NC, unauthorized tree stand on property

Perfect timing!

https://nccriminallaw.sog.unc.edu/purple-paint-and-trespass/

I’ve been asked a few times about the meaning of purple bars painted on trees. At a recent class, someone showed me the relevant statute, which led me to learn a little more about it. This post lays out what I know.

Purple paint on trees? If you live in a rural area, you’re probably familiar with the purple paint phenomenon. If you don’t, you might not be. Here’s an example of a tree with a purple bar painted on it:



Legal significance. In North Carolina, it is a Class 2 misdemeanor to hunt, fish, or trap on another’s land if the land has been posted against such activity. G.S. 14-159.6. The posting may be done with signs, but G.S. 14-159.7 allows for another option:

The owner or lessee of the property may place identifying purple paint marks on trees or posts around the area to be posted. Each paint mark shall be a vertical line of at least eight inches in length, and the bottom of the mark shall be no less than three feet nor more than five feet from the base of the tree or post. The paint marks shall be placed no more than 100 yards apart and shall be readily visible to any person approaching the property. For the purpose of prohibiting fishing, or the taking of fish by any means, in any stream, lake, or pond, it shall only be necessary that the paint marks be placed along the stream or shoreline of a pond or lake at intervals of not more than 100 yards apart.

If a person obtains the written permission of the owner or lessee, hunting, fishing, or trapping is allowed to the extent otherwise permitted. Without written permission, it’s prohibited.

Why purple paint? In an online FAQ about the law, the Wildlife Resources Commission explains:

Landowners in North Carolina who want to post their lands can have difficulty keeping posted signs erected and intact. Using paint marks, as an alternative or in addition to signage, is a convenient and effective means of marking lands as posted, and requires less frequent maintenance and cost, since paint marks are more difficult to vandalize than signs.

Doesn’t prohibit trespassing generally.The paint only protects against hunting, fishing, or trapping. It doesn’t prohibit, for example, hiking or birdwatching. A no trespassing sign would be effective against those other activities, of course.

Some other states have a similar rule. This article asserts that there are 10 states with “no hunting purple” laws. But it doesn’t count Indiana, which just adopted a similar provision. Although the laws are quite similar, there is some local variation. For example, in Texas, purple paint doesn’t just prevent hunting, fishing, and trapping, but is the full equivalent of a no trespassing sign. In fact, a Texas appellate court affirmed a trespass conviction based in part on the presence of purple paint. See Hefley v. State, 2013 WL 5576360 (Tex. Ct. App. Texarkana Oct. 9, 2013) (unpublished) (finding that even if the trespass notice given to the defendant may have been ambiguous about the portions of the victim’s property that were off-limits, “the pasture area [that the defendant entered] was marked with no trespassing signs and purple paint markers on the tree line,” and “[w]ritten or oral notice, fencing, signs forbidding entry, purple paint marks on trees or posts, and crop cultivation all effectively place a person on notice that entry is forbidden”).

Is it effective? I don’t know how widely known it is that purple paint means no hunting, so I don’t know how effective this type of marking is. I’d be interested to hear from hunters and landowners about their experiences with purple paint.


Category: Crimes and Elements, Uncategorized | Tags: hunting, paint, purple, tree, trespass
 
Ya'll need to be more creative.

After storing his equipment for safe keeping, and leaving a note, you could set up a shooting range with the targets near where his stand was... leave a few paper targets that have the bullseye blown out.
 
Yep.

Leave a nice note with the sheriff's dept. number and your name. They'll either contact you or they won't. If they don't then you have some new stuff.

BTW purple paint IS considered no trespassing. On my property, it means you take your life in your own hands once you walk past it. It's akin to jumping a fence at a shooting range.......

That sounds a little extreme. I've never heard of the purple paint thing. My guess is a ton of other people haven't either. Shooting someone for crossing a purple paitned tree seems a good way to end up in jail. The only purple things I've seen are the purple things they hang from trees in the Ashe Boarer beatle studies. If I saw a purple tree before reading your I might have assumed it was infected by beetles. o_O
 
Perfect timing!

https://nccriminallaw.sog.unc.edu/purple-paint-and-trespass/

I’ve been asked a few times about the meaning of purple bars painted on trees. At a recent class, someone showed me the relevant statute, which led me to learn a little more about it. This post lays out what I know.

Purple paint on trees? If you live in a rural area, you’re probably familiar with the purple paint phenomenon. If you don’t, you might not be. Here’s an example of a tree with a purple bar painted on it:



Legal significance. In North Carolina, it is a Class 2 misdemeanor to hunt, fish, or trap on another’s land if the land has been posted against such activity. G.S. 14-159.6. The posting may be done with signs, but G.S. 14-159.7 allows for another option:

The owner or lessee of the property may place identifying purple paint marks on trees or posts around the area to be posted. Each paint mark shall be a vertical line of at least eight inches in length, and the bottom of the mark shall be no less than three feet nor more than five feet from the base of the tree or post. The paint marks shall be placed no more than 100 yards apart and shall be readily visible to any person approaching the property. For the purpose of prohibiting fishing, or the taking of fish by any means, in any stream, lake, or pond, it shall only be necessary that the paint marks be placed along the stream or shoreline of a pond or lake at intervals of not more than 100 yards apart.

If a person obtains the written permission of the owner or lessee, hunting, fishing, or trapping is allowed to the extent otherwise permitted. Without written permission, it’s prohibited.

Why purple paint? In an online FAQ about the law, the Wildlife Resources Commission explains:

Landowners in North Carolina who want to post their lands can have difficulty keeping posted signs erected and intact. Using paint marks, as an alternative or in addition to signage, is a convenient and effective means of marking lands as posted, and requires less frequent maintenance and cost, since paint marks are more difficult to vandalize than signs.

Doesn’t prohibit trespassing generally.The paint only protects against hunting, fishing, or trapping. It doesn’t prohibit, for example, hiking or birdwatching. A no trespassing sign would be effective against those other activities, of course.

Some other states have a similar rule. This article asserts that there are 10 states with “no hunting purple” laws. But it doesn’t count Indiana, which just adopted a similar provision. Although the laws are quite similar, there is some local variation. For example, in Texas, purple paint doesn’t just prevent hunting, fishing, and trapping, but is the full equivalent of a no trespassing sign. In fact, a Texas appellate court affirmed a trespass conviction based in part on the presence of purple paint. See Hefley v. State, 2013 WL 5576360 (Tex. Ct. App. Texarkana Oct. 9, 2013) (unpublished) (finding that even if the trespass notice given to the defendant may have been ambiguous about the portions of the victim’s property that were off-limits, “the pasture area [that the defendant entered] was marked with no trespassing signs and purple paint markers on the tree line,” and “[w]ritten or oral notice, fencing, signs forbidding entry, purple paint marks on trees or posts, and crop cultivation all effectively place a person on notice that entry is forbidden”).

Is it effective? I don’t know how widely known it is that purple paint means no hunting, so I don’t know how effective this type of marking is. I’d be interested to hear from hunters and landowners about their experiences with purple paint.


Category: Crimes and Elements, Uncategorized | Tags: hunting, paint, purple, tree, trespass

So it doesn't count against tresspassing. I'm thinking you shouldn't be shooting people. :D
 
So it doesn't count against tresspassing. I'm thinking you shouldn't be shooting people. :D
Its posted no trespassing every 100ft also.

If you jump the fence and walk those little signs at Ft Bragg and die on an ordnance range, who is liable?

My hunting land also doubles as a range..and im not obliged to post any further warnings to idiots who cant read, just ignorant or are colorblind
 
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Its posted no trespassing every 100ft also.

If you jump the fence and walk those little signs at Ft Bragg and die on an ordnance range, who is liable?

My hunting land also doubles as a range..and im not obliged to post any further warnings to idiots who cant read, just ignorant or are colorblind

Well you didn't say it was posted as well. That is a little different, but I'd still suggest no killing unless you really need to. Your lawyers won't be as good as the Govs.
 
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Oh that's where I put my stand and camera. I've been looking everywhere for it.

I accidentally walked into purple marked land Sunday while hunting. I had no idea because it wasn't marked where I stumbled into it. I walked about 1/4 of a mile on private property then saw the flagging and started looking for the wild life signs.
 
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That sounds a little extreme. I've never heard of the purple paint thing. My guess is a ton of other people haven't either. Shooting someone for crossing a purple paitned tree seems a good way to end up in jail. The only purple things I've seen are the purple things they hang from trees in the Ashe Boarer beatle studies. If I saw a purple tree before reading your I might have assumed it was infected by beetles. o_O

You have to take the hunter safety course before you can get a hunting license, and the purple thing is part of the course. So no hunter should be able to claim purple ignorance.
 
You have to take the hunter safety course before you can get a hunting license, and the purple thing is part of the course. So no hunter should be able to claim purple ignorance.

I took my hunter safety in 1995 in WV they didn't teach anything about purple so I'm not sure how recent that started.
 
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You have to take the hunter safety course before you can get a hunting license, and the purple thing is part of the course. So no hunter should be able to claim purple ignorance.
There's a lot of people out there with hunting licenses that never had to have the course because they were grandfathered in.
 
There's a lot of people out there with hunting licenses that never had to have the course because they were grandfathered in.

It's also well outlined in the NCWRC handbook given when a license is purchased and is available FREE at any license retailers location. If ya can't keep up with the regs, may God have mercy on your soul.....
 
It's also well outlined in the NCWRC handbook given when a license is purchased and is available FREE at any license retailers location. If ya can't keep up with the regs, may God have mercy on your soul.....
Cmon on now BW, you know I've been hunting this land well before y'alls family owned it, when my granpappy used to have a likker still over yonder and the revenuers never found him. By God I'm gonna hunt here no matter what!!!
 
Cmon on now BW, you know I've been hunting this land well before y'alls family owned it, when my granpappy used to have a likker still over yonder and the revenuers never found him. By God I'm gonna hunt here no matter what!!!

Stand by....... WHAT is about to hit you up side the head......said the new Sheriff.....
 
I'd leave a note and explain that I'm going to take the equipment and store it if not removed, leave your number. Or try to get out there on Thanksgiving or Saturday morning and see if he's in the stand, make a lot of noise going in there and wear orange. As others have said a cool head is the best way to go with this.

One thing to remember when in this kind of situation is that you may have more to lose than the guy you're dealing with. Its easy for someone that doesn't own property to slip out and put out tire spikes or other things that cost you money and time whereas its impossible to do the same to him and hard for you to prove he did anything. You have to push back but a measured response is better than going off the handle.
 
Great advice that I’d never considered. I was out in the woods looking at some downed trees when I heard voices. I saw three guys wandering around, one with a bag of corn over his shoulder. It seems “somebody” misinformed them about the location of the property lines and they were planning to help themselves to the deer living on my side of the line.
The deer on your side, will soon be the deer on their side, if they have any knowledge of deer at all.

:p
 
I know a landowner in Davie county that got his chainsaw out and started cutting down a tree with a deer hunter in it! He said the guy refused to leave when asked. The landowner left to get his chainsaw and the guy was still there when he got back. He said the guy came down out of the tree pretty fast once he started cutting.
 
I know a landowner in Davie county that got his chainsaw out and started cutting down a tree with a deer hunter in it! He said the guy refused to leave when asked. The landowner left to get his chainsaw and the guy was still there when he got back. He said the guy came down out of the tree pretty fast once he started cutting.

That's about the funniest thing I've heard for a while.
 
I know a landowner in Davie county that got his chainsaw out and started cutting down a tree with a deer hunter in it! He said the guy refused to leave when asked. The landowner left to get his chainsaw and the guy was still there when he got back. He said the guy came down out of the tree pretty fast once he started cutting.

Not exactly the same, but a relative owned a piece of property that was later altered across the very end by a highway. The intersection of that highway and a side road left a small, narrow strip of his land adrift. It had some very nice pines on it.

He was driving home one day and a trooper was hiding on the side road, behind the pines. The trooper pulled him over and wrote him a ticket for speeding.

The next week, the pines were cut down. Lol.
 
That sounds a little extreme. I've never heard of the purple paint thing. My guess is a ton of other people haven't either. Shooting someone for crossing a purple paitned tree seems a good way to end up in jail. The only purple things I've seen are the purple things they hang from trees in the Ashe Boarer beatle studies. If I saw a purple tree before reading your I might have assumed it was infected by beetles. o_O
I don’t hunt and I knew about it...
 
I take a cordless side grinder and make them into scrap, leave em at the tree with a No Trespassing taped to them. Had one owner come to the house and show her ass, and I made it quite clear what would happen next time. She then called a Deputy who chewed her a new one too.
 
I'd leave a note and explain that I'm going to take the equipment and store it if not removed, leave your number. Or try to get out there on Thanksgiving or Saturday morning and see if he's in the stand, make a lot of noise going in there and wear orange. As others have said a cool head is the best way to go with this.

One thing to remember when in this kind of situation is that you may have more to lose than the guy you're dealing with. Its easy for someone that doesn't own property to slip out and put out tire spikes or other things that cost you money and time whereas its impossible to do the same to him and hard for you to prove he did anything. You have to push back but a measured response is better than going off the handle.

The term you are looking for is 'escalation', which is what is going to happen for damaging my property.
 
I take a cordless side grinder and make them into scrap, leave em at the tree with a No Trespassing taped to them. Had one owner come to the house and show her ass, and I made it quite clear what would happen next time. She then called a Deputy who chewed her a new one too.


Just to clarify, there are No Trespassing signs and purple paint well into my family's property line, so I offer no mercy for trespassing. If I wasn't posted, I would have sympathy for somebody that setup near the edge since the adjacent property owner lets folks hunt on his land.
 
Don't let him tease you, he knows about property signage for a reason.

He just seemed like the kid in class bragging because he knew the answer. I pictured him in the front row jumping out of his seat with his arm raised as all the other kids look baffled. Maybe we need a star empoji so I can put it on his homework assignment.
 
The term you are looking for is 'escalation', which is what is going to happen for damaging my property.

Escalation is one way to look at it. I'm not advocating rolling over. I've run more than one person off before. I just don't plan on going to jail or being malicious doing it.
I manage an agricultural business that has property spread out over several miles and we have all sorts of neighbors on the property edges. Some good and some bad. Also run into a few one off trespassers and four wheelers. Used to have some issues with dog hunters but all in all have managed to keep it fairly civil and without involving the law.
 
He just seemed like the kid in class bragging because he knew the answer. I pictured him in the front row jumping out of his seat with his arm raised as all the other kids look baffled. Maybe we need a star empoji so I can put it on his homework assignment.
That’s me - You nailed it!
 
I would appreciate someone more familiar with legal statutes than I am to find the actual law concerning trespassing in NC. I was told by some rather reliable sources that a person can enter unposted land legally. If found on private unposted land, the person can be asked to leave and never come back. The person would be trespassing if he ever returned. A person is trespassing if he enters private posted land for the purpose of hunting or fishing unless he has written permission.

If that is true, the owner of unposted land would be in the wrong taking or destroying the hunting property found on his land since the hunting property was taken there legally. Removing the hunting property to the edge of the owner's land and putting up posted signs should keep the landowner out of trouble.

I looked at the local laws concerning hunting and found only a handful of counties that require written permission to hunt on private land.

I own my hunting property and have a bad time with trespassers even with the land being posted.
 
If that is true, the owner of unposted land would be in the wrong taking or destroying the hunting property found on his land since the hunting property was taken there legally. Removing the hunting property to the edge of the owner's land and putting up posted signs should keep the landowner out of trouble.

If you take down their equipment with intent to return it is not larceny since there is no intent to permanently deprive someone. I don't see anyone suggesting much of anything besides removal and waiting for a call. In the event anything happens it it would be a civil issue to take up in small claims court. which probably wouldn't go real far since there is a contributory factor of at least 1% of deglegance of putting your property on some one else's property.
 
I would appreciate someone more familiar with legal statutes than I am to find the actual law concerning trespassing in NC. I was told by some rather reliable sources that a person can enter unposted land legally. If found on private unposted land, the person can be asked to leave and never come back. The person would be trespassing if he ever returned. A person is trespassing if he enters private posted land for the purpose of hunting or fishing unless he has written permission.

If that is true, the owner of unposted land would be in the wrong taking or destroying the hunting property found on his land since the hunting property was taken there legally. Removing the hunting property to the edge of the owner's land and putting up posted signs should keep the landowner out of trouble.

I looked at the local laws concerning hunting and found only a handful of counties that require written permission to hunt on private land.

I own my hunting property and have a bad time with trespassers even with the land being posted.

Here is some info on the Landowners protection act
As far as your questions. Yes they can as long as it is on foot and not posted. It is now illegal to operate an ATV on private land that is not the owners without written permission. SECTION 11.(a) G.S. 14-159.3 Based on my experience yes damaging a stand on unposted property is not wise.

Sounds like you need to get in touch with the game warden for your area to figure out a plan to get the trespassing in check. I just hope you have a good one down there.
 
I looked at the local laws concerning hunting and found only a handful of counties that require written permission to hunt on private land. .
Handful of counties:

Cabarrus
Stanly
Anson
Bertie
Bladen
Caswell
Chatham
Chowan
Davidson
Durham
Edgecomb
Gates
Harnett
Hertford
Hoke
Hyde
Iredell
Johnston
Lee
Moore
Nash
Northampton
Orange
Perquimans
Pitt
Robeson
Rowan
Scotland
Transylvania
Tyrell
Wake
Washington
Wayne
Wilkes
Wilson
Yadkin

All those counties have required some form of written permission to hunt on another’s property written into local ordinance with either center fire or any type of hunting. Right there in the wildlife regulation book
 
These suggestions to get in touch with the game warden should not be dismissed lightly. Those fellows will stake out a property to catch someone breaking the law. They can be real sneaky, and very clever. Also, they are taking the risks associated with confrontation. I've been real surprised at how much they will do to help out a landowner, and enforce the law.
 
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