Dealing with property use issues

Friend of mine just bought a large tract or land few people knows this (me being one for various reasons). Issue is people (and companies) have used this for quite awhile. WELL HE WANTS TO SHUT IT DOWN FOR DIFFERENT REASONS. Our discussion was on how to do it in a way that would be somewhat amicable and not cause outright issues. I doubt putting up a no trespass sign would do much. Here are some of the issues: Company that does crop harvesting seems to park all there junk on it at will. Recreation of all types, someone was flying an rc plane and another used it for a clay pigeon shooting area!!!! Dirt roads people use to go from point a to b. One of my ideas was contacting some of these (like the company) with a letter spelling things out. Wondering what ideas you guy have or have dealt with this (like an abandond farm situation). He is not really looking to have people ticketed. I do believe gates will be needed. thanks

Just put up gates and be done with it.

I wouldn't do it by mail if you're trying to save hard feelings. I know that if I got a letter like that right out of the blue,I'd be ticked off. Just try to talk to everybody who's effected,in person.

Fence.

Paul

Exactly . That is the only thing that will work.

New fences and gates of good quality with signs saying "Under New Ownership"

Ditto on a fence, to establish the boundaries. Two wire barbed wire, maybe with the top wire on a battery electric fencer. Position the fencer away from away entrances. I would also post "No Trespassing" signs at all entrances.

True rr but some of these people have no clue as to who is who. And for sure don't know the property lines.

One of the best ideas yet.

My opinion is a respectful letter from an attorney and some game cameras for proof if it doesn't stop. Depending on how it lays a fence could be outrageously expensive and end up with a lot of holes cut in it

Some good advice below, from a legal standpoint I agree with the use of FENCES GATES AND SIGNS and lots of them. Maybe some hidden trail cams to gather evidence ???

The legal thing you want to accomplish is to PUT THE USERS ON NOTICE and to STOP the use NOW and don't let it go on or fester.

There is some small chance of past claims of Adverse Possession or Easements by Prescription or of Necessity, but that's a whole other discussion NOT gonna open that can of worms here, its very fact sensitive and subject to a whole bunch of local statutes and common law and NOT for Billy Bob and Bubba to rule on lol. For now my free legal advice is again as posted below FENCES GATES AND SIGNS and a nice friendly letter of introduction and/or visits to the locals is another good idea.

Keep a good daily log of activities and document every thing you do, start a good legally admissible paper trail and evidence.

Were there any covenants or restrictions on the Deed?? Any easements of record??? Was there any Title Insurance??

If in doubt consult local competent trained professionals versus advice here MINE INCLUDED as there are so many fact variables and statutory or common laws to be considered. This cant all be addressed and researched on a Forum

John T BSEE, JD Country Lawyer

I have been through this several times. Telling them to stay out after they have been using for years can wind up backfiring on you. It works fine if they actually do what you ask. If they do NOT, and you do not find a way to stop them, they can claim an implied easement or even some sort of "adverse possession." Note the word "adverse." That means they use the land and do so against your will. My way of dealing with this sort of thing is this (done it three times). Send letters out to all adjacent property owners. Give them all temporary permission to use the land but make it clear that you reserve the right to retract that permission if you deem necessary. Also ask if anyone claims to have an unrecorded right-of-way not in the public record. Once you do this, nobody can claim any future "adverse use" since you have given permission. If someone claims they have done so in the past - then it is their legal obligation to show some sort of proof.

Maybe offer to lease some of the land to the crop harvesters for storage, requiring some security measures. Not cheap of course. They might be able to help with the security/trespass issues.

I'd rather hear it face to face than in a letter though. Just like writing on here,you can't see the expression on somebody's face or hear the tone of their voice,so it's awful easy to misinterpret what they're really trying to get across.

I think I would start with signs soon. The honorable people will comply, then he can work on the ones that won't.

Put up fence, gates and signs, then patrol the property often, make your presence known, eventually all trespassing will cease if you stay on top of it, been there and done that with rural property, took me a little over a year of aggravation but I put a stop to it.

I am with Randy on this. The new owner needs to be directly involved with this or he will make lasting enemies with all the neighbors. You trying to be the enforcer or controller will not work very well. HE needs to be doing it as he is the OWNWER. Sometimes it sucks to be the boss.

First off he does not need 25 lawyers writing letters to just GO SEE the neighbors and talk to them about how he is NOW the new owner. Then he needs to nicely tell them he want to control the use of HIS land. HE nor you really know what the arrangements were in the past. HE has no obligation to keep doing things like they have been done either. I do know a little of his time spent smoothing thing with the neighbors will get much better returns than fences, gates, or legal notices.

Second if he is not going to be living on the land he will have little to zero success without having some one local keep an eye on things. I still think this needs to be after HE works some things out himself. Once again trying to do this diplomatically as possible will have a much better chance of success. IF he turns the locals against him then his enjoyment of land ownership will be zero.

What's wrong with introducing yourself to bordering land owners. Let them know you're the new neighbor / owner. Let it be at that. Maybe ask for some history......

Well the legal notice in the mail is non confrontation and eliminates this bantering kind of a once and done approch.

Who said anything about "lawyers writing letters?" If a person takes ownership of land and knows others are using it for ingress, egress, etc., something needs to be done IF the new owner what the rights of ownership. I don't see anything unfriendly about a new owner contacting adjacent owners. Introducing one's self, asking if anyone has any rights of use not in the public record, etc. I see nothing "unfriendly" about that. Crossing over land I do not own and not asking permission from a new owner is what seems "unfriendly" to me.

If you found a stranger sitting in your car, would it be "unfriendly" to ask him/her what the heck is going on?

I have been through this many times. Even once with a town government that illegally widened the road I owned and destroyed a lot of trees. I find it amazing how many people know so little about land laws and rights. Even one town attorney (the town I had the fight with), highway supervisors, and some members of the police.

A few comments on some specifics you mentioned . .

"Here are some of the issues: Company that does crop harvesting seems to park all there junk on it at will. Recreation of all types, someone was flying an rc plane and another used it for a clay pigeon shooting area!!!! Dirt roads people use to go from point a to b . . ."

People have obviously been using the land and likely do not feel like they need permission. This was the same situation I had when I bought 100 acres of woods in the Tug Hill Plateau area of northern New York. People drove through our land to get to other lands beyond our's. One weekend I showed up and a father and two teenage sons were in my woods cutting down trees for firewood. When I asked what the heck was going on, the father said "oh, I thought this was state land." That of course makes no sense since if it WAS state land, he still was not allowed to cut trees there.

A few months later we came up and found a guy with a big Cat dozer widening and "improving" our road. So I asked him what was going on,and he said he was hired to make the road good enough to get a log truck through by someone past us in the woods. I told him to write a letter, and get it signed by a notary, stating he had no right on our land and would stay off of it. This or I'd press charges against him. He did it. This sort of nonsense went on for years. It took all the enjoyment out of owning the land.

I replanted some trees where the guy with the dozer "improved" our road. I also put in posts and reflectors make the road only 8 feet wide. A few weeks later they were all pulled out and new trees cut down. I caught the guy doing it with his IH tractor and sickle-bar mower. He told me he had to do it since his tractor did not fit when the road was that narrow. He went on to tell me this was an old established "unofficial" town road and I had no right to stop him.

This went on and on. I managed eventually to get signed letters from all adjacent property owners attesting that they could use the road with my temporary permission and it was illegal for any of them to do any work on the road.

At this point, we had grown to hate the place and sold it. The guy we sold it to closed it off with a gate and had a big mess. Several adjacent property owners claimed to have "easements by prescription" and it went to court. How it ever worked out I do not know, but I am glad to be rid of that place.

JDEM: jocco original post states about sending letters. I just inferred that they would be written by lawyers as laymen usually would usually talk not send letters. I also am advocating that he contact the adjoining land owners. I am just recommending it be done "face to face" the first time. Many times a smile and a hand shake make things work better.

I am not saying anything against the new owner controlling the use of his land/[property. I do think it needs to be done with some diplomacy or he will have a very uphill battle if he is going to be an absentee landowner.

Yup,go in and start putting up fences and gates,sending letters,it tells the locals right off the bat that you don't trust them. That land has been there forever and had more than one owner over the years and will have more. Not saying for a minute that those who are using it have any right to it,but force should only come after a polite meeting and some small talk fails. For some reason,it just gets in my craw when somebody buys a piece of land and immediately puts up a bunch of No Trespassing signs all the way around it and putting gates up at the entrances. It's like a dog going around peeing on everything to mark his territory.

Jocco Legal notices mailed without warning to the people around this land will make darn sure he is hated by the majority of the neighbors. HE should talk to them and tell them face to face what he wants done on HIS ground. Then send them notices if he feels he needs too.

Hi JDEM, re town government that illegally widened the road, my brother and I had a similar problem where we had to educate the new Township Road Supervisor what the definition of a "Forced Township Road" was: Township only owns the width of the traveled part of the road. Township must receive permission of landowners to do any widening, tree cutting or trimming, etc.
JimB

The only thing I'm saying is,a new land owner is making a first impression. Not just with the target audience,the one's who are trespassing,but with all the other folks in the neighborhood too. To the ones who might have lived there all their lives and respect property lines,when you go overboard with the gates,signs and letters,you might come across as a real pr!k whether you intended to or not.

get a legal copy of survey map and have it in hand when you talk to neighbers.i knew one guy that got copy of survey map and actually didn't own all the property he thought he did.locate survey pins before starting anything with neighbers.

Jocco, I doubt there are adverse possession or easements of prescription or easements of necessity going on here but NO WAY anyone here including me knows that absent ALL THE FACTS. HOWEVER to help you, what many lay persons don't understand is IF THE PROPERTY WAS CONVEYED TO YOU IN FEE SIMPLE ABSOLUTE ABSENT ANY RESTRICITVE COVENANTS OR EASEMENTS RUNNING WITH THE LAND NOR ARE THERE ANY PROPERLY RECORDED RESTRICTIONS OR EASEMENTS OR PRIOR RIGHTS OF OTHERS TO USE OF THE LAND, ITS THE OWNERS AND HE CAN PROHIBIT TRESPASSERS (strictly as a matter of law SUBJECT TO things we arent aware of). Furthermore, if the owner received a Warranty Deed versus only a Quitclaim Deed the seller may be liable if there prove to be certain defects in title. That's NOT to say a person couldn't go to Court and prove he has rights and seek a court order and if he prevails THEN the new owner will be forced to comply THAT CAN HAPPEN MIND YOU....

Its now the owners SOLELY for his use and he can restrict all others from it. The thing many don't understand is ITS NOW THE OWNERS PROPERTY AND THE BURDEN OF PROOF IF OTHERS WANT TO ESTABLISH ANY RIGHTS (adverse possession or easement) IS UP TO THEM TO GO TO COURT AND OBTAIN A COURT ORDER THEY HAVE RIGHTS IN THE PROPERTY. The owner doesn't have to prove that and go to Court, its his, the burden of proof and expenses and litigation IS ON THE TRESSPASSERS and that's very expensive and very hard to prove by a preponderance of the evidence in a Court of Law.

Title Insurance Companies often have a "disclaimer" when it comes to readily open and discoverable rights of others in possession which if present imposes upon the new owner a "duty of inquiry" at least. This means if dudes are out there doing all sorts of things the new owner has a duty to stop it and cant let it go for years, otherwise the trespassers can acquire rights !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The new owner might still be able to go back against the seller for warranties.

As a farm and land owner and Attorney who lives in the Country I've got these type of questions and researched and advised on such matters for like twenty years and Trust me ITS VERY HARD AND VERY EXPENSIVE to establish claims of adverse possession but its them, NOT the owner, who has to do it, in the meantime until a Court orders they indeed have rights THEY HAVE NONE as a strict matter of law (subject again to certain exceptions).

ALSO statutory and common law varies State to State as far as what's required to establish rights in another's land, the necessary one time Common Law requirements to establish such require the use be Hostile,,,,,,,,,,,Open,,,,,,,,,,Continuous ,,,,,,,,,,Exclusive,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Adverse,,,,,,,,,,and Notorious for the required statutory time period (maybe 10 to 20 years) and there can even be payment of tax requirements.

BOTTOM LINE it doesn't matter what I or someone else did in some state that matters, its ONLY after allllllllllll the facts have been determined and the laws of the state have been thoroughly researched and an adverse possessor goes to court and obtains a court order he has rights the answer is fully obtained. With so much at stake that's why its my professional advice to seek local competent trained professional help and don't hang your hat or risk loosing rights in land based on what myself or anyone here advises.

IN THE MEANTIME my free professional advice would be again signs and gates etc and friendly letters of introduction and intent along with friendly visits to neighbors. I WOULD NOT start out fighting and bitter and bring lawyers in until I tried signs, gates, letters and visits. Then if others want to get lawyers and go to Court and spend a small fortune to prove and establish they have rights in your land SO BE IT hire a lawyer then..........I say try friendly easy simple non combative methods FIRST before going to Court, let the trespassers do that if they insist they have acquired rights in the land lol

Best wishes and God Bless all here

John T Country Lawyer BSEE, JD

First, read your deed carefully. All of it, and know what it says.

Next, read your title insurance policy(provided the title deed has an insurance policy). Know exactly what they will cover in terms of defects, and exceptions or exclusions. As a side note, my opinion of title deeds has gone way down in the past 30 years. The last one had so many exceptions, exclusions, and vague language it would be useless to try to force them to defend a claim against the deed.

After that, when you KNOW what you know about your deed, locate all the property markers, and all the lines between them.

String a fence, with limited gates. Mark the fence each 20'(closer in some states) with "No Trespassing, private property".

NOW, you can go talk to the neighbors, and make your introduction. Tell them whatever was done in the past is the past, and if they have a counter claim in writing you would like a copy of it. If they have no written claim, they really have no claim at all, unless it was a verbal comm lease, which will have some vague terms and conditions of the lease, if still in effect. If there is a written commercial lease, you will know what needs to be done to terminate it. Before termination, allow the lessee onto the land with restriction that it is temporary until the lease end, and make them use the gates provided. All others will just have to pound sand.

I get that its a cold idea, some of these are not neighboring owners.

I'm not asking you to tell me (us), but does your friend have a future use in mind for the land, and that will be harmed by the trespassers? If so, then explaining these future plans to the harvesting company and others will help them understand that you're not simply trying to be a jerk, but that you bought the land with an intended purpose in mind, and you need them to respect your property rights.

When we moved here, we were told by our one "not-so-nice" neighbor that we shouldn't be surprised to see his cows go through now and then. To me, that was him stating that he knew there was an issue and that he would try to correct said issue. ...Yes, naive of me to think that, wasn't it? To this day, he actually WANTS his cattle to roam where they please! Has taken 15 years to figure out how his mind thinks, as I have never met anyone like this before - EVER!! But sure enough, he somehow seems to think that he has full rights while others around him have none.

Yep, I like this plan best. I would also include your phone number on the sign. Let them initiate the conversation.

You guys are going to talk this to death. What is it about "it is now my land...new rules" that you don't get.
Why does he need to be nice to trespassers? The trespassers knew they did not own the land or have a right to it.
This site amazes me. You want people to obey the law, go to work. do the right thing, then you start making excuses for bad behavior.

He has to decide....does he want to be a popular smuck...or control his property.

Bet if he trespassed and parked his junk in the yard of their (trespassers) house, all HEii would break loose.

JD& Randy....how often do you "accidentally" trespass and not know you were on someone else's property.
You sure knew whether you owned it or not.

"All others will just have to pound sand" GREAT ADVICE

Generally speaking, contracts regarding the sale of land need to be reduced to writing to be enforceable in Court. Likewise in some jurisdictions leases for more then a certain length of time MUST ALSO BE IN WRITING.

As BOTH a past realtor and now an Attorney, I can insure you (pun intended) if there's even the slightest doubt about an issue the Title Insurance Binder will take exception AND ITS NOT COVERED.

FENCES SIGNS AND PROVIDE NOTICE is the way to go

John T Country Lawyer

EXACTLY provided the Deed is as Id expect Fee Simple Absolute with no Covenants that run with the land and there are no covenants or restrictions of record nor legally established rights of use nor any court ordered rights establishing adverse possession or easements by prescription or of necessity ITS THE OWNERS LAND TO DO AS HE PLEASES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Trespassers can be prosecuted.... Throw the bums out lol and Fences and Signs and Gates and Notice are a darn good start.

John T Country Lawyer

Like I said,it's not just the "trespassers" that you're making an impression on. If you want to be the d1ck of the neighborhood,go ahead. I've seen plenty come and go. They get pretty lonely. Being a good neighbor works to ways. Don't expect somebody to respect you if you start right out showing them that you don't have enough respect for them to even talk to them.

Respect is a 2 way street. Like the brother of a neighbor that has accidentally got lost and is hunting deer on my property 7 deer seasons in a row. His sister is not a good neighbor, to allow this.

I have new neighbors on both sides. When they bought the property, I knew the rules might change. I did not tell them
the prior owner let me fish in that pond so I expect you to do the same! I asked for permission.

I expect, new owner --new rules (maybe good,maybe bad) but new rules.

The guy that does not understand this is the guy that you find on your land at 4AM that says I've been hunting here for 30 years...and I say interesting...I've owned it for 10 and never seen you or met you when you asked for my permission.

I have great neighbors, very cooperative and great relationships...we respect each others rules.

I had that same issue. A neighbor informed me that he had a unrecorded right of way not in public records. I told him it was good as the paper it is not
printed on, each time the judge agreed with me. The other person had no documented proof.

Just my story about a similar problem...

180 acres with an old town owned dirt road through the middle of it. Road always saw very little use as newer paved roads sprang up everywhere.

Pretty much became a hangout for local trouble makers, shooting, camping, mudding, atv's, dirt bikes, lots of drinking, drugs, and litter.

One day sombody .... Drunk.... Rolled an atv over on top of himself and got killed. Survivors sued the town saying they were at fault beacuse they never matainence the road. After much leagal battles, they settled, town said they did not want the responsibility or cost of this road anymore... So they "reverted" it back to the ownership of the private landowners that it goes through.

Posted many no trespassing signs, they were ripped off or shot up. Use continued. Ended up cutting down over 100 trees all along the road to block access for its entire use.

Btw... Local LEO would not patrol the aera, said that they would only respond if something was actively going on at that moment. Did not have the resources they said.

I get all my legal and medical advice on a tractor forum!

In may cases with rural land it's perceived there is so much average one does not care say if some one is parked there.

What I would do is get all the entrances except the one I want to use bulldozed closed with dirt, trees,brush etc.The one entrance would be shut off by heavy steel posts and strong cables.Go see the owner of the equipment and ask first for him to quit parking the equipment there,then tell him you're calling a scrap guy if it continues.Invite a few rowdy friends over often to have an all day target practice session with lots of loud country music,cussing and yelling.If he makes the place not so cozy and out of the way people will find another spot.

I tell you what a gate will stop the most of them, some but very few are actually able to get off their hind end and open it, but won't shut it when leaving, seems it took all their energy just to open it!

Having a survey map is certainly a good start. A survey map however, has no legal standing and is just the expert opinion of one surveyor. It is not uncommon in some places to have three surveys of the same plot of land and have three different sets of property lines.

What state was this in? Just curious. In most rural areas where I have lived in New York, Vermont, and Michigan - towns rarely
own any roads. They just have unrecorded "easements by prescription" over lands actually owned by homeowners and landowners.
I own several miles of public highways. A town can add to its easement simply by widening a road and then, if seven years
goes by and no owners complain, it becomes part of the unrecorded easement (that is New York statue).

When a town has such an easement on a road and has it listed as a pubic highway, it stays that way forever unless they
officially abandon it. Just not taking care of it anymore does not count. Again, I am citing New York law but many states are
similar.

(quoted from post at 17:56:06 07/09/17) I get all my legal and medical advice on a tractor forum!

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Not sure about medical, but there are a lot of people on here with a lot of land, and have seen and heard and experienced many things dealing with land issues. The issues in CA, AZ, NM, TX and FL are all different. I have land in each of those states, but they are all fairly common on private land use. Fence, signs, gates.

I don't want to be an azz about it, but when I see cows on my land in NM, I feel like making steaks. I told the rancher if I see anymore cows on there, I'm gonna start cutting, and he can buy the beef back from me. Just because I have a windmill, and a water tub, doesn't mean it's for his cows.

Also, tractor folk in my not so humble opinion have a lot of common sense. A lot of land issues rely on common sense, and not esoteric ares of the law like unrealized deprecation recapture(yes, dealt with that one too).

Hay Hay Hay: I did not say anything about him having to keep allowing anyone to using his land. I am just saying to talk to the neighboring landowners face to face to start with. See if there have been any prior agreements on land usage. He may want to keep some of them in place. Needs to ask first and serve papers/letters after.

I had a instance 15 years ago that I was on a neighboring land owners property after it sold. The new owner never came and talked to any of the surrounding land owners. I had an agreement with the prior owner to use a corner of one of his fields to access one of my fields in the back of my farm. In return he drove clear across one of my other fields to access some of his ground. A large creek/small river with limestone bluffs effects the access to each owners ground. The new "owner" waited until I had used the access and called the sheriff on me for trespassing. HE showed up when the Sheriff came out and called me everything name you can think of. Basically being a backwards, inbred, country hick, way below his High class Chicago self. Real nice "first" contact with your neighbor.

The very next business day I had a contractor in and built a 100 ft. long access to my land. Cost me over $4k getting the rock bluffs blasted out wide enough for equipment but I had an access to that ground. I removed the gates in my line fence with his property and installed them at the road where the prior owner crossed my land. New owner was kind of unhappy when he now has to drive to one of two bridges to cross the creek/river to get to his land. 15 miles trip the one way or 18 the other. Heck will freeze over before I will allow him access across my ground.

I am not the only one he treated this way. He has been in battles with all of his surrounding neighbors over access or boundary issues. Then his wife complained to the pastor that the locals where so unfriendly. LOL

So once again I will state how you should try to diplomatically work with neighbors when you own property. Starting out with gates and letters will make things harder.

So do I. Also get marital advice here.

JD Seller, why didn't *YOU* reach out to the new owner before you just assumed the old agreement would continue, and drove over the new owner's land?

You had a vested interest in having that access, so you have just as much responsibility to seek out the new owner as the new owner had to seek you out.

(quoted from post at 22:12:27 07/09/17) I had an agreement with the prior owner to use a corner of one of his fields to access one of my fields in the back of my farm. In return he drove clear across one of my other fields to access some of his ground. A large creek/small river with limestone bluffs effects the access to each owners ground. The new "owner" waited until I had used the access and called the sheriff on me for trespassing. HE showed up when the Sheriff came out and called me everything name you can think of. Basically being a backwards, inbred, country hick, way below his High class Chicago self. Real nice "first" contact with your neighbor.
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Your agreement on the unrestricted land use ended with the seller of the land. Kinda hard for me to have sympathy for you when you were in fact on someone else's land without prior permission from the "OWNER"(as you properly point out).

What used to happen way back when country folks were neighborly, was the existing folks would come over to the new neighbors with a pitcher of lemonade and some home made cookies or some cake. They would introduce themselves to the new folks just arriving and get to know their new neighbors. Things like property access, and use might be discussed, things like fences, gates, and future use of the new owners property might be discussed. Maybe a game of horseshoes would break out. Lot of good social policy can be done over lemonade and horseshoes. But no - you just had to show your 'right' to trespass, and then get all urinal about it. Nicely done...

John,your bucket may have a crack or hole in it.There has been a couple cases over the years,where a new owner bought a farm from an estate and went to farm it and were stopped by a third party as they had been using(one form or another) a piece of that parcel of land for their own use for a period of time with no complaints,so felt they should be able to keep it.When it went to court,the landowner LOST EACH TIME with NO monetary refund.

JD, you are so right on this.Got a current potential issue with my neighbor, whom I told that I wasn't renewing his lease. He seemed ok with it (I know he wasn't happy about it, who would be?) but doesn't seem to think that that includes the acreage he's been squatting on for the last 25 years. He has enough O.O.S. machinery to be an Ohio division of Worthington Ag Parts. I'm going to have to grow a couple and give him the news, which will make him even more unhappy. But I'm unhappy, too. I see acreage I used to farm be encroached with saplings, while I'm ripping out fence rows and straightening out lanes and wooded borders just to gain an acre here and there. Do good fences make good neighbors? If I had been a hard-nose in '89 about property lines, I wouldn't have this problem I have today; but would I have a neighbor who would jump into a frozen pond next to me to help save a cow? That's one of the reasons this is such a difficult decision for me. I'll probably do what I always do concerning a situation that requires confrontation... Nothing! ...and smolder...

Hey John, a hypothetical. Suppose the trespassers met every requirement to retain their operating status. If the owners failed to pay the taxes and it went for sheriff's sale, and nobody bid on it, knowing it would be a headache, because they found out about this 'lien' (for lack of a better term), would the county or state be required to allow this trespassers operation to continue? If so, could the state then be liable from any death resulting from the possibly illegal activity (like drugs) of land in their possession?

(quoted from post at 11:42:18 07/10/17) ....... [b:0dfc206d82]Do good fences make good neighbors? If I had been a hard-nose in '89 about property lines, I wouldn't have this problem I have today; but would I have a neighbor who would jump into a frozen pond next to me to help save a cow? [/b:0dfc206d82]That's one of the reasons this is such a difficult decision for me. I'll probably do what I always do concerning a situation that requires confrontation... Nothing! ...and smolder...

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Yup, fences make good neighbors. When I bought some acreage to retire on some 13 yrs ago, I proceeded to fence it off and talked to the neighbors who used to freely hunt and fish on it that I would appreciate it if they didn't. I still have sections to fence and a house to build on it but I think they've all got the message. It's a tough situation because they've watched out for trespassers and called me when they think there's a problem or helped me with a stuck tractor. I appreciate their neighborliness and will help them as well, but.....I've been solid in my stance (but polite) that it's my property now and won't give anyone permission to use it as a communal recreation area.

As for the OP and how to communicate it to others: I don't think it matters. Do it in a letter, talk individually to them, post signs, whatever you feel comfortable with. It's up to you how you do it and you should not feel like you're offending someone by the method you use in asserting your (or your friend's) property rights to those who are trespassing.

Doc what is wrong with you?? Good heavens
what about introducing your self with legal
papers or with the sheriff in tow!!!

I know of many such cases where it went like that. Even when you buy property with a warranty deed - that warranty will have a disclaimer saying it does not cover unrecorded easements.
I bet 95% of the public roads in the state of New York became so by unrecorded easements. I checked once for the town of Worcester where I lived for 40 years (Otsego County, NY). 99% of the town highways were by unrecorded easements and privately owned. The town made them public highways via "easement by prescription."

Besides all the legal mumbo-jumbo,there is also the issue of getting an dumb or biased judge who has little regard for the law. If he finds against you for the wrong reasons, can you afford to go to higher court? It is obvious that many judges do not follow the law. If that was not true, the Supreme Court would have nothing to do.

The Image of everyone in the country used to get a long and life was just a big continuous Old Home Week is a Myth.Years ago I knew of several cases where disagreements over land came to fighting and shooting.Sometimes the feuds lasted for years or generations.