Public Land w/ "No Trespassing" Sign

[LandDiver]

Usually when I put baby down for his morning nap I sit down with something to eat and hop over to YouTube and watch a random episode of Randy's show with my daughter. Today Season 1 Episode 4 popped up. Watching through it the group came up on a no trespassing sign posted. They discussed it a bit then turned around to head back to the truck. When they got back to the truck they talked about how they didn't see any private land on the maps they had. I am guessing this is Randy's pre OnXmaps deal.

So say a guy was to come up on a "No Tresspassing" sign posted, but all the maps you have, and OnXmaps confirm you are surrounded by public land. What is the best course of action? Also taking into consideration you have marked all the new boundaries for the years no hunting areas within the unit.

Thank you.

 

[Ben Lamb]

If you have the maps & GPS data and it's (federal) public, hunt it. Illegal posting is wrong, and if someone calls the sheriff on you, show them the maps & GPS. Different states disallow public hunting on state lands, so you need to clarify which entity manages the land.

 

[406LIFE]

Agree with Ben Lamb. I have seen many illegally posted signs, most all on state land. They may be from long ago.

 

[406LIFE]

I treat fences this way as well, I check the gps and go under it.

 

[TheDudeAbides]

Usually when I put baby down for his morning nap I sit down with something to eat and hop over to YouTube and watch a random episode of Randy's show with my daughter. Today Season 1 Episode 4 popped up. Watching through it the group came up on a no trespassing sign posted. They discussed it a bit then turned around to head back to the truck. When they got back to the truck they talked about how they didn't see any private land on the maps they had. I am guessing this is Randy's pre OnXmaps deal.

So say a guy was to come up on a "No Tresspassing" sign posted, but all the maps you have, and OnXmaps confirm you are surrounded by public land. What is the best course of action? Also taking into consideration you have marked all the new boundaries for the years no hunting areas within the unit.

Thank you.

If you are in the right, then you are in the right.

I really do not get why some people are so defensive of public land hunting spots. Posting Signs, Falling trees across roads, Setting up 25 yards from your duck decoys and shooting any ducks that get close to your spread, etc I just do not get it.

 

[bobbydean]

Hunting New Mexico for mule deer. The owner came down the only road in the canyon with a map. We were on private for camping and hunting public. Was hunting with his cousin and had permission. I admire owners who do it right!

 

[npaden]

I treat fences this way as well, I check the gps and go under it.

This is true both ways too. I often see places with a mix of public private land where the fences don't seem to have anything to do with land ownership at all. You could easily trespass onto private land without crossing a fence if you weren't checking your maps or gps chip.

 

[Tkaldahl2000]

This is true both ways too. I often see places with a mix of public private land where the fences don't seem to have anything to do with land ownership at all. You could easily trespass onto private land without crossing a fence if you weren't checking your maps or gps chip.

I had that happen to me last summer while scouting. I was walking along the fence and the next thing I know my gps tells me that I was on private land. I moved back to public on the shortest path possible.

 

[BuzzH]

The posting of public land is more common than people think.

A picture I took last week.



The same sign with the metal straps, plus a red no trespassing sign were on both of the gates within about 50 feet of this one. Yeah, they sort of took the sign down that they had illegally posted on this State section, but my question, is why was it there in the first place? Why hasn't it been totally taken down?

My guess is they left the frame, etc. there in an attempt to make people think its still posted private.

If it wouldn't have been such a PITA to tear that sign frame down, I would have done it.

If my GPS says its public land, I go, signs or not.

 

[LandDiver]

Awesome! Thanks for the reassurance about this. Appreciate it very much.

 

[jnagel32]

We ran into this on a county road in Wyoming. The road was definitely marked as a county road, but there was a gate put on it that had a no trespassing sign. So we turned around...

 

[LandDiver]

We ran into this on a county road in Wyoming. The road was definitely marked as a county road, but there was a gate put on it that had a no trespassing sign. So we turned around...

Did you ever follow up on that gate to see if it was illegally placed or there for another reason?

 

[Trial153]

I seen this serveral times in different states and locations.

If my GPS shows public I feel I am acting in good faith with the most reliable information I have. I hunt it.

 

[Corax]

We ran into this on a county road in Wyoming. The road was definitely marked as a county road, but there was a gate put on it that had a no trespassing sign. So we turned around...

As I recall Wyoming Game and Fish was selling the OnxMaps chip from their web site. That sounds like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval to me.

 

[jimd]

Take a picture of the sign with your GPS next to it and then notify the agency that has the land.

 

[wytex]

The chip can be wrong. G&F had to go put up signs in one spot we know stating the land was in fact private not BLM as shown on the chip. Check the State Land Board website for the most accurate depictions of where the state lands are, BLM maps are supposed to be more accurate than the chips also. Let the sheriff know if you think it is a wrong posting.

 

[homerj]

I've run into this on the dirt bike and I usually just turn around; it's not worth the hassle to me to be threatened by someone and I really don't want to be in a situation that escalates beyond words. My brother was on USFS land and had dogs set loose on him and a buddy. I've heard of worse from people I know and trust. It sucks, but for me the downside outweighs the upside. I understand others feeling the other way and taking a stand against this crap, it's just not something I want to do in my free time; I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself.

Also, I've had problems getting county officials to respond to my queries about the status of the road in their inventory. It seems that not being resident in the county means they can ignore me. Without the county roads dept saying definitively the road is or is not in their inventory it seemed pre-mature to involve the sherrif's office.

 

[jnagel32]

Did you ever follow up on that gate to see if it was illegally placed or there for another reason?

No we didn't follow up with it, because it was in the last hour of the last day of our hunt.

As I recall Wyoming Game and Fish was selling the OnxMaps chip from their web site. That sounds like the Good Housekeeping seal of approval to me.

Well, the actual sign for the road had it labeled as a county road. The unit/county we were hunting in apparently had a problem with hunters going down private roads, so they installed signs to identify the roads that are county roads. So really there was no mistaking that the road was a public road.

 

[shootbrownelk]

We ran into this on a county road in Wyoming. The road was definitely marked as a county road, but there was a gate put on it that had a no trespassing sign. So we turned around...

I've seen where a certain landowner took down County road signs and tossed them in the ditch. If it's marked/signed as a county maintained road, you are good to go. I know a bunch of landowners who treat public land as if they own it, and try to BS hunters into believing that they do. Usually, you can show them that you indeed know where you are and they back off....but not always.

 

[James Riley]

One advantage you have over land owners: You know where they live.