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dealing with trespassers

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debodun

Member
What is the name of your state? New York
My mother and I jointly own a 10 acre parcel of undeveloped land in a rural setting. We live about 4 miles from it. My cousin lives in the lot adjacent to this property. He's recently reported to me that he has caught trespassers on my property several times, usually hunters. He also indicated that he has no authority to take any action against them unless he has it in writing from us. He wants a legal document giving him authority to take legal action against anyone he sees on this property. i.e. have them arrested and press charges. I wasn't sure how to word this document. You have to be very careful. If we say he can take any steps necessary, he might shoot the trespassers, they we would be liable since he has that in writing. Please advise on exactly how to word this. Thank you.
 


danno6925

Member
Call the Hunter Police on them

First: Is your land properly posted? If not, post the land so people KNOW they're trespassing!

Second: There is the simple solution here. IMHO, there is no need for a written agreement, just so long as you don't try to prosecute HIM for being there. Is the cousin a hunter also? I can't imagine how he's seeing all of these hunters trespass, since they normally go into the woods a O'Dark Thirty. Could it be that the cousin is trying to get hunting rights to the land by you allowing his presence there in writing?

I would let the cousin know that you simply want him to call the County Wildlife Conservation office, and have THEM confront the trespassing hunters. Your cousin has ZERO law enforcement rights, unless he's already a cop. Confronting a trespasser who you know to be armed could be dangerous, if not deadly. A WCO has the same powers to arrest as the police. They also tend to know the hunting and trespass laws inside and out as a matter of course in their line of work. What's more - they have more time and resources to dedicate to this type of issue than the local law enforcement officers will.


I know that white tail deer season doesn't open until the beginning of Dec in PA, but NY may be different.. If this trespass is occuring on a regular basis, have them (the WCO officers) setup a sting operation to catch trespassing hunters. I'm not sure how bad the problem is, but the WCO's in my county are usually willing to snag a few slob hunters like these guys you mentioned. As a hunter, I hope you know that those who trespass against landowners do NOT represent the majority of our ranks. I've always obtained written permission to hunt lands that are private.

Nail these SLOB's to the wall for everything you can get them on!
 

debodun

Member
thanks

Thanks for your prompt reply. It has given me some ideas to ponder.

My cousin said he put up posted signs, but has observed the trespassers enter my lot from an adjacent property which is NOT posted. He also asked me if something happened to my mother and I wanted to sell the lot that he wated first refusal on it. So it makes me think that he has some hunting interests in it too. It's an overgrown lot with lots of young saplings and underbrush which is very good for small game and some not so small game.
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
...He also indicated that he has no authority to take any action against them unless he has it in writing from us. He wants a legal document giving him authority to take legal action against anyone he sees on this property. i.e. have them arrested and press charges. I wasn't sure how to word this document. You have to be very careful. If we say he can take any steps necessary, he might shoot the trespassers....
You want to give this guy some kind of authority over trespassers?


...He also asked me if something happened to my mother and I wanted to sell the lot that he wated first refusal on it. So it makes me think that he has some hunting interests in it too. It's an overgrown lot with lots of young saplings and underbrush which is very good for small game and some not so small game....
Something is very fishy with your cousin....
 

danno6925

Member
Nothing fishy here, Judge. Just misleading on the cousin's part It sounds to me as if the cousin wants to use that land as his private hunting reserve.

If OP'er had signed an agreement allowing cousin on the land to run trespassers out, he probably would have made another request almost as an after thought - "Hey, could you put something in there that says I'm allowed to hunt there? You know, just in case". The cousin could then produce a copy of the document to every hunter/trespasser he encountered during his day hunting. The trespasser would then have to leave. This sounds more like a hunting ground dispute with the locals than anything else.

My cousin said he put up posted signs, but has observed the trespassers enter my lot from an adjacent property which is NOT posted.
Commons sense would dictate that you put the signs where they are likely entering your property. All you need to do is encircle your entire lot, posting every 50 feet or so (there might actually be a specified minimum distance, so check with the local police on this) and post your property line.

Don't know if NY whitetail season coincides with the PA deer season, but it wouldn't hurt to call the WCO's and ask them to patrol your property and arrest anyone they encounter for trespassing.
 

Ozark_Sophist

Senior Member
Out our way, you can post the land using purple paint every 100' about 6 feet up (fence post or tree trunk). Harder to rip out tree trunks than signs and cheaper too. Of course, neither will stop trespassers. :)
 

danno6925

Member
Out our way, you can post the land using purple paint every 100' about 6 feet up (fence post or tree trunk). Harder to rip out tree trunks than signs and cheaper too. Of course, neither will stop trespassers. :)
Dang, that's a great idea! I'm wondering if the same applies to rural PA properties. I have family who're constantly replacing their posted signs...
 

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