however.

I really wonder though why anyone would hunt in an active sugarbush as it seems to me that the risk of injuring someone working in the woods or doing damage to someone's equipment is too high. Letting your hunting dogs run wild through a sugarbush seems thoughtless and disrespectful. That said I also feel that using dogs to tree a bear or using bait to attract any animal is a cowardly and disturbing act and shows no respect for a valuable resource. Clearly many of us have different opinions here, but this makes no sense to me whatsoever."disturbed" by the fact that houndsmen spend hundreds of hours training there hounds running up and down mountain chasing there hounds. then when they finally hunt they chose the bear that they want kill. hounds men rarely kill cubs and sows. they will tree many bears before they finally find the dominant boar that they are after. there are many things in this world that disturb me but this is certainly not one of them. cant image a bear dog harming a sugar bush in any way.

[Thad Blaisdell]

I will chime in on this discussion. The thing that I find disturbing is that anyone feels that they have the "right" to go on anyone else's property at all without permission. This is something that has plexed me for years. I own it, I pay all of the taxes on it, I maintain it, and others feel that they have the right to come on it, free of charge and no resposibility. My land is my land, here is the border, stay on that side.

[wiam]

I will chime in on this discussion. The thing that I find disturbing is that anyone feels that they have the "right" to go on anyone else's property at all without permission. This is something that has plexed me for years. I own it, I pay all of the taxes on it, I maintain it, and others feel that they have the right to come on it, free of charge and no resposibility. My land is my land, here is the border, stay on that side.

I feel as Thad does. I do hunt on my own land and where I have permission so I am not against hunting.

[eagle lake sugar]

I haven't had too many problems on mt property, mostly because of the lack of deer in northern Maine. I did lay down the law to one idiot, and haven't had any trouble since. For years I've hunted the Katahdin iron works region mountains in central Maine,but a few years ago the Appalachian mountain club purchased a large portion of that land. They've subsequently devastated the forest, with the exception of the narrow trail corridor, everything has been cut. If you guys could have seen the number of 3 ft. diameter maples on those ridges before they came to town, you would be salivating!

[Revi]

We haven't had any more incidents, but I had a kid ask me to hunt on my land. I said that he could hunt with me there, but not when I wasn't. There is too much that can go wrong. He may be okay, but are his friends trustworthy? Will they break into my sugar camp when I'm not there? Who knows? I find it's better to restrict access.

[cebaker]

Ohio added some stiffer fines on hunting without permission. The fine is now around $250 per person. The Farm Bureau pushed it through the State House. I have seen a difference on my small forest. All I have to do is get a vehicle license plate and call the game warden, not the sheriff. He will investigate and send out the tickets.

[adk1]

Here where I am we have it alittle easier due to the large amount of State Land that is open ot the public. I own 50 acres and I do not have it posted, there are guys who hunt on it but not regularly. I pretty much know who they are as well

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

Here where I am we have it alittle easier due to the large amount of State Land that is open ot the public. I own 50 acres and I do not have it posted, there are guys who hunt on it but not regularly. I pretty much know who they are as well
Hey ADK nice seeing, hows it going

[Revi]

I heard some more about the Kerry Hebert shooting. Apparently the shooters were told not to hunt Kerry's land before. He caught them in his driveway, and there was an altercation. I think I would confront someone who was asked not to hunt my land and then was in my driveway. I might just call the cops instead now.

[adk1]

Hey ADK nice seeing, hows it going

Doing well cant complain. Desires are starting to tune away from hunting and gearing toward sugarin..

[michiganfarmer2]

Trespassers and their excuses just BOIL MY BLOOD!. Thats all I better say.

[heus]

Although I dont appreciate tresspassers, I would NEVER shoot or harm someone's hunting dog if it were on my property. Hunting with hounds is not like bird hunting. Sometimes the dogs go long and far away especially when game is not up and running.