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CAN
THEY DO THAT ?
TRESPASS
Janet
T. Mills, Esq.
WRIGHT
& MILLS, P.A.
THE PLACE WHERE I
USUALLY GO HUNTING HAS SILVER PAINT ON THE
TREES AND THE WARDENS SAY I CAN'T HUNT
THERE ANY MORE. CAN THE LANDOWNERS DO
THAT?
Yes
they can!
If
property is fenced in, clearly you cannot
hunt there without trespassing. Open land,
however, is "fair game" for hunters unless
it is clearly posted so as to notify
people that they are not allowed to hunt
there.
In
the past, landowners had to post No
Hunting signs all along their property to
make sure hunters saw it and knew they
weren't allowed to hunt there. Sometimes,
however, these signs got blown down or
torn down and no longer had any legal
effect.
So
in recent years the legislature changed
the law to allow landowners to warn
hunters to stay off their property by
painting silver or aluminum colored lines
on trees, posts or other objects likely to
be seen by intruders.
These
paint markings consist of two horizontal
lines per tree, post or other object, and
each horizontal line must be two inches
high and at least as long as the width of
the tree or other object, up to eight
inches.
The
silver lines must be within three to six
feet above ground level. They must be
painted on trees or other objects that are
no more than one hundred feet apart. They
also have to be visible at any points of
vehicle access to the property from any
public road.
Removing
or defacing a paint marking or other No
Trespassing sign may be prosecuted as the
crime of Criminal Mischief, a Class D
misdemeanor.
So
remember, when you see horizontal silver
lines on trees, it means No
Hunting!
It's
the law!
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