Summer Trespassers

Part of owning property or entering into a lease is the potential for people to trespass on the property. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around how inconsiderate and just plane careless people can be. As owners or lessees its our hard work and money that they are walking or driving on and I take this as a personal attack. I can not even imagine pulling in a driveway and just saying ” well no one is around lets go for a walk” or better yet start driving around on the property.

Well over the last few weeks we have started getting pictures of cars, trucks, an people on our lease. One of our cellular trail cams has been sending pictures of the trespassers on a pretty regular basis. We have been in contact with the land owner and have been unable to determine who these people are or why they are there. We posted the property with “No Trespassing” signs last year and even gated off a farm access road. This apparently has not been enough. We have stepped up the posting game by adding larger signs and will be adding more signage over the next few weeks to other areas of the land.

Trespassing on private property creates all kinds of potential issues for the land owner and a lessee. For a land owner there can be liability issues, not to mention the potential for crop and property damage. For a lessee such as ourselves this is unwanted, unnecessary, excessive activity on the land. This activity has the potential to have negative effects on our deer management plan. When you spend money and put the time and effort in to a plan to better the land, it just plan ticks me off that people are that bold. At this time the property is covered with an amazing corn crop, trespassers movement is pretty restricted but soon enough hunting season will be here and the corn will be harvested. We have to nip this problem in the rear now and if we can’t handle it ourselves then we will be forced to enlist the help of local officials.

I will keep you posted on this issue as it develops. Take the next few weeks to continue your preseason prep. Stay cool and get ready as we are less than 8 weeks away from kicking of early bow season in many places. Until then get out there and stay safe!

Chris