Snowmobile Trespass

[Tree Spud]

I've seen what wire and or getting tossed from a sled can do to a human being riding a snowmobile - and they were all as dead as dead can be or messed up . You lay in wire at a foot off the ground and snag a ski, if hooped up wire gets pulled into a moving track at speed especially barb wire who knows what will happen. What you think is going to happen and what will are two different things.... Its not about being a Kevin there Karen its about not being an idiot and doing something you think your justly empowered to do only to be proved wrong later. I get and hope no one here would intentionally harm someone but there is no difference if the end result is the same.

"kevin" ... A person who comes to an illogical conclusion based on irrelevant evidence to intimidate others who are capable of reasoned action based on logic & facts.

According to your logic, I can't even put up a wire fence as there is a chance someone might get hurt ... right?

Keep doubling down on stupid ...

 

[cavey]

"kevin" ... A person who comes to an illogical conclusion based on irrelevant evidence to intimidate others who are capable of reasoned action based on logic & facts.

According to your logic, I can't even put up a wire fence as there is a chance someone might get hurt ... right?

Keep doubling down on stupid ...

- apparently all I can do is call your stupid... So Im done feeding the squirrels ... If you dont get it you never will - I deal with this enough at work; its done we have both spoken our piece

 

[spaniel]

Snowmobile trespassers are infuriating. We often had tracks of dead winter wheat where they packed snow down into ice while trespassing and killed the wheat.

Problem is there is rarely much you can do if you can't physically gate/fence off the land. We had a farmer several miles away from us who had a cable gate on his land a good quarter mile from the road. A group of snowmobilers trespassed and went through at high speed, the cable and sign on it got buried in a drift and they hit it going >60mph. Kid got cut in half. Farmer lost his farm in the lawsuit. It's not right but it's reality.

 

[Mortenson]

That's unfortunate and ridiculous. Also goes along with why landowners don't grant access much anymore. Shut everyone out and pray you never get sued. Too much to risk.

 

[cavey]

And that is exactly what I was talking about Spaniel. Sounds horrible and is in a way ridiculous but if your impassioned/angry enough your better off to go hunt them down and trash their "parked" machines; go to the bar and snap their thumb throttles off, cut the pull Handles off, toss their seats, snap off the tether ball.... I can tell you dozens of ways to ruin their day if you like..... no body gets hurt. That way now your the criminal and you have rights, I guess. Cable gates are nothing but year round trouble waiting to happen same as some of the aforementioned stuff. I pulled all mine after a local lawsuit, put in a multi strand line fence along the road and a double gate on the road access... about all you can do. Legally its often about "intent" and your actions are weighed accordingly. Wisconsin has some pretty good landowner recreational laws in place, clubs have insurance and will also go out of their way to help fix any seeding issues. But if you do something apart from that your on your own.
Its often easy to see who your local problem child's are. First good snows and they are pushing out off their yards into the ditches and neighbors fields, with better snow they go further, by trail opener they have their ditch/field routes already packed. I wasnt kidding when I said you can sometimes back track and find them. The local clubs might know who they are if you take the pics to them.

The local clubs for the most part try and do their best. When we go out and sign property you work with the land owner... trail access is not easy to obtain and every year you go and meet with them. Often the same issues exits so its frustrating for clubs as well.
I've been lucky on mine only one near fatality and one guy was killed just off of mine, next curve in the woods off my fields. The alfalfa fields have at times taken a beating - now its mostly a corn corn soybean rotation so trail riding through is less of an issue. My crp ground can be touchy at times with the county ag service. But I ride too so being a land owner, club member and trail rider along with my occupation gives me a different kind of respect. Its the punk hammer heads, deep paddle trail sweepers and dont give a $#!%'er's that ruin it. Dont worry in the end its a dying sport anyways - average age of snowmobilers is going up - very few young riders other than rich kids. They do not join clubs and when those current members retire out local trail riding will die off.

Ditch hoppers will look for short cuts but 90% of the time its actually someone you know and or they think they know you well enough "that you wouldnt mind" kind of an attitude and or it was never a problem before (you owned) it kind of a deal - "been cutting through there for years". There just isnt much of a reason for a group a sleders to run "through" a random property if there are not trails nearby. Running ditches is mostly just that and often unfortunately the first 30 yards into your property but they tend to stay parallel to the road.
I have been lucky enough to have sat out on civil and criminal injury lawsuits over the years... couple close ones that I showed up to court but it was settled before having to testify. Having a Sheriffs Deputy/server show up and hand you little white envelopes isnt fun.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I will tell you first hand that a single strand of electrical fence can do some major damage. I was riding about 50mph, and seen metal posts, I luckily hit the brakes and turned the steering, the wire fence ripped the hood off the sled, and caught the handle bars, or it would have taken my head right off.

This happened about 30 years ago, it was on an old trail, that I assume the land owner didn’t want the trail to go on anymore. So he put up a fence. I will say at the time, I was about 19, and back then Trespassing laws didn’t mean much, atleast to me. I was just trying to get home, it was dark, and it was where the trail had always been, and now there was a wire fence that is almost impossible to see at night, when riding 50mph.

kinda scary to think if I hadn’t turned the handle bars, I would probably be dead! I never said anything, other then to the local bar owner, and he told the land owner, the land owner then charged me with trespassing. Different times then. Now, I would be a rich man.

 

[cavey]

Neighboring county club and trail system - Clubs trying to keep people in line and sleds trespassing, common thing through the season as the trail seems to magically grow outward as people try and grab up fresh snow for their sleds.

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Just a quick note to let everyone know that some of the trails and possible all of the trails in Pierce county may close for a period of time in a day or 2 because of all the”OFF TRAIL” riding that is being done. Be sure to call the hot line no. 715 639 6311 before heading out. Remember the landowner agreements give us a corridor across the property if you are outside the markers you are trespassing.

 

[Mortenson]

How much do landowners typically get paid to allow pass-thru trails? Paid by the foot I assume?

 

[nitro27]

A friend of mine hit a fence, was wearing a full face helmet, wire caught right in the mouth, (opening in full face) lost teeth, smile was ripped practically to his ears both sides. (scaring was terrible) He spent at least a two weeks in the hospital. They said wire would have taken is head off if not for the full face helmet.

 

[Mortenson]

Sounds nasty. Why was he not aware of the wire?

 

[nitro27]

First ride of the winter, old path new fence over the summer. Excited to be out, riding way to fast. Yes it was nasty, imagine cheeks ripped to jawbone which was broken.

 

[cavey]

How much do landowners typically get paid to allow pass-thru trails? Paid by the foot I assume?

Not much if anything, Trail runs full length through 3 of my 40's. I used to get a frozen turkey and a thank you card. Now its a prepaid gift card - $25 bucks or so. That is in Dunn County - Dunn has a bunch of clubs each has there own area they sign and groom. 4 groomers I think to split between the clubs. All volunteers.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Not much if anything, Trail runs full length through 3 of my 40's. I used to get a frozen turkey and a thank you card. Now its a prepaid gift card - $25 bucks or so. That is in Dunn County - Dunn has a bunch of clubs each has there own area they sign and groom. 4 groomers I think to split between the clubs. All volunteers.

I think that is about the norm everywhere.

 

[H20fwler]

I don't like anyone trespassing either, around here people in town buy snow mobiles and then just drive them out in the country across any field they feel like running across. I do not understand their logic at all. They do the same thing in summer on river bottom ground with four wheelers tearing the shit out of everything until they get yelled at and kicked off.

Late Sunday afternoon I took a roll fence out to the farm and caught a young couple on a side by side driving around our place in the snow, the farm is well posted and this couple lives two miles down the road so they new better. They were just joy riding and wanted to be snoopy and look around....they did not want to talk to me and were very surprised when I pulled in.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I help out with an elder aunt that has a larger farm in northern MN. The snowmobile club has been warned several times about straying off trails. She has several beef cattle, and some aholes on sleds would get as close to the pasture as possible, to watch the cows run away. I have personally witnessed it, she has as well, several times. Now the trail is atleast 200 yards from the fence, so they were a long ways away from where they were allowed. I talked to the snowmobile club and they said they would take care of it. First thing he did was put up a gate, blocked off the trail for about 3 weeks. Next he ran 2 snow fences the length of the trail on her land so they couldnt leave the trail. Then they put several signs up, to stay on the trail, or lose the trail. That next fall, they came to my aunt, and gave her a $250 visa gift card, and asked her nicely if they can run the trail back through her property, and said they will put the snow fences back up to keep people on the trails. She agreed. This has been about 5 years ago, and they have stopped putting the snow fences up, but they do put the stay on trail signs up, and for the most part, it has helped.

I know when I was young, I belonged to a local snowmobile club, and we had to establish a new trail route, because land owners got sick of people going off trails, and it took us the better part of 3 years to get a new trail set up, and approved by enough land owners to connect the dots. I think most clubs appreciate the owners who allow the trails on their land.

 

[Bill Loser]

We have a "nature" trail going through our property. Same issues as some of you have . Granted less property damage . What i worry about is someone getting hurt on my land and suing me.
These yuppies thinking they are on wilderness hikes with the huge back packs and supplies. I often wonder if they realize that at no time are they more than 300 yards from a road? Lol
Im not sure how snowmobile clubs do it but the trail people do nothong for the land owners. Apparently there was an easement deal struck 20 or so years ago,and the owners at the time got paid. To bad that was 3 owners ago.

 

[Mortenson]

Just heard some kid ratted out the trespassers. Turns out it's the son and husband of our small-town 2nd grade teacher! They live right in the center of our tiny pop 800 town. My oldest had her for his teacher last year. Unreal wtf.

 

[buckdeer1]

Glad we don't have snow machines around here,I don't think I would be so kind to allow trails.Back years ago I knew a guy that chased coyotes on one and he had a rod that stuck up about 3 ft over the handle bars with 2 sickle blades welded on the end at the top in case he hit a hotwire it would slide up and cut it.Do you have to let the clubs run on your land?

 

[4wanderingeyes]

You don’t have to let them. But it is appreciated.