How to deal with adjacent landowner who has no idea what he owns.

[DRH1175]

So I lease 80 acres in northern MN. I get a call from the adjacent land owner on sunday morning asking permission to track a deer on my land. I say "Sure go ahead hopefully you find him." Well later in the day I venture to the Back 40, (as we were hunting the front 40) where he was going to look for that deer. To my disbelief he has posted my property no where near the property line, but right down the middle 10 yds from one of my stands. He is close to 20 acres deep on my property or over 600 feet off the property line. I want to be a good neighbor and resolve this the right way. What should I do?

I would like to add I am a surveyor, so I understand boundries. And in the day and age of GPS, Google Earth, and County GIS maps, I just don't understand how he could be so far off. My stand he posted is in the dead center of one of the 40's we lease. It is at the end of a trail that is plain as day on the counties GIS maps that can be accessed by anyone.

Again, what is the best way to resolve this?

[Ufatz]

You have to ask us this? Pick up the telephone and talk to the man. My guess is the situation will be quickly resolved.

Nothing solves problems like a little cooperation and communication.

Now if we could just teach that to the children in Washington DC! LOL

Call him. Tonight.

[mainbutter]

We had a similar issue, old postings (probably from previous owners) further back on our adjoining properties were terrible. The east/west boundary was posted so that if you drew a line between the postings, the "boundary" was running SE/NW!

GPS solved that problem easily enough, and we were both happy for knowing where the boundaries were further back!

[DRH1175]

I am trying to get ahold of him to ask him about the signs, maybe meeting to discuss etc... He must not be up on technology though, as when I called his cell number there was no voice mail set up yet. So that may explain why he is so off on the boundry.

[Wensel]

Bowl of Veni Chilli and a cold beer would be a good start....

In other words have your chat face to face.......

Good Luck!

[Cheetah]

Not everyone is internet savvy. Many people don't know about the GIS maps that are available on some county websites and satellite overlays.

[Musky Buck]

You both take your GPS's out and agree on the corner(s).

[tunrevir]

I have to agree that if you can get ahold of him and talk with him things will go more smoothly. If he turns out to be surly then Use your survey skills and put things in proper perspective. He may have come across your stand and felt like you were an out of town guy and you'd never know the difference or as pointed out he may not be tech saavy and just posted what he thought was his. I think the best practice is face to face if at all possible and a phone conversation at the very least. You are within your rights to hunt where you are. I have a farmer near home that thinks he owns a bit more property then he does and have had to talk with multiple guys about being on my land due to his "approximations" of what he owns. I had the land surveyed and then put up a single strand fence and signs just to keep guys honest. The first couple years it was a headache but now it is a lot better. Good luck. I am sure it is not an easy topic to broach but do it with candor and if at all possible speak with the guy responsible and hopefully you can come to an amicable solution.

Tunrevir~

[nofishfisherman]

Just go over and talk with him. Tell him you were going to go post your land as well and had questions about where he marked his boundary since it doesn't match what you are seeing. Just ask if he wants to go out and figure it out together for everyones mutual benefit.

Sounds like he must be somewhat reasonable and respectful if he was considerate enough to call before tracking deer on your property. Its the right thing to do but not everyone will.

If all else fails you could offer to split the cost of having the land professionally surveyed. I know you said you are a surveyor and I'm sure you could easily do it yourself but having a third party come out and do it should help ease his mind that its being done fairly and impartially.

[caseymcq]

Is the boundary pinned? If it is you could tactfully show him so you're both on the same page.

[Tom7227]

This seems like a good reminder to all to give some thought to inviting the neighbor over for coffee or lunch or something while you're up at the deer shack. The tension between a permanent resident and a hunter who is only on the land for a few days out of the year is understandable. It doesn't have a lot of positive thing going for it right from the start. You show up with a few friends and maybe you have a nice vehicle, lots of gear and fancy guns. Maybe you spend an evening outside by a fire and hoot it up a bit. Meanwhile the local resident is trying to earn a living, maybe off the land, and all he knows is that there's some 612er next door raising a little he77.

Have the guy over and get to know him. Maybe you can hire out him or rent some of his equipment to work your trails. Let him hay a field and give him a great rate. Chances are you won't have a battle about where stands are, where property lines are, and you may even have someone that will look out for your place during the 350 days a year when you aren't there.

[Pinusbanksiana]

Tell him you sold the timber and they will start logging soon. Oh and by the way your property line is off. That will fire him up.

[nofishfisherman]

Tell him you sold the timber and they will start logging soon. Oh and by the way your property line is off. That will fire him up.

Not sure being dishonest is the way to solve neighbor issues.

[Musky Buck]

GPS it man, it's fairly simple but let him bring his gps also, you both then can get within 21 feet roughly of the corners, cut that distance in 1/2 and you both should be satisfied, forget paying a survey crew that is going to gps it anyway, always thought it would be neat to GPS it then have a crew come in and see how far off you are.

[jentz]

tom7227's advice is right on!! I was once a land owner living on the land.Some people really irritate locals,you know a few bad apples leave a bad taste and weary locals.Where I am now the weekenders are horrable with fireworks,parties fast driving.It does get hard!Being friendly,respectful and helpful gets so much!

That said go to the county GIS system and print out closeups of the lands boundries.Who knows it may be you who may be off on lines in the country?? Good luck! pay a friendly visit and ask if the both of you can get out there and see where the line is and mention you dont want to trespass say without permissino anyway.

[TruthWalleyes]

Our group got permission to find a wounded buck on an adjacent property owners corn field...Well, the guys were looking in the cornfield, i found the deer on a wooded ridge on the edge of hte cornfield. I tracked that thing through their entire woods...I agree with everyone above, when talking to them, they could have just been tracking much further into the land than they were expecting too? DUnno. Good luck.

[jentz]

Doesn't the law state you dont need permission to track a wounded deer through private property??

Even if it does it is best to contact the owner if you can,But I dont believe it is illegal.

[Bear55]

Arm yourself with several maps and do your best to keep your cool and blind him with the truth.

[mainbutter]

Doesn't the law state you dont need permission to track a wounded deer through private property??

Even if it does it is best to contact the owner if you can,But I dont believe it is illegal.

[DRH1175]

Thanks all for the input. He finally called me back. I talked to him a bit about it. He mentioned his son told him he put up some signs but wasn't sure where. He said he would have him take them down. He also agreed that we could walk it together in the spring to agree on something. They just bought the land about a year ago, only have 20 acres, and probably had no idea where the property line was I can understand that. Though I wasn't to thrilled about them posting my land, I can accept a honest mistake.

[tunrevir]

Sounds like a good resolution to the matter and I am sure you feel much better now having had a chance to chat with the guy. Good work!

Tunrevir~

[Ufatz]

Didn't some wise old guy say way back at the beginning of the thread that a phone call and some communication would solve the problem. Ha Ha Ha.......couldn't help myself.