WDH's opinion

Friends and colleagues:

Here is the opinion of the WDH's editorial boad related to tresspass.

Best Regard,

Ya Myyoufu YangSun,


Sep 25, 2005


Resolve
trespassing
conflicts



peacefully Hunting season is here.

Last weekend, grouse hunters started traipsing through the woods in
pursuit of their quarry. Archers are sitting in trees waiting for
whitetail to walk by. Bears are running scared all over the northwoods.

And in the back of the mind of every hunter and rural landowner is the
case of Chai Soua Vang, the man recently convicted of shooting eight
men during a dispute over hunting land.

No one is making excuses for Vang. He killed six men and wounded two
others, shooting some in the back as they tried to flee. He deserves to
spend the remainder of his life in jail.

But even as we condemn the irrational behavior - and perhaps overt
racism - that led to the confrontation during the 2004 deer-rifle
season, we can agree that common-sense precautions can prevent future
run-ins or at least help resolve them without violence.

First, a word for hunters: It's not always easy to know when you stray
off of public land and onto private land, as Vang apparently did.

In parts of the New Wood in Lincoln County or the Chequamegon and
Nicolet national forests farther north - to say nothing of the vast
tracts of state, county and paper company woodland - public and private
land blend seamlessly together.

Without a Global Positioning System, it's often impossible to know when
you're trespassing while tramping through the trees. And that can lead
to confrontations.

Remember, whether you encounter another hunter or a landowner, you have
a weapon in your hands and that alone makes you threatening.

Go out of your way to demonstrate that you intend no harm. Be
respectful and apologetic. Make your way back to public land with
alacrity.

As for landowners, they also can play a role in easing tensions.

Until 1995, state law required land that wasn't cultivated or fenced in
to be posted as private property. You still can see faded yellow "no
trespassing" signs tacked on trees all over rural Wisconsin.

Those signs irritated some folks who said they spoiled the natural
beauty of the woods. Others argued that the burden for protecting land
shouldn't fall upon landowners - that it's the responsibility of
hunters to know where they are. And landowners complained that the law
required them to post signs that frequently were torn down or shot up
by disgruntled outdoors people.

Some owners still maintain the signs because they want no
misunderstandings. And the state should consider reinstating the
posting requirement simply because a few 25-cent signs can head off a
lot of disputes.

Or Wisconsin could go one step further and post signs on all public
land - paid for through surcharges on hunting licenses or a new permit
that anyone on state and county land would be required to buy.

The sign issue aside, landowners also have a responsibility to resolve
conflicts peacefully.

If someone wanders onto your land, gently point out his or her error.
Calmly ask the person to leave and offer directions. And if the person
refuses, don't take matters into your hands. Get his or her back-tag
license number and call the sheriff's department.

And that's the final piece of the puzzle.

Landowners consistently complain that police and wardens don't take
trespassing complaints seriously.

Police respond that, particularly during the nine-day rifle season,
they're so busy with poaching complaints and hunting accidents that
trespassing isn't a top priority.

It needs to move up the priority list.

Hostility seems to be the rule of the day in modern society. We see it
in everything from the tone of political dialogue to the frequency of
road rage incidents.

The woods ought to be a place we can escape from rancor and antagonism.
If we all try to be a little more understanding and a bit more
considerate of one another, they still can be.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Was it rage? Or race? Vang trial begins
    ... >> danger will be a good defense for mass murder. ... He owned hunting land of his own, ... So he'd been confronted and ordered off private land ... > certainly hadn't cured him of his habit of trespassing. ...
    (alt.true-crime)
  • Re: WDHs opinion
    ... > off of public land and onto private land, ... more places that are definitely on public land, ... > As for landowners, they also can play a role in easing tensions. ... > trespassing" signs tacked on trees all over rural Wisconsin. ...
    (soc.culture.hmong)
  • Re: Was it rage? Or race? Vang trial begins
    ... > danger will be a good defense for mass murder. ... He owned hunting land of his own, ... So he'd been confronted and ordered off private land ... certainly hadn't cured him of his habit of trespassing. ...
    (alt.true-crime)
  • Re: Economic System of China?
    ... and was able to overthrow the Han emperor. ... by reforming the coinage, confiscating wealth, imposing taxes on ... Mang's misrule must have significantly reduced land rents, ... leaving them to be pocketed by the private landowners. ...
    (sci.econ)
  • Re: Economic System of China?
    ... and was able to overthrow the Han emperor. ... > to overcome the effects of private capture and retention of land rent ... leaving them to be pocketed by the private landowners. ...
    (sci.econ)
Loading