Effective signs?

[woody1]

Here is the other

[Warren]

Jeff,  First, congrats on the land purchase.  As our local auctioneer says: "Land - they ain't making any more."

Regarding signs.  In my mind, depends on the tone you want to set with the neighbors.  What is customary for the area ?  Do you want to keep ALL people off of it ALL the time, or just some people, or just during hunting season ?  

I lived in a rural area of NE PA for 4 years.  Many families and farms in the same families for generations.  Everyone knew everyone.  Permission to fish or hunt on a farm just required asking.  Everyone viewed the deer as nuisance.  So more deer in the freezer meant fewer deer in the corn or alfalfa.  I can't remember any of the long time residents turning one another down.

OTOH, the area was also succombing to farms being broken up.  Due to close proximity to NYC and NJ, many parcels were purchased by "flat landers" (the typical term of endearment for city folks in that area).  And flat landers typically led to "Jersey Wall Paper" which was the local term for putting up "No Trespassing" signs on every other tree.  Sometimes for the entire road frontage of a parcel.

Definitely, you do not want people dumping trash, or otherwise destroying your property.  But, if you think you will move there someday, might want to consider how the tone and approach of the signage you put up will affect the neighbors.  As some one stated earlier, a sign only keeps an honest man honest.  The no-good-niks will never pay attention to the sign.

But again, congrats on purchasing the property....

Warren

[woody1]

I agree, you have to keep the neighbors happy. Just be carefull, the whole deal got out of control with me. One person brought a friend, then they brought 2 friends and so on. I let friends and neighbors on my property..but no vehicles. Also, I don't mess with posters. I have the property lines marked well. My neighbor dose the poster thing every year, most get torn down.

[Jeff]

The Tamaracks seem to get busted off by the wind. Most I have saw that were broke were  pictured below. This tree is alive, or at least it was last fall. It has a huge spherical nest in it, I am guessing to be a squirrels nest made of Cedar. Never saw anything like it before as its almost 6 feet in diameter.  I took quite a few photos last year of a property that I figured I never had a chance to actually own.

[Mr Mom]

     If you do move up there do you know anybody with a portable sawmill?

     Great pic of YOUR land.

     Thanks Alot Mr Mom

[Jeff]

Um, yea, ME!     Actually, they are all over up there. My neighbor Lou has a 1994 Wood-Mizer LT40 with less then 200 hours on it that has never been out of his sawbarn where he used it to saw cedar to build his home. He knows I am first in line if he ever decides to get rid of it.  :DCustom sawing up there would be a rough row to hoe cause there are mills hiding all over around there. 

[Larry]

Congratulations on the land.  It’s what dreams are made of.  As somebody already noted they ain’t makin no more of it.

Personally I don’t like signs as they seem unfriendly but at the same time I like trespassers even less.  Guess your going to have to use signs being an absentee owner.  Is there a purple paint law in the UP?  If not there should be.

Around these parts the power companies have no problem with a gate or fence across there easement.  All they want is access for maintenance and that is accomplished by double locking the gate.  A power company lock and your lock.

[Sprucegum]

In light of what you're doing there maybe you could buffalo them with a different look:

   EXPERIMENTAL WOODLOT

     DO NOT DISTURB

It would make me wonder what the heck is going on   

[SwampDonkey]

I don't mind people walking or hunting my ground, just don't leave garbage and damage my trees. And my trails are too wet for ATV's so don't tear up my ground. When you take away the mode of travel for most people they will not venture in if they haven't a cushion under their arse. Not hardly anyone posts land here, just have to respect the land and resist any temptation to be a destructive slob.

[OneWithWood]

 

Congrats Jeff and Tammy! 

Feels good don't it?

There are a few good reasons for posting your property.  Mostly liability issues.  A good less offensive sign is 'Please, no tresspassing.  Hunting by permission only.'  The good folks will ask for permission and it gives you an oppportunity to explain your concerns, i.e. no nails, no screw in steps, no trash.
My signs (an example can be seen on the marking boundaries thread) Simply state Private Property, No Trespassing, No Hunting - if you cross this boundary you accept whatever fate befalls you.
I put that last bit on there due to the many trees I have girdled.  Those trees fall and can be dangerous.  I did not go the hunting with permission route because I did not want to fool with hunters at all.  My family and I are all the hunters needed.
Occasionally I have to run some atv'er done and explain why I do not allow atvs on the property.  Each time I had to do that it was either raining or just stopped.  The damage they caused was easily evident so there was not much discussion.  They always say they are sorry but never offer to help repair the damage. 

[Norm]

Well I think it's darn cool you guys are landowners, especially in such a pretty part of the country. 

When we bought our place it had been a rental farm for 50 years or so and most folks treated it like their own. I went out and posted it on the corners of the property, basically no trespassing signs. Any adjacent owners understood completely, those that didn't were the ones that I wouldn't allow on anyways. First couple of years we had a few problems but that went away.

Hope your able to move up their eventually and build your retirement home. Now don't worry about making my guest bedroom too fancy....I wouldn't want to impose.

[Cedarman]

Congratulations on a nice piece of land.  Those big cedars look real nice.   Just to be able to look at something that old is worth much more than making a bunch of lumber.  I can imagine the thrill you will get over and over each time you take a walk.
I expect you will have hard decisions o which trees to cut unless they are dead or dying when you build your cabin.  It is amazing how things can come together to make a deal work.

[Gary_C]

Jeff

Now that you completed the purchase, you should go back to the seller and ask if he still has any of the historical information on the property that he would be willing to share or at least see. If this was an estate sale, they may just dispose of any papers, pictures, etc. that belonged to the owner.

Can't hurt to ask.

[Jeff]

Gary_C. I did just that through the realtor early on in the sale. I told her since I was going to be the new steward of this land I was very interested in what the previous owner's history was (it had been owned by the same fellow for 50 years)  She got back with me a copuple days later saying the owner had no history, that he only knew it was his uncle's who lived in Ohio, as did the seller, and that he never knew of his uncle going to Michigan, and it was simply property to be liquidated.     Lou told be that in all his live (78 years)  that all they ever knew was  that someone from "down south"  owned the property and that he doesnt remember anyone ever visiting it.

[Jeff]

I hope in possible coming years the location doesn't stop folks from coming to the pig roast!! 

[Ron Wenrich]

Go to the county seat and do a title search.  You should be able to take it back to the warrant deeds or whatever was used as the initial land grant. 

I used to do those for landowners and myself to get familiar with a tract of land.  I would find deeds that talked about houses and barns and the current land was all forested with no hosue or barn.  I even had one tract that had some pretty big timber where we found the remnants of an old snake fence on the boundary lines.  It was once a pasture.

[Jeff]

Cedarman, there is places on the property that is awe inspiring. One small section on the end seems to be peet. No standing water as the property is very well drained,  where you can trace back generations of cedar tipping over and coming back up. Its park like in there and the cedars  are very nice.  This band of cedar crosses the road and goes over on to Lou's property. I plan on never cutting any live cedar, (depending on Ron's recommendation though) but Lou cut several of his when he built his home. He said he had to use a razor to keep track of the growth rings and that many of the trees were 200 years old plus. Some of my trees you can see where the old tree tipped and the new tree came up back 3 and 4 generations and the first tree is still visible. You gotta really be looking back in time. Some of those trees are in a slight arch from where they went over and they form benches that you can sit on.  I'm not painting a very good photo with words. It sounds like a cluster when I describe it.  What it seems more like to me when I was sitting in there is like a lush green park and and the oldest generations of cedars look like creatures rising up from and back into the ground and finally coming up and erupting into trees.

[Bro. Noble]

I for one sure hope to attend a pig roast there someday

As far as signs,  It doesn't sound like there is any need for them.  You havn't mentioned any sort of vandalism,  dumping,  or tire ruts.  When you were there during hunting season,  you would probably have seen trespassing at the worst.  A visit with the neighbors would be my advice and would be a good thing to do anyway.  We have a few neighbors that have no respect for anyone or their property,  but signs are a waste of time to people like that.  Anyway if you put up a bunch of signs,  you're the one that has to look at them the most

[Stephen Alford]

Congrats sounds great,and thanks for sharin. I would put a great big SOLD sign right out front. Pretty much says all. Stephen

[Jeff]

There was some evil signs of trespass by hunters.  I found two large cedars with Pole barn nails holding boards onto them for ladders so they could climb between them up to a micky mouse stand. I Dont think I want to post the whole thing, just something on the corner that denotes at least for awhile, that the property has new owners and is no longer "free range" so to speak.  Perhaps just my frequent presence there will do it.  I have the perfect place for a large sign on that corner though. I'm thinking that

FORESTRY FORUM
TEST FOREST

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Would peak some curiosity.

"What are they doing in there?"  "I heard they are growing some form of mutant northern white cedars in there that can be mashed and eaten like grits." "There is some scary big dude that patrols it with a 44 mag on his hip"