Do you have an Absentee Rural Land Owner Sign on your property? Now I would guess the answer to that is a resounding NO. As it should be… because there is no need to announce to the world that you don’t live anywhere near your land. However, consider that your property may be doing all the talking of that sign anyway.

Absentee Rural Land Ownership is fairly common and many people own land that is fairly far away from their primary residence. It may be difficult for you to monitor the property effectively from a distance so how can you protect your investment?

Steps to Take to Protect your Land

• Schedule Visits
• Photograph the Property
• Record all Activity & Expenses
• Maintain a written Land Management Plan
• Post No Hunting or No Trespassing Signs

Land that is not regularly maintained can invite damage, misuse, trespassers, hunters, loggers, overgrazing, plant diseases and many other undesirable scenarios. Land can certainly take a beating and still recover but there is a limit before restoration becomes nearly impossible.

If you notice that your land has been trespassed on such as finding shotgun shells or open gates or trash then contact law enforcement immediately so they can log the incident. If you are unable to physically visit the land at least 4-6 times a year then consider hiring someone to help you monitor the land. Land agents may offer property management and leasing services along with real estate services and for a small fee (usually just enough to cover the travel costs to the property) you can have someone check on your property and send you photos so you can you keep tabs on your property.

If you do allow people on your land for hunting or fishing or other reasons then make sure that you provide a written permission document to them. That way if they are stopped while they are on the land they can show a Sheriff or officer the document as proof they are allowed to be on your land. Another good precaution is to keep up on the local news in the area of your land. Arson has destroyed hay, pasture and rangeland and abandoned buildings in rural areas and you should know if this is happening in your area so you can keep a lookout and be sure to notify neighbors that nobody should be on your land.

Poaching can sometimes turn into a serious problem because hunters will notice that the property is not being used and may trespass to hunt on your land thinking nobody will ever know. If this is a serious concern for you then consider investing in a trail or wildlife camera to install on your property. Even if you decide not to prosecute which happens more often than not in local situations if it turns out to be high school kids or the local hunter that just needs a warning at least you have proof for law enforcement so they can follow up with the appropriate individuals.

If you are going to be an absentee landowner then protect yourself and your investment by making regular visits to the property and keep up on local news in the area.

Poachers are more than a nuisance for rural landowners. The subject of poachers has been on mind for several weeks, but literally hit home last weekend, when a first-time guest from North Carolina hunted whitetail deer on our family-owned Alabama land. As our guest was watching the foodplots where he was posted, four armed men appeared from the woods a mere 35 yards away. He began frantically texting me about the intruders. I was mortified; this could have gone south in a hurry. I climbed down from my stand several hundred yards away and raced the four wheeler to his position. The poachers made a quick get-away onto an adjoining owner as they heard me approach. He was okay, and the men hadn’t seen him. I was grateful he was okay, and that no confrontation had occurred.

Later that evening as our group of hunters gathered for supper, I heard numerous stories from other landowners that had encountered trespassers and poachers on their lands. In most states there is a legal distinction between trespassers and poachers. A trespasser is one who “oversteps his bounds” onto the lands of another, while a poacher is one who trespasses with the intent of taking an animal. I learned that in Alabama the legal assumption is that if a person trespasses on your land with a firearm they are poaching.

Poaching is a nationwide epidemic. Missouri reported 2000 arrests for deer poaching in 2009 alone! The fact that so many property owners have had to deal with this issue prompted me to contact a local conservation officer and sheriff’s deputy for advice about preventing poachers on their lands. Here are a few of the key points that these officers shared with me.

1. Poachers generally look for easy targets. Land held by owners who are out of the area and that doesn’t see much use is going to be a prime area for poachers to visit. By looking for tire tracks on the driveway or woods roads it is easy to tell if a property is being used. One method of prevention I have seen an out-of-town owner employ is giving the local game warden or other law enforcement officer permission to hunt and use his tract of land. This type of information spreads quickly in poaching communities. If you are unable to visit your property often, have someone in the area check on it for you. Having someone patrolling your property will make it more difficult for a poacher to find uninterrupted time to do their dirty work.

Posting the boundaries of your property against trespassing, hunting and fishing may be required in some states. I would also recommend installing a well-constructed gate to entrances from the road and putting strong locks on them. Leaving a drive open may be irresistable to thieves and poachers. Consider adding a dusk-to-dawn light near cabins or sheds to increase the appearance of usage.

2. Who finds the poachers? The conservation officer I spoke to said it is far more likely for a landowner to find a poacher than for a game warden. His reasoning was that his jurisdiction covers 900 square miles of land and 150 miles of shoreline and there are only two officers to patrol it. I figure I have a better chance of meeting a Sasquatch in the woods than a game warden. Poachers know this too based on a conversation I had with a man who has been convicted of 20+ counts of shooting deer at night. He and several others were targets of an undercover sting by North Carolina conservation officers. He lost his hunting license for five years and had to pay nearly $6,000 in fines.

3. What should a landowner do if he encounters poachers? “ If at all possible avoid confrontation.” was the advice of this game warden. Generally poachers are armed, and they are already breaking the law, so they may resort to violence to avoid capture. A local friend confronted three men who were hunting on his land, and they beat him severely and left him in the woods.

This officer said if you catch a poacher on a game camera and they can be clearly identified, that is a “go directly to jail” card for them. He also said if you do observe them gather as much detail as possible about their appearance, clothing, weapons, vehicles, atv, or anything else pertinent that could help the officer identify and capture a law-breaker. If you happen upon someone and can get them to give you their name, id, or weapon that will be a help to the conservation officer. I have heard of two different local owners, upon catching people hunting on their land, had the trespassers surrender their rifles. The owners told the poachers they could retrieve the their belongings from the game warden. After 20 years, I believe the game warden still has one of those rifles.

Poaching is not only a recreational activity for these criminals, it is also a means to make money. Poachers will often sell the racks or mounts of trophy animals for a huge sum of money. In 2009, a Minnesota man claimed to have arrowed what would have been a world-record 8-point whitetail. Further evidence revealed the animal had been shot with a rifle. He was convicted of poaching and pled guilty to lesser charges. It was reported that a sporting goods store offered the Minnesota DNR $200,000 for the antlers.

Poachers violate many rights of landowners, and potentially pose a threat to their lives. Safety is by far the most important concern when dealing with poachers. Conservation departments in many states are trying to find ways to battle this blight, and 35 states have teamed up to form the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact which helps make sure that poachers who are caught breaking the law are brought to justice throughout the country. Texas has a good program called “Operation Game Thief” where they have a mobile “Wall of Shame” display of animals taken illegally. Minnesota had a similar display, but in a cruel twist of irony, thieves stole their DNR’s “Wall of Shame“. Conservation officials across the nation have taken a hard line against poachers in recent years, handing out stiff penalties for these crimes. I was surprised at how severe when I read Outdoor Life’s recent article about the “50 Worst Poaching Fines Ever“.

The bottom line is protecting the lives and livelihoods of private landowners. To get a good grasp on what the laws of your state or individual county are, I would recommend contacting your local game warden of conservation department. During a 15 minute conversation I gained some helpful insights about how to prevent poachers from invading our land again. You will also have rapport with the officer should you ever encounter an issue with poachers or trespassers. Those officers will be glad to assist you in protecting your land, and will welcome any help you can provide as they do their job.

Continue the conversation about landowner rights and the issue of poaching at the LandThink Community. I started a poll to see how other landowners address this situation. Please take a moment and share your experience or vote in the poll. We look forward to hearing from you in the forums.

Driving down the road you see a Land for Sale sign.  You stop, pull in, look at the sign and then since there is no gate you just pull on in off the road.  You get out of your vehicle, start looking around and the next thing you know you are halfway across the section enjoying the day and checking out the views.  Sounds innocent enough right?  Unfortunately, wrong! You have been trespassing since you first stepped foot onto the property.

An agent that sent me a referral once said that the only reason he called me to offer the referral is because of my sign he noticed on a property.  It said in bold letters “Land for Sale” but slightly smaller and not nearly as bold at the bottom it said No Trespassing, No Hunting. The referring agent said that the owner wanted someone to list his property but that did not mean he wanted an open house all day every day.

If you were looking for homes would you just pull in someone’s driveway, get out and start walking around the house? Maybe even go look around on the porch because the door was open?  Probably not so why is it that most people think that a Land for Sale sign gives them free reign to walk around on someone else’s property without calling for an appointment?  Maybe because we all have a sense that the land is wide open and free and it just happens.  Maybe. Maybe not.

I think most people have a condition that sets in when they start driving down a rural county road called “Good Manners Amnesia.” They forget that the very reason they want a place in the country to enjoy, hunt, fish or whatever is probably the same reason the people selling it bought it in the first place.  One day I was at some land talking with the owner and his family.  They were getting ready to have a picnic by the pond and go fishing with the grandkids.  They had asked me to stop by as they knew I was going to be in the area.  The ponds were in a hidden area of the property and driving down the road you would have not seen us back there.  As I was getting ready to leave my phone rang and a prospective buyer said they were looking at my sign on the road and asked some questions about the land.  Then they said we’ll just go walk around and look at it and let you know if we are interested. I informed them they would need to setup an appointment for another time as today was not going to work for them to enter the land.  They said thanks and that they would call back another time and hung up.  As I started driving back up the wooded trail I nearly ran into them because they had started driving down the lane.  Apparently they had experienced memory loss from our phone conservation just moments earlier regarding setting up an appointment to view the land.

Although it is tempting to just take a quick look at a piece of land; buyers need to remember that their unfamiliarity with a property could lead them to experience some unpleasant surprises. Once I had a buyer call me to ask if I knew the number to the nearest tow truck service.  Didn’t see that gulley wash did you?  I have had the Sheriff’s Department call me because my sign was at a gate that a buyer left open and horses were running up and down the highway.  That buyer’s offer was refused by the seller every time before the buyer finally realized that just paying the vet bill for the horse’s cut leg was not an apology.  I have had neighboring land owners call me to say that they reported poachers who had told him they were just looking at the land but left hours later with their loot.  Which by the way, if you are caught illegally hunting may cause you to be ban from hunting in several states due to the wildlife enforcement compact!  All of these situations happened because the potential buyer took it upon themselves to go on the land without making an appointment.  The trouble they caused could have been avoided completely if they simply had called for showing instructions.

I highly recommend that all prospective land buyers call the number on the land for sale signs and make an appointment before going on any land especially during hunting season for their own safety.

You can generally keep others from entering and using your property–but not always.

In rural areas, trespass is usually someone either taking a shortcut over someone else or using another’s property for recreation, like hunting or ATVing.

Country-property owners normally find one of three types of trespassers: those who feel they have a right to be on your land even though they know they don’t; those who know better but trespass anyway; and those who actually do have a legal right to be there.

Each state defines trespass. (State codes are at http://law.justia.com/; case law interprets these statutes.) It’s generally understood to mean entering on or using land without the owner’s consent.

But some states allow hunters to retrieve hunting dogs or pursue wounded game even if the landowner objects. And some states allow others to be on your land if you don’t do exactly what you’re supposed to do to keep them off.

Hunting seasons—like November for deer–bring a lot of people into America’s woods and fields. Hunters are generally much better about seeking landowner permission than the casual city visitor out for a country weekend. Hunters make a point of finding out who owns what, which lands are open and which owners will agree to hunting.

Trespass can be either a civil or criminal offense, usually a misdemeanor. When a landowner asks a law-enforcement officer to make an arrest, criminal law is being invoked. Civil trespass involves a landowner suing for damages arising from a trespasser’s acts.

Here’s what a landowner should do to control trespass:

Research your state law. Find out what a landowner’s rights are and what notice is required to place land off-limits.

Provide notice. Landowners need to meet a state’s notice rules for informing the public that uninvited visitors are unwelcome. This usually involves an oral or written request, public announcement and/or posting signs on the land.

Written notice should state that the landowner wants no trespassing and describe the property covered.

Put the word out locally.  Ask your neighbors to help you get the word around, particularly if the property had been open. Take an ad out in the local newspaper just before hunting season.

Post your boundary lines. Tack up “No-Trespassing” signs.

Twenty-two states allow trespassing if land isn’t posted. Some demand that a landowner comply with fiendishly detailed posting rules, which may specify the size of the sign and its letters, spacing along boundary lines, sign height and colors.

Say exactly what you mean.  “No Trespassing” bars everyone; “No Hunting” only prohibits hunters; “Private Property” says nothing about keeping anyone off.

Alaska insists that a posted sign state explicitly the specific prohibitions the landowner wants to prevent. Up there, if you don’t post against trespassers engaging in consensual relations on your glacier, it’s a go.

Consider something like: “No admittance is permitted to the property of ____ [include address and phone] by anyone without written authorization, except for fire suppression, law enforcement and emergency protection of life or property.”

Trespassing and hunting. Hunters do not have the right to hunt on your land if you do whatever might be required to prevent it. Arizona, for example, allows hunters to enter private land for hunting unless it’s lawfully posted.

Kansas allows trespassing by licensed hunters to pursue wounded game, except when the landowner instructs the hunter to leave. Michigan and Louisiana allow trespass to retrieve a hunting dog as long as the trespasser is unarmed. Virginia allows fox hunters and coon hunters to follow their dogs on prohibited land if the chase begins on other lands.

Plan ahead. What should you do when you catch trespassers in the act? First, ask them to leave and explain why. Call the sheriff if they refuse.

Second, consider giving the trespasser a face-saving out.  Suggest, perhaps, he didn’t know that your land was posted even though he’s standing an inch away from your blinking, neon “No-Trespassing” sign that’s larger than Andre, the Giant.

Third, keep trespass in perspective. Trespassing doesn’t harm a landowner or his property most of the time.

What not to do.  Landowners rarely have the right to use force (self-help) against trespassers. Don’t manhandle a trespasser or ram his vehicle. Reasonable force might be justified if a trespasser physically threatens a landowner.

Avoid fights with drunks and armed men in bad moods. If you’re threatened, walk away—after establishing that you’ve asked them to leave and getting their names or  license-plate numbers.

“Citizen arrest” does not generally apply since it prevents the trespasser from undoing his trespass by leaving. West Virginia, however, allows a landowner to assume the powers and rights of a game warden and personally arrest a hunter-trespasser and take him before a justice of the peace for trial.

Don’t call a trespasser a liar to his face, especially in front of his fellow trespassers. People caught at wrong-doing don’t like their integrity challenged.

Don’t dig Burmese tiger traps to catch chronic trespassers unless you can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Burmese tigers are now fairly common on your farm near Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Never sic your dog on trespassers, particularly one who likes his belly rubbed by strangers.

Be consistent.  Landowners should not allow themselves to be argued into granting access to their property. Exceptions establish precedents.

Attractive nuisance.  If you have a pond that has been the neighborhood swimming hole since before Columbus, you may have to install extra keep-out measures—like a fence and a locked gate. If a trespasser drowns in your attractive nuisance, you can be held liable.

Don’t humor wise guys.  Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” contains an oft-unsung verse in which he rambles up to a “No-Trespassing” sign. Woody believed that its other side, which is blank, is the one made for you and me.

Anyone who quotes this line is a trespasser who knows better. Inform him that you’ve written “No Trespassing” on the blank side as well…with invisible ink, and kick him off.

Trespass is always annoying but only occasionally dangerous. Most of us do it sooner or later, which is why forgiveness should be both accepted and extended.

But rural crime rates have been significant or on the rise for certain types of lawbreaking, such as driving under the influence, burglary and larceny theft, according to the FBI’s recent Uniform Crime Reports and the Justice Department’s National Crime Victimization Survey.

Between one third and one half of all agricultural operations experience a crime each year, typically theft of livestock, equipment, fuel, supplies, household items or timber.

Hunting camps and vacation homes are easily robbed. Firearms, alcohol and readily sold consumer items are typically the preferred plunder.

Vandalism-taking batting practice against roadside mailboxes and teenagers shooting paintballs…at cows-has occurred in my mountain county of 2,500 full-time residents, one usually blinking light and two lawyers, one of whom is both my wife and our newly elected local prosecutor.

Crime victims in law-abiding rural areas are unsettled by the smallest violation. When a tractor’s gas tank gets siphoned at night, it’s not the money, it’s the breaking of the community’s cultural norm that surprises and disappoints.

Full-time country residents and second-home owners can take steps to reduce the likelihood of having their property stolen.

Here are some tips:

1. Use locks. Many rural residents don’t lock their houses out of habit or faith in the Golden Rule. Thieves flow to opportunities of least resistance.

2. Close doors. While it’s convenient to keep a large barn door open, closed doors discourage uninvited entry.

3. Reduce exposure. Don’t leave valuable stuff in remote buildings or by a road. Remove guns and fishing tackle from seldom-visited camps.

4. Brand your possessions. Invest in a big soft-tipped marker with indelible ink, carbon pencil and electric etcher. Write your name on tools, gas cans, ATVs, firearms, TVs, and personal items.

5. Brand valuable livestock or implant them with a microchip ID. Non-toxic ID confetti and tabs can be mixed with stored grains and hay.

6. Put up signs that state you’ve marked your possessions.

The National Sheriffs’ Association has crime-prevention materials, such as signs and decals.

7. Take pictures. Photograph jewelry, antiques, guns, paintings and anything else that you might have to identify in a pawn shop. Keep the photos in a safety-deposit box.

8. Outside lights. Many farms and second homes are armed with high-illumination security lights to deter night-loving criminals and attract exotic bugs from South America. They turn your property into a cross between an urban parking lot and a morgue. I’m willing to concede that more light probably means less crime, but a modest bulb might do the job just as well.

9. Inside lights. Absentee owners often use timers. I know of no criminal who’s ever been fooled by a single bedroom lamp that turns on at precisely 8 p.m. behind drawn shades and turns off at precisely 10 p.m. every night that the owner’s car is not in the driveway.

10. Dogs. Barky dogs are good to have around in that once-a-decade moment when a good stiff bark is needed. The rest of the time such dogs simply annoy their owners at 3 a.m. by narrating their nightmares. Still, criminals avoid dogs even those who bear them no ill will.

11. Inflatable window-sitting German Shepherds are also available. Their bite is no good, but you’ll sleep through their bad dreams.

12. Trees. A single veneer-quality walnut or cherry log is worth more than $1,000, and sometimes a great deal more. Trophy trees can be painted with the owner’s initials to deter cutting.

13. Unfortunately, a minimally clever criminal will simply saw off the painted bark before hauling it to the buyer at the mill. His less clever peers, however, might be stumped.

14. Well-marked boundary lines deter some thieves from entering your woodlot through a neighbor.

15. Repeat business. If thieves hit you once, they will put you on their hit-again list until you do something to stop them. An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of squabbling with your insurance company.

16. Ask the sheriff about the crime history of any property you’re thinking about buying.

17. Eyes and ears. Neighbors are the best protection for your property, and vice versa. They notice unfamiliar cars and people snooping around your place. Put the word out when you’re going to be away.

Every castle no matter how high the walls or how wide the moat can be breached. But rural property owners can make it a little harder on thieves and a little easier on themselves by taking simple precautions.

The more fortress-like you make your country place, the more it imprisons you and locks out the values of trust and neighborliness that you value. Look for the balance between reasonable security and openness.