CALF News Aug./Sept 2018

6 CALF News • August | September 2018 • www.calfnews.net Continued on page 10  T here are things in life that annoy us. There are things that irritate, and there comes a time when a responsible landowner has to stand up and defend their own property against the disrespect of unknown trespassers. Having farmed or ranched all my life, I am, for the first time, hanging “No Hunting” signs on our property. Living on the edge of a very remote area, we have, over the past several years, increas- ingly encountered the encroachment of hunters, trappers and folks seeking recreational thrills. Our tipping point came in the fall 2017, when someone shot and killed a bred heifer on the first day of deer season. It was time for us to stop being nice. Let’s compare I’ve compiled some of our experiences. Can any of our CALF News readers identify with the following examples?  Livestock and crop loss  Gates left open, resulting in missing cattle  Fences torn apart  Areas where gutting of deer has left an unspeakable mess.  Someone took their children on a sledding trip, pulling them behind their pickup on our newly seeded alfalfa field, after a wet snow. We can still see the circles in the field.  My favorite: We had seeded a field with winter wheat along Muddy Creek one fall. Someone was driv- ing across this field at random, on a regular basis, leaving serious tracks. We watched carefully until one day when the perpetrator got hopelessly stuck in a snow drift and was, consequently, unable to escape the wrath of my husband. He was a trapper checking for bobcats. Caught red handed, he is no longer bothering us. Our retired neighbor has reported similar problems. He lives on top of a hill and has a high-powered telescope facing south through his living room window. Patrolling the area via his home, he occasionally will call to tell me there is someone with a license plate from the adjoining county traipsing around our fields at dark. I’m sure you’re thinking of your own experiences with unwelcome visitors. I tried to gather information from the internet about annual livestock and property losses due to trespassing … to no avail. My Google search was mostly chock full of propaganda from the Humane Society of the United States and other animal rights groups, bemoan- ing the control of wolves and coyotes. We will have to live with our own hard- learned knowledge. Solving the problem My first move in solving this dilemma was a trip to the county sheriff ’s office. I quickly found out that county law enforcement is not responsible for rural trespassing problems. I was also told that, unless a place is posted with signs, landowners basically have no rights. Pri- vate properties might even be considered “open range.” I would go so far as to say, if your place isn’t posted, you might tell a tres- passer to leave, and he might refuse. He isn’t leaving until he shoots a deer. There would be no legal repercussions. I subsequently contacted the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, who were cooperative and sent me a copy of Post- ing Regulations for Privately Owned Land. It is three pages long and easily understood. I considered running it in Guard Your Livelihood No One Else Will I N S E A R C H O F Securing property by posting signs is the only way to have some control over traffic in most rural areas. Still, the remoteness of most places gives trespassers a big advantage. Contact your state Game and Parks Commission for details specific to your state. By Patti Wilson Contributing Editor