I am sure I am currently being badmouthed and called names.
One of my neighbors has been leasing a few thousand acres of his land for hunting for over 20 years.?ÿ Fortunately, there have been few problems considering the opportunity that has existed.?ÿ But, yesterday I got a call from one of my workers asking if I am baiting deer.?ÿ He provided a picture showing the exact location.?ÿ He knows I don't deer hunt, so it made no sense.
What we discovered was an area of my native hay meadow destroyed with salt and mineral plus a recent re-application of bushels of shelled corn.?ÿ This is about 50 feet from the boundary line with the neighbor.?ÿ There is also a game camera attached to a steel fence post in the fence that had to be crossed numerous times.?ÿ About four feet onto the neighbor's land is a tree stand with everything set up to have a great shot at the bait site.?ÿ Of course, if they were successful in shooting the deer they would almost definitely have to trespass again to retrieve their trophy.
Enter the game warden.?ÿ We checked it out thoroughly and took numerous photos.?ÿ There might be a hundred different hunters leasing the same ground but there is only one owner of the land, who is the ultimate source of the problem.?ÿ Miscommunication or badly drawn maps could be a possible excuse.
The game warden found the neighbor at home and a long chat.?ÿ The neighbor is on my property right now doing his best to clean up the destruction by his hunters.
Let me make this abundantly clear.?ÿ I have no problem with hunting.?ÿ None.?ÿ The problem I have is when people intentionally try to expand their lease rights onto other properties where they have no right to be under any circumstance.
Look at the photos on the game camera to find out who put out the bait?
Yours is hardly a unique experience. Around here having clearly demarcated boundaries posted No Trespassing at regular intervals (100'), along with contact information is a prerequisite for taking any kind of legal action against hunters invading private property.?ÿ Of course that doesn't apply to the Government, so if you happen to stray over some invisible line into National Park lands, one can expect confiscation of all equipment and multiple thousands of dollars in fines.?ÿ
I have the phone number to the Game Warden stored in my phone and have called him several times.
I have the phone number to the Game Warden stored in my phone and have called him several times. I have a low opinion of folks who violate game laws.?ÿ
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Have you ever read "survival poaching" by ragnar benson?
The wife and I have been hooked on the show Lone Star Law for the last few weeks.?ÿ If you haven't seen it, it follows Game Wardens all over Texas.?ÿ Pretty fascinating.?ÿ Especially when they deal with the border of Mexico.?ÿ It's amazing to me how people think they can just fish and hunt wherever they want with no regards to private property or having proper licensing.
There is a certain residential tract in Shreveport, Louisiana I have given great thought to visiting.?ÿ I'm thinking I might just park on the front lawn, then drag my camping gear around to the back yard.?ÿ Helping myself to the garden produce and then cooking it over an open fire sounds good.?ÿ I would be sure to deposit plenty of trash all over the place prior to driving away.?ÿ Then return the next day and do it all over again.?ÿ Leaving a couple hundred pounds of rotting meat behind would be wonderful.
There is a certain residential tract in Shreveport, Louisiana I have given great thought to visiting.?ÿ I'm thinking I might just park on the front lawn, then drag my camping gear around to the back yard.?ÿ Helping myself to the garden produce and then cooking it over an open fire sounds good.?ÿ I would be sure to deposit plenty of trash all over the place prior to driving away.?ÿ Then return the next day and do it all over again.?ÿ Leaving a couple hundred pounds of rotting meat behind would be wonderful.
A few years ago my brother and I discovered someone had put up a tree-stand back in the rear of our 'Cash Family Enclave'.?ÿ The pisser was they had cut our fence to back their pickup up to the tree.?ÿ The ground was soft and they had made a mess...and didn't even bother to fix the fence.
We took down the stand (I was none too gentle with it...) then drove around the other side of the section and dumped the mess at the entrance they most assuredly had driven in to get back there.?ÿ It took a few days but it finally disappeared.?ÿ I had some suspects but never pushed the issue.?ÿ I guess they do their deer hunting in other places now.
After getting yelled at a couple times for looking for bench marks in the road ROW, I wonder how anyone could have the audacity to set up a tree stand on someone's land without permission.?ÿ Chasing an injured animal onto someone's property, yes, but setting up to hunt there ????ÿ As HC notes, the same people probably would get quite irate at trespass around their home.
Especially when at the time that house was purchased it cost them nearly a half million dollars.
I don't know if it's as common elsewhere as it is in Oklahoma, but a lot of bone-heads seem to think if a piece of property isn't occupied with a residence then it's fair game to "wander about".
One thing I am a stickler about is contacting an owner (or their agent) prior to getting into anybody's place.?ÿ I don't care if it's 200 acres of pasture, soybeans, wooded with a 25 year old mobile home or a million dollar house.?ÿ This day and age with the records on line it's too easy to look someone up and get a hold of them.
And every once in a while I get someone that want's to rag on me when I'm merely in the ROW.?ÿ They can get mad in the same britches they get happy in..I'm fun when someone yells at me.
or having proper licensing.
It is almost like they think they are free or something. Silly people, you have to ASK the King before you can hunt his game, and get his license.
seem to think if a piece of property isn't occupied with a residence then it's fair game to "wander about".
A fellow surveyor told me a story about a survey he did for a commercial client. It seems there was a homeless camp set up on the vacant property. When my friend confronted the campers and told them would have to leave; they handed him a business card and said "you will need to call our lawyer"
The lawyer said "I can move those people out for $2,000"?ÿ
Years ago we encountered a homeless camp on a 40 acre survey that would become a subdivision we were just beginning the survey work on and discovered it was the camp of single old woman......a very neked old woman.
Pictures....... or it didn't happen. ???? ???? ???? ???? ?????ÿ
You would think that with everything online a person could find the owner of a tract of land.
Not here. I still have to ask clients who their neighbors are because the tax maps do not have all the tracts ID on them and can not find all the places they are taxing on the ground.
Just today I had to ask a client the name of his neighbor for that very reason, name not on the Appraisal District map. I had met the dude last year and had just lost his name due to my contacts on my phone not updating when the phone was reset 2mos ago.
Yeppers, all my multitude of contact info discopeared from the cloud.
???
