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Presentation for Wisconsin woodland owners on legal and boundary issues.
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Legal Issues for
LandownersPaul Kloppenburg, Wisconsin DNR
John Exo, UW-Extension
Learning Objectives
• Know how to identify your property boundaries;
• Understand the common laws that affect woodland owners;
Identifying Property Boundaries
Why identify boundaries?
– Timber harvests
–Reduce trespass
–Avoid adverse possession (extremely rare)
–Not everyone knows where boundaries are
History continued
• Township exteriors surveyed first
• Interior sections surveyed later
• County surveyors
– Established interior section corners from original surveys
Original survey notes
1 Section =
640 acres
township
6 5 4 3 2 1
7 8 9 10 11 12
18 17 16 15 14 13
19 20 21 22 23 24
30 29 28 27 26 25
31 32 33 34 35 36
1 mile
1 m
ile
Legal Descriptions
How to read a legal description:The tax bill lists S1/2, NESE, 24, 33N 9E, 20.00. The legal description is: “south half of the
Northeast quarter of the Southeast quarter, Section 24, Township 33N, Range 9E (range is E or W), 20 acres”
Identifying Property Boundaries
SE1/4NW1/4 , Sec 21, T2N, R3W
Evolution of Plat Maps
• Original plat map of a town
• Note no roads, but water features
• Used for original land claims
Evolution of Plat Maps
• Moderate division
• Still large parcels
Evolution of Plat Maps
• Modern plat map
• Unique section lines…
• Extensive land division
Identifying Property BoundariesHistoric section or ¼ section corner
markers:
Find the corner post
Find the corner post
Find the corner post
Find the corner post
Find the corner post
Find the corner post
Find the corner post
When Should a Property be Surveyed?
• Property is divided for sale
• Sale, purchase or mortgage
• Property improvements planned or to be developed
• Burning desire to find corners…
• When regulations or programs require a survey and map
• When location of boundaries or corners is uncertain
• When trespass or encroachment is evidenced or suspected.
When Should a Property be Surveyed?
Surveys can:
– Locate ownership boundaries
– Establish property corners
– Locate parcel improvements
–Create a map with parcel legal description
–Create a map filed or recorded with county
What will a survey do or show?
How is a Survey Obtained?
• Must be performed by a Registered Land Surveyor
• Phonebook, by reputation, or Wisconsin Society of Land Surveyors
• Ensure surveyor is licensed (wsls.org)
Survey Cost
Depends on:
• Previous surveys-of-record
• Condition of record
• Land terrain
• Weather
• Complexity of survey (e.g. finding or replacing monuments/corners, marking lines, etc.)
Notes on Access to Land
Access to land not guaranteed
Ensure you have access when purchasing
Landlocked parcels
– Written easement (best)
– Good will of neighbor (might change)
– Prescriptive easement (costly legal process)
– Town board condemns right-of-way (unlikely)
Final note on boundaries
Good idea to walk your property lines at least once a year
Laws
• Wisconsin’s trespass law:
– State Statute 943.13
–Revised in 1996
• Recreational Use Statute
– State Statute 895.52
• Fence Law
–Chapter 90For more information:
Woodland Management (WWOA) Fall 2000 issue
Photo by Matthew Davis
Trespass Law (943.13)
Trespassing is:
• entering enclosed or cultivated land
• to use the land
• without permission.
• Entering with a vehicle without permission is also trespassing.
• These actions constitute trespass even if the land is not posted.
Trespass Law (943.13)
• 1996 Revision
• Shifts responsibility onto recreationists to check first
• Not required to post “No Trespassing”
• Or identify your property boundaries…
• Unless your land is surrounded by or borders public lands
What to do in cases of trespass
• Ignorance of the law is not a defense
• Call the county sheriff
• For hunters:
– If a shot deer runs onto an adjacent property
– If can’t locate the owner or can’t get permission to pursue
• AKA- “Berry picker law”
• Limits private landowners’ liability
• Landowners do not have a duty to:
– inspect the property,
– keep it safe, or
– give warning of an unsafe condition.
Recreational Use Statute (895.52)
You can be liable if you:
1. Allow access and don’t disclose a known hazard or create one.
2. Accept more than $2,000 in compensation
3. Invite guests expressly and individually for a specific occasion.
*Because of these exclusions, liability insurance is still recommended
Recreational Use Statute (895.52)
On private, Managed Forest Law lands:
• Although not required, courtesy to ask permission
• Allowable recreation on open MFL land
-hunting -hiking
-fishing -sight-seeing
-cross-country skiing
Other activities permissible only by consent.
Recreational Use Statute (895.52)
Fencing Issues for Woodlot Owners
• When is a fence required?
• Who pays?
• What is a legal fence?
• Procedure to resolve disputes
WARNINGS !
• Fences are not boundaries!
• Nobody wants to pay for a surveyor!
• Woodlot owners may need to build fences!
Fence Law
• Chapter 90
–Old law with very few updates
– “common sense” approach
–Used now more than ever
–2008 challenge: woodlot owners
When is a fence required?
• If either property is used for:
– grazing
– farming
• Neighbors may mutually agree to not have a fence.
• YES, if you have woods and your neighbor has livestock, a fence is required
How is a fence divided between neighbors?
• “Partition”– Legal term– Divided evenly- you pay for
half the fence• Neighbors may agree
otherwise– In writing, filed with town
clerk– Previous oral agreements
not binding on present owner
“Legal Fence”• Lots of choices:
– Woven wire – Woven wire with barbed or high tensile wire– Board – Board and wire– Wire and picket– Barbed wire– High tensile wire– Electric (both agree in writing, 2 wires)– Other
Resolving disputes
• Significant room for interpretation– Water may be fence
– Shallow water
• Allow recreational use
• Fence viewers resolve disputes
• Town Boards often mediate
FARM A – Fence responsibility
NNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAA
A N
A N
A N
N A
N A
N FARM A A
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
road-road-road-road-road-road-road
Rule of Thumb-“Whenever practicable…when facing a farm, going around the farm to the right, the first one-half of the line fence belongs to the farm faced.”
Moral of the story
• Good fences make good
neighbors
More resources
• www.slideshare.net/jexo
• DNR Publications
– 10 Ways to Protect Your Woodland Property
• UW-Extension Publications
– Wisconsin’s Recreational Use Statute
– Learningstore.uwex.edu
Questions?
Paul Kloppenburg, 608-355-4476
John Exo, 608-355-3554
A Word About Timber Theft
• Harvesting across the property line
• Cutting unmarked timber
• Skimming off the top
• Under-reporting timber volume
• False reporting of a species
• Failure to accurately report volume
• Failure to report all deliveries
• Falsifying mill slips
• Stealing from log decks