Posting Property - Private vs State Land

[GreeneHunter]

I know its always a good idea to post your property but isn't all property Private unless its posted State Land ! Over the years I've run into Hunters on my property ( not invited ) and the usual statement is " I didn't see any signs " which is laughable because I've posted my property in various places and cannot be missed ! But my question is  if there were no posted signs isn't it still Private Property unless its posted State Land ?

[Daveboone]

Never for sure. Up around here there are alot of small chunks of state/public land that are poorly marked or arent at all (at one time you could get print outs of all state/dec lands in a given area...not available anymore). I guess the same argument could be made for "if there were no posted signs isnt it still public land unless its posted private?"

[Northcountryman]

I don’t know the law that well in regards to trespassing , so , am always very careful trekking around so that I don’t wander onto private property . Having said that , I have found myself on private property a few times after mistakenly wandering a little too far off course . I have never been confronted , but if I were  , I would apologize , explain what happened and get myself back to the public side ASAP 

[Jeremy K]

1 minute ago, Northcountryman said:

I don’t know the law that well in regards to trespassing , so , am always very careful trekking around so that I don’t wander onto private property . Having said that , I have found myself on private property a few times after mistakenly wandering a little too far off course . I have never been confronted , but if I were  , I would apologize , explain what happened and get myself back to the public side ASAP 

Unfortunately for the good ones the landowners have heard every story in the book from the bad ones.

[cbyzerman]

I know years ago in dutchess county the law is the property has to be posted and it was every 30 or fifty feet I think or it is not trespassing. Not sure if that has changed. Now in westchester there are towns like bedford that you need wriitten permission by land owner so in that case the property does not have to be posted. 

[UpStateRedNeck]

Then all it takes is 1 scumbag 15 seconds to rip down a posted sign.  Our property butts up against 5000 acres of state land.  We've seen it all.  Particularly bad this year.

[wolc123]

To post or not to post depends on location.  At my place, I have had more trespassing issues on the years that I posted.  To your average simple-minded poacher, "posted" means "good hunting". The more signs, the better the hunting.  Putting up those signs is a foolish waste of time for me.

About 15 miles away, at my folks place, they seem to work ok however.  My sister lives on the edge of "the homestead", and she feels more comfortable walking her dog when I put up signs over there during hunting season, so I do it for her.  There is a trailer park adjacent to that property and lots of aborigins (strangers) around there which may have some effect.

 

 

[Nytracker]

Doesn't  really matter . We have seen repeat offenders go to court and the judge gives a slap on the wrist at best ... usually a dismissed with a warning ... To the judges its a nuisance  not worthy of their time  .

[Steve D]

1 hour ago, GreeneHunter said:

isn't all property Private unless its posted State Land ! Over the years I've run into Hunters on my property ( not invited

By definition you are correct: Trespass: entry to a person's land or property without their permission.

Putting signs up is not a requirement but has been used more or less to mark boundaries. The argument of "it wasn't posted" more than likely would not hold up in court if pushed.

 Most posted signs in NY are racist and offensive since they start off with "Private Property Hunting, Fishing, Trapping or Trespassing for any purpose is strictly forbidden" when a simple sign like this one would serve the same purpose.

 

[grampy]

27 minutes ago, UpStateRedNeck said:

Then all it takes is 1 scumbag 15 seconds to rip down a posted sign.  Our property butts up against 5000 acres of state land.  We've seen it all.  Particularly bad this year.

Our property borders state land too. And over the years, we've heard every excuse imaginable. Even had a scumbag sitting in my stand on opening morning once, who asked me, who the F are you!!! 

So we started having some LE officers hunt the property, to take care of any trespasser's they could find. They told us to be sure the property had posted signs, plainly in view. So we doubled the number of signs, and became the biggest prick's we could be! We still have a couple troopers hunt with us from time to time. And we have taken the art of being prick's to a higher level!!! But still get trespasser's! But usually after the first time, they figure it's not worth the aggravation. Or they just get better at avoiding us!

[UpStateRedNeck]

14 minutes ago, grampy said:

Our property borders state land too. And over the years, we've heard every excuse imaginable. Even had a scumbag sitting in my stand on opening morning once, who asked me, who the F are you!!! 

So we started having some LE officers hunt the property, to take care of any trespasser's they could find. They told us to be sure the property had posted signs, plainly in view. So we doubled the number of signs, and became the biggest prick's we could be! We still have a couple troopers hunt with us from time to time. And we have taken the art of being prick's to a higher level!!! But still get trespasser's! But usually after the first time, they figure it's not worth the aggravation. Or they just get better at avoiding us!

It's not even just hunting season this year, Dave.  People crawling all over, picking mushrooms, riding quads.  Yesterday encon was parked at the end of the driveway complete with a trailer full of ATVs looking for some jackasses who are destroying the trails with their jacked up jeeps.  And destroying the ditches.  My aunt can't even take people on trail rides right now because they've jacked up the trails so bad.  You unlock a gate and people are in there the same night spotlighting.

[GreeneHunter]

I've had quite a few Posted signs over the years and used a ladder to put them up , naturally some ended up with bullet holes in them . But I'll still continue putting them up - perhaps on every tree on my property line which is a Highway ! My biggest beef is displayed in the pictures below ... first , one gets stolen and second I should not have to cable lock my Trailcam to the tree !!!  This year I'll be putting up broken Trailcam's as bait with a Trailcam mounted higher watching the " Bait Cam " ! Isn't it a shame that needs to be done ?

 

[Otto]

55 minutes ago, Steve D said:

 

 Most posted signs in NY are racist and offensive since they start off with "Private Property Hunting, Fishing, Trapping or Trespassing for any purpose is strictly forbidden" 

How in the world is that statement “racist and offensive”?  

[Swamp_bucks]

I've always been told they don't need to be posted but was told by a game warden it's very difficult to charge them.  

[Steve D]

15 minutes ago, Otto said:

How in the world is that statement “racist and offensive”?  

With the nature of sensitivity  in today's world I  would consider any statement against "Hunting, Fishing, or Trapping" offensive  and possibly racist because of the lack of diversity in the sport.

Problem is I can't drum up enough support for a protest.

[jperch]

On the DEC website there are specific directions on what constitutes legally posted land.  I take  a four foot chunk of ladder with me when I post.  It increases visibility and makes it more difficult for someone to destroy signs.  Trespassers are a PIA.

[wolc123]

1 hour ago, grampy said:

And we have taken the art of being prick's to a higher level!!! 

That is a sure way to stop trespassers. Signs do just two things: nothing and sh1t.  Sometimes someone else can do the dirty work for you.  I depend on a highly motivated neighbor for that over at my folks place.

Over there, we were plagued by trespassers, and piss-poor hunting, in spite of posted signs, until an energetic guy bought the over-grown field that provided the easy access from the trailer park.  Since he laid down the law, it has almost been like hunting a high-fence game preserve.  I have not scene a trespassers in 3 years.  Prior to that, it was rare to complete a hunt without seeing at least one.

My family has paid the taxes on that land for almost a hundred years, but I have acquired more venison on it in the last 3 years than the total of the previous 97.  That included big-bodied mature bucks on 2 of the last 3 years.  My biggest buck over there prior was a scrawny 1.5 year old 4-point.

[GreeneHunter]

2 hours ago, Steve D said:

 

 Most posted signs in NY are racist and offensive since they start off with "Private Property Hunting, Fishing, Trapping or Trespassing for any purpose is strictly forbidden" when a simple sign like this one would serve the same purpose.

 

Would this be better ?

 

[Dinsdale]

1 hour ago, blackbeltbill said:

     I Googled this below.

    Can You Hunt Unposted Land In New York?

    NO- trespassing  is illegal even on unposted land ( UNLESS) it is unimproved, " Apparently Unused" and unfenced or not otherwise enclosed to exclude Intruders.

     If you want to do this also the old fashioned way to find the Location of Decades Long Absentee Landowners-- simply meet with the Town Clerk and inquire. 

   Out comes the " Plat Book" . She will go everything with you. 

You are wrong......check your google again.

If the link says that, its misinformation too.

They misquoted it from here;

http://orleans.cce.cornell.edu/environment/forestry/woodlot-management/dealing-with-trespassers

 

Trespassing is illegal even if your property is unposted. However, if the land is unimproved, vacant, or unfenced, you will find it more difficult to prove that a person committed trespass. If you wish your unfenced cropland to have effective, yet economical, protection, a series of posted signs is a good first step. On land you lease for agriculture use, you need the permission of the landowner to post the property. If you are authorized to do so, you can place your name on the posted signs, so it is clear who intends to protect the land.

 

You like to think that the property in Orange county is some sort of no mans land. EVERY piece of property in NY has an owner (private or govt). The owner might not care who is trespassing there or ever does anything about it, but if its private its trespassing even if not posted.

[left field]

4 hours ago, grampy said:

Our property borders state land too. And over the years, we've heard every excuse imaginable. Even had a scumbag sitting in my stand on opening morning once, who asked me, who the F are you!!! 

Curious to hear how this unfolded. 

[Caveman]

17 minutes ago, Dinsdale said:

You are wrong......check your google again.

If the link says that, its misinformation too.

They misquoted it from here;

http://orleans.cce.cornell.edu/environment/forestry/woodlot-management/dealing-with-trespassers

 

Trespassing is illegal even if your property is unposted. However, if the land is unimproved, vacant, or unfenced, you will find it more difficult to prove that a person committed trespass. If you wish your unfenced cropland to have effective, yet economical, protection, a series of posted signs is a good first step. On land you lease for agriculture use, you need the permission of the landowner to post the property. If you are authorized to do so, you can place your name on the posted signs, so it is clear who intends to protect the land.

 

You like to think that the property in Orange county is some sort of no mans land. EVERY piece of property in NY has an owner (private or govt). The owner might not care who is trespassing there or ever does anything about it, but if its private its trespassing even if not posted.

I think you are both partially correct.  

There are four degrees of Criminal Trespass in NY, and all require that the person "enter or remain unlawfully" on the land in question. A person "enters of remains unlawfully" upon property when he/she "in not licensed or privileged to do so." N.Y. Penal Law Section 140.00(5). However, the definition of "enter of remain unlawfully" also states: "A person who enters or remains upon unimproved and apparently unused land, which is neither fenced nor otherwise enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders, does so with license and privilege unless notice against trespass is personally communicated to him by the owner of such land or other authorized person, or unless such notice is given by posting in a conspicuous manner." Penal Law Section 140.00(5).  

So, as I read the statute, if the property is unposted, unimproved, and not otherwise enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders, the "trespasser" may lawfully be on the property until told otherwise.

Edited August 16, 2020 by Caveman

[Kmartinson]

There's no excuse to be anywhere your not supposed to be. There are many free apps to GPS your location and show property boundaries.  Public land is great hunting.... no one really hunts it. If people realized 10 guys on a 1000 acre private lease was 100 acres per man and then i see 5 trucks on 5000 acres of public all season. The math is simple for me. 

[land 1]

"Remain unlawfully" comes into play when u say get off my property and they dont then can be charged. if its posted u can charge with out the telling them to get off as long as its posted properly and visible....