NC, unauthorized tree stand on property

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groundsman

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Greetings All,
I need some assistance. Here is my situation. I own a parcel of land in a rural area north of Durham, lots of wildlife. My land boundaries are not posted with any signs or purple paint, just an old fence along one boundary. So whilst walking along one boundary I see a game camera tied to a tree, and another tree within several feet a tree stand about 15 feet above me. Both trees are on my land. The lens of the camera and the lane of fire from the stand are on my land.

From reading NC game laws, everything is written for "posted" land and how hunters, trappers, etc need written permission. Well my land is not posted. What rights do I have?

I will be placing purple along my borders, but what recourse do I have right now?

Any insights are appreciated.
 
I would take them down and wait for the person to come to your house to get them. Maybe leave a note attached to the tree where the stand was located with your number. It's not larceny because you intend to return and once you return it you can talk to the person. If they don't call well you got new equipment.

IF they call you HOT just tell them to take you to small claims court to make them sweat it out a little. If nothing else it makes them waste money and time (which is more important) IF they are being jerks.
 
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Cowboy said:
I would take them down and wait for the person to come to your house to get them. Maybe leave a note attached to the tree where the stand was located with your number. It's not larceny because you intend to return and once you return it you can talk to the person. If they don't call well you got new equipment.
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This is what I’d do.


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Leave a note with your number, not your address. And if they want to talk and want their stand back they can call. It’s also not larceny cause possession is 9/10ths and all that. Guys that used to lease the land behind us kept hanging stands on the property line in my trees facing my property. I took down, left a note and eventually kept 4 of them before they figured out i wasn’t gonna come looking for them to give them back. Not once did anyone ever contact me
 
If it isn't theirs or they have permission they know they are trespassing.
 
I wouldn't go all game warden. Could just be innocent mistake coupled with some ignorance. I'd leave a Bill inside a ziploc bag taped to their tree stand. Make it all formal. Come up with a fee for hunting without permission. Leave a phone number if they would like to discuss the bill. Maybe also leave them the Game Warden's number as a subtle hint. You could say charges will be waived if they vacate the property by a certain date.
 
What’s wrong with just being direct without all the legalese and veiled threats?

Collect the stuff, leave a note asking for a call. Have a conversation, decide what to do based on attitude and honesty.
 
DCGallim said:
Put a tree stand or camera on my property and I’m assuming you left them for me.
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Yep.

Leave a nice note with the sheriff's dept. number and your name. They'll either contact you or they won't. If they don't then you have some new stuff.

BTW purple paint IS considered no trespassing. On my property, it means you take your life in your own hands once you walk past it. It's akin to jumping a fence at a shooting range.......
 
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Tailhunter said:
How is it poaching?
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hunting on property that isn't yours is considered a form of poaching. It's one reason NC passed the Landowner Protection Act and many counties require
written permission to hunt on property you don't own.

From the wikipedia:

poach2
/pōCH/
verb
gerund or present participle: poaching
  1. 1.
    illegally hunt or catch (game or fish) on land that is not one's own, or in contravention of official protection.
    synonyms: hunt illegally, catch illegally, jacklight, jack;
    steal
    "he's been poaching salmon"
    • take or acquire in an unfair or clandestine way.
      "employers risk having their newly trained workers poached by other companies"
      synonyms: steal, appropriate, purloin, take, lure away; More

    • (in ball games) take a shot that a partner or teammate would have expected to take.
  2. 2.
    (of an animal) trample or cut up (turf) with its hoofs.
    • (of land) become sodden by being trampled.
 
I might be wrong. I looked up the NC Landowners Protection Act and it looks like it’s not altogether clear when you haven’t done the purple paint. But you could take the equipment (or just make it impossible to hunt from it) and leave a note.
 
MostWanted said:
I might be wrong. I looked up the NC Landowners Protection Act and it looks like it’s not altogether clear when you haven’t done the purple paint. But you could take the equipment (or just make it impossible to hunt from it) and leave a note.
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look at the local laws section of the NC Wildlife regulation handbook (or pdf)

I would say almost every county in NC has some sort requirement that you must have permission to hunt on the land of someone else (not your family).
The only one around me that doesn't require it is Anson. And that's because it's nothing but pine trees, white tails, cotton mouths and fire ants.
 
After being somewhat a part of what you are exactly describing (It was my best friend and his farm)that went six ways sideways, with he said/(s)he said, threats, arrests, actual court, and court/ lawyer fees take this advice.

  1. Cool down. If you don't have it marked it could be a mistaken boundary. It will be hard to get any trespassing charges since it isn't posted. It was just this that started all the crap my buddy went through. $1000s were spent over a dang deer. Yes, unless you are immediate family of the land owner you have to have signed permission, but if there is a mistaken boundary issue then the guy may believe he doesn't need it. Catch 22 scenario. There is a separate charge for hunting without permission I believe.
  2. Contact the game warden (to make an official document of your issue) and take his recommendation as any action further against the "trespasser" would involve him and/or the sheriffs. Remember he is a LEO and deals with just this daily vs a sherrif that is catching robbers and will not know all the laws relating to hunting. (For all the smart azzes that would say the guy is robbing him of his deer give it a rest)
  3. Document it all.
  4. If you decide to remove the stand and camera do not damage either (the judge didn't like that the stand was damaged and inop).
  5. After you do settle this post the property making any further interaction with trespassers a legal issue the game wardens can deal with.
IMO you can be a good guy or a bad guy. Based on my experience with this I'd leave a letter (secure it in a way that it will be seen and cannot "blow off" should the guy turn out to be a azz) there letting him know he is trespassing (and where the boundaries are)and let him decide from there. Again document it all video or pictures with dates. If he decides to be an azz then work with the game warden. Until you clear this up when you go to this location I would not do it alone and I'd probably video the next trip into this location. Also while it is your land, I'd wear orange while hiking around until you can guarantee you have no other trespassers.
 
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The possibility of things going sideways is exactly why i would go to the game warden. For those advocating leaving notes and taking the equipment. That all may sound reasonable to you but you are assuming the other person will see it as equally reasonable. You have no idea who you are dealing with there. Best to engage the game warden and let them help sort it out. Doesn't mean you need to press tresspassing or other charges. But it keeps things from spiraling if the guy is a real jack wagon.
 
tod0987 said:
After being somewhat a part of what you are exactly describing (It was my best friend and his farm)that went six ways sideways, with he said/(s)he said, threats, arrests, actual court, and court/ lawyer fees take this advice.

  1. Cool down. If you don't have it marked it could be a mistaken boundary. It will be hard to get any trespassing charges since it isn't posted. It was just this that started all the crap my buddy went through. $1000s were spent over a dang deer. Yes, unless you are immediate family of the land owner you have to have signed permission, but if there is a mistaken boundary issue then the guy may believe he doesn't need it. Catch 22 scenario. There is a separate charge for hunting without permission I believe.
  2. Contact the game warden (to make an official document of your issue) and take his recommendation as any action further against the "trespasser" would involve him and/or the sheriffs. Remember he is a LEO and deals with just this daily vs a sherrif that is catching robbers and will not know all the laws relating to hunting. (For all the smart azzes that would say the guy is robbing him of his deer give it a rest)
  3. Document it all.
  4. If you decide to remove the stand and camera do not damage either (the judge didn't like that the stand was damaged and inop).
  5. After you do settle this post the property making any further interaction with trespassers a legal issue the game wardens can deal with.
IMO you can be a good guy or a bad guy. Based on my experience with this I'd leave a letter (secure it in a way that it will be seen and cannot "blow off" should the guy turn out to be a azz) there letting him know he is trespassing (and where the boundaries are)and let him decide from there. Again document it all video or pictures with dates. If he decides to be an azz then work with the game warden. Until you clear this up when you go to this location I would not do it alone and I'd probably video the next trip into this location. Also while it is your land, I'd wear orange while hiking around until you can guarantee you have no other trespassers.
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The only thing I would add is always wear orange while walking in the woods during deer season whether you own the property or not.

You will never ensure that no one is hunting your property without permission. People do hunt from the ground so there wouldn’t be a stand to spot.

Better safe than dead.
 
Listen to @rantingredneck on this one...... I've dealt with situations like this several times and the easiest was to call the local rabbit sheriff and had him meet me at the property and show him what's going on. Chances are it's someone he's already had dealings with, it was in my case.
 
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Agree to be nice, easy to find property owner address from tax records, you don't need some angry guy banging on your front door looking for his stand and gear.
 
I’m not sure of the laws here, but one thing I appreciated about up north was that it was the responsibility of the sportsman to know where he was hunting, posted or not. It forced you to do some homework. Also, with all the apps these days, like On-X, there’s no reason to not know where you’re hunting. The responsibility should fall to the sportsmen.
 
Chdamn said:
The only thing I would add is always wear orange while walking in the woods during deer season whether you own the property or not.

You will never ensure that no one is hunting your property without permission. People do hunt from the ground so there wouldn’t be a stand to spot.

Better safe than dead.
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Great advice that I’d never considered. I was out in the woods looking at some downed trees when I heard voices. I saw three guys wandering around, one with a bag of corn over his shoulder. It seems “somebody” misinformed them about the location of the property lines and they were planning to help themselves to the deer living on my side of the line.
 
Traceround said:
Also, with all the apps these days, like On-X, there’s no reason to not know where .
Click to expand...

OnX is awesome for just this reason. Seeing property boundary, your GPS location and private landowner info is really handy.
 
groundsman said:
Greetings All,
I need some assistance. Here is my situation. I own a parcel of land in a rural area north of Durham, lots of wildlife. My land boundaries are not posted with any signs or purple paint, just an old fence along one boundary. So whilst walking along one boundary I see a game camera tied to a tree, and another tree within several feet a tree stand about 15 feet above me. Both trees are on my land. The lens of the camera and the lane of fire from the stand are on my land.

From reading NC game laws, everything is written for "posted" land and how hunters, trappers, etc need written permission. Well my land is not posted. What rights do I have?

I will be placing purple along my borders, but what recourse do I have right now?

Any insights are appreciated.
Click to expand...


Channel your inner Debo.......


db.jpg
 
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Tim said:
OnX is awesome for just this reason. Seeing property boundary, your GPS location and private landowner info is really handy.
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YEP or huntstand, or huntwise or any of the other half dozen apps that do the same thing.

There's really no excuse for anyone that has a smartphone not to know exactly where they're hunting.
 
Button Pusher said:
Agree to be nice, easy to find property owner address from tax records, you don't need some angry guy banging on your front door looking for his stand and gear.
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Some angry guy banging on my door looking for his stuff might just meet another bigger heavily armed guy at home. Be careful out there especially if you're poaching someone else's property.
 
concepthomes1 said:
Good luck OP

I'd personally take down the stand and camera and stack them at the base of the tree with a note that this is private property.

Make a point to visit the spot daily and see if the stuff has been removed. After a week, take it to your house and leave a note with your number on the tree
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This is what I did when we bought this land. Let them know they're trespassing, they had a week to gather their belongings, and mobile #.
Stuff was gone and we, nor the cameras haven't caught anyone else on the property. I'll probably call a game warden as well next time.
 
Thanks for all the advice and information. I called the Wildlife Commission violation line. I was given a couple options.

Option one, remove stand and camera and turn into the county sheriff's office.
Option 2, leave a note that informs that the equipment is on private land, to cease hunting on private property, give a specified time to have equipment gone. If when time to remove is up and equipment remains, call sheriff and pursue a trespassing violation issue.
 
I've always taken them down and put a note encased in a ziploc bag on the tree with my phone number. I never got a call...............That told me that the trespassers knew they were in the wrong.
 
Chdamn said:
The only thing I would add is always wear orange while walking in the woods during deer season whether you own the property or not.

You will never ensure that no one is hunting your property without permission. People do hunt from the ground so there wouldn’t be a stand to spot.

Better safe than dead.
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I don't even take Lucy out into any woods during deer season and in my own woods she wears an orange vest. From the back it would be way too easy to see her as a deer with the white underside of her tail and general overall color...Lucy ID Photo.JPG
 
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