Tree Stands left on Public

[yoderjac]

Here is a thought...Often state biologist conduct studies on public land. They may use cameras, treestands, and ground blinds depending on the research. How would one know if a stand or blind found on public land was authorize by the state or was an illegal leaving (provided the state prohibits it)?

Once again, to my way of thinking, the legal and moral thing to do would be to report it.

Finding a stand on private land that I own would be a very different story. In that case, I probably would not remove the stand. I would setup a camera, well hidden, and collect evidence. I would then work with law enforcement to follow up.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Skeeter]

I don't know how everything becomes so divisive these days. I am a to each is their own kind of guy, I personally wouldn't take a treestand out of stateland that I didn't own, but I wouldn't shame someone that did.

State land is maintained by the state, we the people fund the state to do this service. It is all our land and I treat it as such. If I see garbage I pick it up, no it isn't my garbage, but the State and I both understand that if a human left it there it needs to go. If I find a $100 bill I would also pick it up it would just go into a different garbage bag *winks* I don't call the DEC to find it's owner because I already know it isn't traceable back to the owner. If it is something identifiable like a 4 wheeler I would call the DEC so they can identify the owner and likely ticket them and eventually give the item back after the court proceedings and fines are paid. Regarding a treestand I don't know for sure but I would guess the DEC would want the item removed and try and identify the owner and look to fine them, more so then them being concerned that the rightful owner gets their stand back. If I called the DEC about someone leaving a soda can they wouldn't try to identify the owner, so somewhere between a soda can, a $100 bill and a treestand we are divided on what is able to be taken and what should be done with it. I feel a joke coming on :)

This is where it gets tricky.
If there was a treestand 6 feet off the ground with soda can and a $100 bill taped to it would you leave the soda can, the $100 and the treestand?
Would you take the $100 and the soda can but leave the treestand?
None of them are legally there so would you take everything?

Moral delemas are endless arguments and only divide us.

Harvest the 100 off that magic tree stand and water the stand with the mystical soda before you leave. Come back in two weeks to see if it grew another 100, or maybe 5 20's after that initial pruning. Don't get too greedy and expect 5 100's. That only happens on TV.

 

[ruskbucks]

yes but stealing is stealing,. and you don't have the right to do so
guess you never had one of your stands or personal property stolen, or maybe you would see this differently
just cause you don;t like something , doesn;t mean your above the law to handle it YOUR WAY!
two wrongs don't make it right!!~

So let me ask, if you found somebody's treestands illegally left on your property you would kindly give them back to the law breakers? They are not your treestands, even know they are on your land. Just like the slobs that leave their beer cans and garbage along with their treestands on land that is owned by the public. They don't have the right to litter on

Here is a thought...Often state biologist conduct studies on public land. They may use cameras, treestands, and ground blinds depending on the research. How would one know if a stand or blind found on public land was authorize by the state or was an illegal leaving (provided the state prohibits it)?

Once again, to my way of thinking, the legal and moral thing to do would be to report it.

Finding a stand on private land that I own would be a very different story. In that case, I probably would not remove the stand. I would setup a camera, well hidden, and collect evidence. I would then work with law enforcement to follow up.

Thanks,

Jack

In Wisconsin they require you have your name, address,and number on your treestands and trailcams. I have not found one stand with this info yet.

 

[Buckly]

That’s my point here, as some are over thinking this whole thing. Names and addresses and or VIN numbers such as on vehicles make it easy to find the offender. What we’re talking about here is abandoned property, left for other people to take care of. Around here we call them slob hunters. The woods and the hunting community in general would be much better off without them. Easy solutions with options. No need to over think the situation

 

[Wild Thing]

Haven't read the entire thread but I can tell you that this is a big problem in Michigan as well. Like Wisconsin, ground blinds as well as tree stands are required to have the owner's name and address or name and drivers license number on them in order to legally be left on public land. They also have to be removed every year by the end of hunting season. If they are left contrary to state law I consider them to be "Litter", which in many cases that is exactly what they are. Our DNR doesn't enforce this law much even when the location of the stands are reported to them and they will not remove them. The cost of administration and paperwork involved in seizing illegal stands and then posting them for auction far exceeds what little money them may get by selling a POS stand that has been left in the woods for years. This just makes the conflicts worse and leads to "claiming" entire areas of state forest as their own.

I went so far as to ask the DNR in writing if individual sportsman or sportsmans clubs could be authorized to remove the litter. Here is their reply:

Here is the link to the thread on the Michigan Sportsman Forum: Illegal Tree Stands and Ground Blinds - MDNR Position

These are the questions I emailed in to Mr John Pepin of the DNR on April 20th:

Subject: Ask the DNR Question

Date: April 20, 2017 at 12:04:42 PM CDT

To: pepinj@michigan.gov


Hi John - I see that there is an “Ask The DNR” program on TV-13 tonight and would like to see some clarification on abandoned tree stands on public property. I have provided the link to a thread on the Michigan Sportsman’s Forum which highlights many of the concerns.


My questions are these:


1) According to the Hunting Law Digest, "Constructed Ground Blinds found on public land prior to Sept 1 or after the end of the deer season will be considered abandoned”. Does this apply to abandoned or illegal tree stands without the owners name on them as well?


2) Does this law apply to Commercial Forest Lands which are open to the public as well?


3) Can a citizen or sportsman’s club lawfully remove an illegal or abandoned tree stand from public property and turn it into the DNR or other law enforcement agency for disposition?


4) Many sportsman have reported these illegal stands, including the GPS coordinates of where they can be located, but they are very seldom, if ever, removed by the DNR. Why is this?

This is the reply I got from F/Lt Peter Wright of the DNR Law Enforcement Div on April 28th:

I can help you with your questions:

1. The law refers specifically to just ground blinds as being considered “abandoned”.

2. Commercial Forest lands consist of private property so the restrictions of blinds on public lands within the Wildlife Conservation Act Order (WCAO) do not apply. With that said, many of the large CFA landowners send us letters stating that their policy as to property left on their private land is to mirror what state law says…anything left contrary to it is to be considered as litter. Outside of WCAO there are specific rules that a CFA landowner must follow within the Commercial Forest Act itself. One of these restrictions is that you can’t build a structure on the property. Some blinds can take on the characteristics of a structure based on their size, permanency and design and this can get the landowner crossways with the law.

3. I do not advise anyone outside of a law enforcement agent removing illegal blinds from public land. The best method is to capture gps coordinates (if able) and pictures and send them to the local officer via direct contact, calling the local office or the RAP hotline.

4. The DNR isn’t typically going to remove a blind from the woods. It’s very time consuming and cost prohibitive and once you seize something, you are responsible for it from then on. The preferred method is to have a conservation officer contact a hunter in the blind, issue a ticket and have them remove it. It may seem like blinds are seldom if ever removed but many contacts are made each fall by officers who ticket and have the offender remove the blind. The sheer volume of this infraction may make it seem like nothing is done but that is not the case. With that said, I understand that some blinds are clearly abandoned i.e. rotting and falling apart and are an eyesore on the landscape and yes, you are correct, it is hard to do much about those.


Officers don’t mind addressing these complaints for a variety of reasons i.e. decreases territorialism, litter and other issues such as over baiting, no license, no hunter orange, cutting of trees…etc. tend to present themselves as well. As always, we depend on our partners within the lawful hunting community to let us know when they come across any illegal activity so we can address it properly .


Thank you for taking the time to pose your questions.


F/Lt. Peter Wright

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Law Enforcement Division

District 1 Law Supervisor

 

[Wild Thing]

For the record - I have taken it upon myself to remove abandoned litter from public property. (call them hunting blinds if you will - I call them abandoned junk litter). None of this junk was converted to my use - in fact I paid to take them to the dump where they were properly disposed of.

I have never stolen anything in my life and I feel no remorse about removing illegal junk from our public lands - in fact I feel as though I have performed a public service in doing so.

Unfortunately, when our government refuses to take appropriate action to reduce or eliminate these types of illegal activities if may become necessary for regular citizens to do the job for them.

 

[MRBB]

So let me ask, if you found somebody's treestands illegally left on your property you would kindly give them back to the law breakers? They are not your treestands, even know they are on your land. Just like the slobs that leave their beer cans and garbage along with their treestands on land that is owned by the public. They don't have the right to litter on

I already stated that when I find a stand on MY property or property I have managed and the LEGAL right to remove them, I have always left a NOTE giving the owner a chance to get therm back, , but they would also be arrested /prosecuted for trespassing when they claim them, as that would be legally admitting they trespassed, to date of the close to a 100 stands I collected this way NONE have claimed a single one!
and I have given away or trashed the stands, I never viewed the stands as TRASH< I viewed them as what they are, tree stands some HUNTER was using
but illegally using due to on lands they didn;t have a right to place them on period!

In Wisconsin they require you have your name, address,and number on your treestands and trailcams. I have not found one stand with this info yet.

most states require ID on a treestand on public lands, I also agree with you few do so!, but this doesn;'t make them magically turn into trash, they are just illegal NOT Id'd treestands, and like any other CRIME one witlessness's it should be reported to law enforcement and NOT have a YOU take personal action pretending to be a legal authority to intervene! OR steal the item in question!
and apparently according MI DCNR response in the below pot, they agree !

 

[Buckly]

Look, nobody’s forcing you. Some of us feel we are doing the right thing here and you do your thing. I’m really interested in more info on your property. Have you stated that you’ve found close to 100 tree stands on your property? Approx. how many acres.

 

[Tree Spud]

That’s my point here, as some are over thinking this whole thing. Names and addresses and or VIN numbers such as on vehicles make it easy to find the offender. What we’re talking about here is abandoned property, left for other people to take care of. Around here we call them slob hunters. The woods and the hunting community in general would be much better off without them. Easy solutions with options. No need to over think the situation

Isn't that the point? If people had good intentions and were following the rules they would leave ID info on their stand is required. That way if left out the LEO could contact to see what the reason the stand was left out. If legitimate, then the LEO can handle as appropriate.

Stands without required ID are deliberately looking to break the rules. They intend on leaving out overnight and avoiding getting caught. Far game to remove.

NO TICKEE NO STAND OUT!

 

[MRBB]

Look, nobody’s forcing you. Some of us feel we are doing the right thing here and you do your thing. I’m really interested in more info on your property. Have you stated that you’ve found close to 100 tree stands on your property? Approx. how many acres.

well the OP asked about if its OK to take stands more or less, and asked for folks OPINIONS in doing so
I have made several points and then replied to those that ask me questions, and then recently it was posted a reply from DCNR about how its NOT allow to TAKE stands!
SO??

you wish to take things, your stealing like it or not, just accept this and OK< do what you do!
but don't deny it either!

as for finding a 100 stands, if you READ what I posted I stated on lands I OWN or managed, NOT all one property and this was over a almost 30 yr period of time! if you feel the need to know more , Il;ll add some for you
the one land was less than a mile from PUBLIC land, surrounded by a private community that was known for having excessive amounts of deer and the WHOLE property was closed to hunting!
the land I managed was bordered by this private community on 3 sides,
the land I managed was a farm with wooded land all around it , crops land in the center of the property!
EVERY year I found DOZENS of treestands put up on the land I managed, I also caught 50- 100 people a yr trespassing, it was a total night mare to deal with, I caught State troopers, FIsh wardens, and all likes of people trespassing on the land, everyone knew the farm was the ONLY farm for miles, the lands surrounding it were full of deer, and the public lands down the road SUCKED< could barely find a deer track on them, everything seemed to end up on this land to eat! you could spot light(legally) the field and count over a 100 deer in it at night!
The locals in the private community were constantly feeding deer, as well, and that lead to a local TV station doing a report on how, so many deer were there, and then that turned into a poaching problem they had video of folks driving thru the place in VAN's shooting deer out of the vans! it just made MY problems worse due to the added attention
the first YR I managed this property, I collected over 50 arrows along the field edge, from trespassers, (no one was allowed to BOW hunt this property, only family gun hunted it) I actually almost filled a 5 gallon bucket with arrows I found!
SO< treestands popping up were super common for me there? I couldn't; tell you how many screw in steps I had removed, but a 100 lbs of them wouldn;t be exaggerating, they seemd to be the most common set up!
SO, how's that for some info you felt you needed?

 

[Buckly]

i Certainly didn’t NEED the info but you’re statement seemed to be interesting and a story behind it. I think most people would have gave up managing a situation like that. LOL.
‘And on the other things , YES I will take action on littering if need be. With or without your blessings. As I’m reading these threads so far, more in favor of removing the trash.

 

[chucker66]

Being the OP I was asking for other opinions and did not want to see a pi$$ing match. I just find it interesting everyone's opinion. Like I said earlier I will probably call the local warden and report it if its still there. I have seen this a lot in NW Wisconsin and know a former Deputy Sherriff who would enforce this law but I don't think it's enforced much since he retired, at least in Washburn County.

 

[Tree Spud]

well the OP asked about if its OK to take stands more or less, and asked for folks OPINIONS in doing so
I have made several points and then replied to those that ask me questions, and then recently it was posted a reply from DCNR about how its NOT allow to TAKE stands!
SO??

you wish to take things, your stealing like it or not, just accept this and OK< do what you do!
but don't deny it either!

So according to your definition, if you take something that is not yours you are stealing, which means when you take a stand you do not own off your property you are also ...... wait for it ...

Funny how we rationalize our own actions but are quick to judge others.

Time to go outside and enjoy the weekend!

 

[MRBB]

So according to your definition, if you take something that is not yours you are stealing, which means when you take a stand you do not own off your property you are also ...... wait for it ...

Funny how we rationalize our own actions but are quick to judge others.

Time to go outside and enjoy the weekend!

if you don't know the difference of having something put on your PRIVATE land, and what is legally used on public land, then you sir, maybe need to learn a few things !
as a LAND owner you have the legal right to remove things, as a civilian based on the reply from a DCNR officer, you do NOT have this right of doing so on a public land!
thus the difference is rather clear! no! or don't you under stand that as well!
and I have also given All stand owners I have removed, a chance to get them back! or should I say recover there property back, yet they have NOT done so, ??
and its raining here, so I'll stay indoors for now LOL!~