The Benefits of Boundary Line Maintenance
Have you ever been walking your woodlot and suddenly discover that someone has been cutting and taking your trees? As you start to panic, you wonder how anyone could think they would get away with this. Well, timber theft is more common than you may think and happens on a fairly regular basis. Many times landowners don’t realize what they have lost from theft until it is too late, but there are many things you can do in order to prevent it from happening.
The first step is to know where your boundary lines are and keep them well-marked and visible. Many times a logger may inadvertently remove timber on your property because of the lack of boundary line evidence. Though this is no excuse, clearly marked property boundary lines and timber sale boundaries go a long way to prevent unintentional removals from occurring. Along with several state forestry organizations, we recommend the re-painting of your boundary lines every five years; beyond that time frame, boundary line paint starts to fade and makes the line difficult to recognize in the woods. It is also good practice to talk with your neighbors, discuss your common boundary lines and encourage them to notify you if they plan on doing any harvesting. Probably one of the most important things to do is to walk your boundaries several times a year to check their visibility and see if any unauthorized tree removals have occurred. If you are an absentee landowner or do not have the time, consider hiring a forester to do it for you. By regularly checking on the boundary line conditions, it is less likely that a logger will inadvertently cross over the line.
Now what do you do if you suspect that actual timber theft has taken place on your property? The first thing you should do is call the police or sheriff in your area, and call your local Environmental Conservation Officer (ECO) as well; DO NOT CONFRONT THE SUSPECT ON YOUR OWN!!! Then call your Forester. The police, sheriff or ECO will come to your property to do their investigation, but your Forester needs to get in there to assess the actual damage done and value loss created by the theft. As Foresters we are trained on how to determine the volume and value of trees, even if they are no longer present on-site, and the sooner we can get in there the more accurate we can be and the easier it is to do this. Once we do our field work, we generate a report for the investigation and this becomes the backbone of your case. You will need an attorney, and there are several attorneys in our region that are well versed in timber theft cases. Our foresters would know of any in your area.
Take home message: 1) maintain your boundary lines and make sure you or someone else is monitoring them several times a year; 2) if you do suspect actual theft, notify the proper authorities and your forester immediately so that action can be taken to stop the removal of timber; and 3) remember, DO NOT confront the suspected thief – leave that to the folks with the badges.
Please let us know if you have any questions or suspect any possible theft that may be occurring in your woods. And don’t hesitate to ask us for a boundary line assessment and possible re-painting should you need it!