Landowners and Land Users - How to Get Along

General Information

The Governor's appointed Landowners and Sportsman Relations Advisory Board encourages all land users to be responsible in all their recreational pursuits. All users must act in a respectful manner and appreciate all landowners that allow public use of their land for recreational activities. One of the duties of the board is to help obtain public use of private and public land for recreational activities by assisting with conflict resolution as it pertains to public access issues on both private and public lands and promote greater understanding and cooperation between owners and users of these lands.

If hunting is your only concern, posting your property with signs that say "Hunting by Permission Only" (include your name and telephone number) is much more preferable to the public than a sign reading "No Trespassing."

Allowing use "by permission only" puts the landowner in direct contact with people using his or her land. People who have asked for and received permission to use a piece of someone's land are usually more inclined to assist by reporting acts of abuse and trespass by others.

The landowner can ask to have the registration numbers of vehicles being used by sportsmen, and can take this "face-to-face" opportunity to advise users of any areas on the property to be avoided for safety reasons, e.g., areas where animals might be pastured, woodcutting operations, or acreage with houses nearby.

The landowners may also specify conditions under which hunting is allowed, e.g. "No Motor Vehicles", "Foot Traffic Only", distances from dwellings or methods, i.e. tree stands, archery, etc. Good Landowner/Land user relations are encouraged by using a system similar to the sample courtesy card (PDF).