Boundary Posting and 3rd Party Trespass
A common challenge for landowners and land trusts alike is trespassing by third parties. If a property is not adequately marked, it’s more difficult to protect against 3rd party trespass and other encroachment issues — such as timber theft, poaching, unauthorized ATV use, etc. Such activities can negatively impact a property’s conservation values.
Posting property lines, especially in accordance with North Carolina’s Landowner Protection Act (LPA), can offer protection from trespassing. The LPA, which clarifies some of the common hunting and recreational trespass issues landowners encounter, provides two ways for landholders to post their lands to allow only hunters, trappers and anglers with written permission to legally enter their property: signs and purple paint. Click here for details on how to post a property in accordance with the LPA.
Other important trespassing facts and laws relevant to landowners include:
- No one can operate a motorized all-terrain-vehicle on another’s property without written permission from the landowner (see G.S. 14-159.3(a)(1)).
- It is illegal (Class 3 misdemeanor) to destroy or mutilate any “posted” or “no hunting” or similar signs on the land of another, or post similar signs on the land of another (see G.S. 14-159.8).
- It is considered second degree trespass (Class 3 misdemeanor) to remain on the premises of another without authorization after being told by an authorized party to leave (see G.S. 14-159.13).
- It is illegal to cut, injure or remove another’s timber (see G.S. 14-135), which could result in double damages (G.S.1-539.1), and larceny of goods such as timber is a Class H felony if the value of goods is greater than $1,000 (see G.S. 14-72).
If trespass is suspected, try contacting the Sheriff’s office or NC Wildlife Resources Commission law enforcement (contact information here). A provision of the LPA allows wildlife officers to enforce trespass laws immediately, instead of having to first obtain an arrest warrant or criminal summons.
SAHC stewardship staff is happy to help with posting boundaries. Contact your stewardship lead, Hanni or Sarah, for assistance.
This November we protected 32 acres of farmland in the shadow of Crabtree Bald in Haywood County. Located along Rush Fork Creek and adjacent to NC Scenic Byway 209, the farm contains prime agricultural soils and has been in the same family since the late 1700s.
“This project represents five years of hard work by the land trust, the landowner, and the agencies involved,” said Farmland Program Director William Hamilton. “This farm is representative of agriculture in Western North Carolina, and we are thrilled that the Reeves family will be able to continue owning, living and farming on this land in the future.”
Ken and Lotta Murray have transitioned from the hustle-and-bustle of Washington, DC, to the quiet coves of mountainous East Tennessee, carving out an idyllic home and garden on a tract where Ken’s great-grandfather homesteaded over 160 years ago. Introduced to SAHC while managing one of our conservation easement properties, they have become committed philanthropic leaders and engaged members, frequently exploring the Southern Appalachians through our guided group hikes.
Chancellor Emerita of UNC Asheville Anne Ponder and her husband Chris Brookhouse have protected their 102-acre property in Madison County with a conservation easement, preserving pastoral and forest land for future generations.
We recently protected 267 acres in two separate conservation projects in the Newfound Mountains, near the area where Buncombe, Haywood and Madison counties converge. We purchased 31 acres at Doubleside Knob in Haywood County, and placed 236 acres into conservation easement at Haywood Gap, permanently protecting clean water sources, healthy forest communities, habitat, and wildlife corridors.
Oshun Mountain (OM) Sanctuary in Asheville, NC, founded in 2012, is a non-profit holistic education and nature-sensitive retreat center that offers overnight stays, classes, lectures, trainings and other programs.
Over the past few years, the terms ‘local food’ and ‘farm to table’ have gained greater and greater prominence in our daily conversations. What you may not hear as frequently, however, are some of the underlying concerns for farmland conservation – namely, that local food production requires both local farmland and successful farmers, and that not all farmland is created equal. These concerns are an integral part of the story behind two recent farmland conservation projects completed by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC).
Musicians around the world know the name Bob Moog and respect his groundbreaking innovations in electronic instruments. However, what they may not know is that a quiet cove outside Asheville, NC provided a setting of respite and inspiration to nourish his uncanny genius.
