Land Access Question

[Stein]

The maps are the maps.  Every enforcement agency uses them and I have no question about trusting them.  They use gps and township/range data and are very accurate.


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[Curly]

Sure they are very accurate,  but just not exact. They could be off 75 yards. Lines on an assessor map are often off quite a bit and the lines on GPS maps are based on county data so they could be off as well.

I think the sheriff and wdfw is potentially giving bad advice. They may say they won't write someone up for tresspassing but what if the landowner wants to push the issue?  If there are fences that have been assumed to be on the property line, then it really doesn't matter where the county or your GPS says the line is.......the line is the fence.

[Ridgeratt]

Ok so I found some birds. I asked the farmer for permission to hunt he said he rents/leases the hunting rights out. So it was a no go. But as I was driving by the location the birds were on I noticed a small piece of public hunting ground, posted with signs. So I did some research, thinking that maybe I could set up close enough to the birds I could pull them in onto the public section. According to the go hunt map, and mapsifter, the public property actually extends about 75 yards into the farmers stubble field. So my question is, can I technically hunt that 75 yards into the stubble field that both the go hunt map and mapsift show the state owning?

Since it says your eastern Washington. There is/was a professor from Eastern that has tied up tons of ground. One of the engineers at work's family owns a bunch south of long lake and talking to him he never hunt's it but it is leased.

[JLS]

Sure they are very accurate,  but just not exact. They could be off 75 yards. Lines on an assessor map are often off quite a bit and the lines on GPS maps are based on county data so they could be off as well.

I think the sheriff and wdfw is potentially giving bad advice. They may say they won't write someone up for tresspassing but what if the landowner wants to push the issue?  If there are fences that have been assumed to be on the property line, then it really doesn't matter where the county or your GPS says the line is.......the line is the fence.

It doesn't matter where the fence is.  Survey pins are the only thing official.  The landowner can't "push the issue" simply based on the location of a fence.

[bobcat]

Sure they are very accurate,  but just not exact. They could be off 75 yards. Lines on an assessor map are often off quite a bit and the lines on GPS maps are based on county data so they could be off as well.

I think the sheriff and wdfw is potentially giving bad advice. They may say they won't write someone up for tresspassing but what if the landowner wants to push the issue?  If there are fences that have been assumed to be on the property line, then it really doesn't matter where the county or your GPS says the line is.......the line is the fence.

Definitely bad advice from the sheriff. For parcel lines to be off by 225 feet is not unusual at all. I've often seen lines off by as much as 400 to 500 feet. You won't see this as much in developed areas where everything has been surveyed and property corners monumented.

I would not hunt this spot with others hunting in close proximity who have paid the landowner for the right to hunt there. Unless you can be sure exactly where that property line is. It's obvious where the landowner thinks it is.

[Curly]

Sure they are very accurate,  but just not exact. They could be off 75 yards. Lines on an assessor map are often off quite a bit and the lines on GPS maps are based on county data so they could be off as well.

I think the sheriff and wdfw is potentially giving bad advice. They may say they won't write someone up for tresspassing but what if the landowner wants to push the issue?  If there are fences that have been assumed to be on the property line, then it really doesn't matter where the county or your GPS says the line is.......the line is the fence.

It doesn't matter where the fence is.  Survey pins are the only thing official.  The landowner can't "push the issue" simply based on the location of a fence.

He can if he feels he's right on where the line is. You simply can't go by a hand held GPS to determine property lines exactly. A lot of times there are no survey pins.  It would cost a lot of money to get a survey done in some cases to determine the lines.

[Skillet]

I guarantee you that farmer knows he's over the line if he actually is. Just don't expect him to admit it. 
IMHO, have a man to man conversation with the farmer and tell him that you've discussed this all with LEO, and intend to hunt that piece of  land.   And that you'd appreciate him letting his lessee's know so as to avoid a problem in the field. 

[Stein]

So, you have a gps accurate to within a few feet and he has a "feeling" about where the line is.  That is why enforcement gave him the advice they did.  It is public land and he has every right to hunt it.

Personally, I'm tired of anyone who thinks they can dictate what happens on public land.

[Curly]

Gps's are not necessarily that accurate. A professional land surveyor is needed to determine where the actual line is. Short of a land survey, I wouldn't be trusting what the Gps is saying which is likely based on county assessor data.  Assessor data is often times not accurate.

I guess you could do a search of any surveys that were done or hire a pls, but it just isn't a good idea to trust that the Gps is going to get you accurate to within a few feet. 

[bobcat]

That's the thing, and this has already been explained, but it's irrelevant how accurate the GPS is, if the parcel lines on the map are off.

I agreed if it's public land, he should hunt it. But you can't know where the line is just by looking at a GPS.

The landowner should know where his lines are better than anybody else. Like I said before, contact the state agency that manages that state land, and ask if they can clarify exactly where the line is in relation to the edge of the wheat stubble.

[CAMPMEAT]

How many pages is this one gonna go ? I can't believe people harp and moan about the same stuff all time, who aren't even going to hunt the land....

[JLS]

The assessor's records are what will be used in court.  If they are in error, then it would be incumbent upon the landowner to prove otherwise and even still no conviction for trespassing would be handed out. 

It's not uncommon for landowners to lie about public land being private.

[Skillet]

How many pages is this one gonna go ? I can't believe people harp and moan about the same stuff all time, who aren't even going to hunt the land....

What are you even talking about?  The OP came on and posed a specific technical question about land he's interested in hunting. He's getting legit discussion based on that question, and taken smart steps that are aimed at preventing conflict.
Who, besides yourself, is harping and moaning in this thread?

[bobcat]

If there are monuments in the ground and the edge of the wheat field is in fact the property line, I don't see how it wouldn't be considered trespassing.

This is all just speculation but I would go by the assumption that the landowner knows where the line is and that he farms to that line. Even if you may not actually end up being convicted of trespassing if it came to that, why would you want the hassle?

Again, the best thing to do before you hunt it, would be to talk with BOTH landowners, the farmer and the state agency.

[bobcat]

Oh, and I would think that the court would go by land survey records over the assessor's records, since the county assessor does not determine the location of property lines. Only professional land surveyors can do that.