By VDC staff
Sportsmen may soon have a new system of land posting to learn before deer season this fall.
On Wednesday in the Vermont House Committee on Environment, a state representative heard from a number of witnesses on the state’s current land posting system, which is at the core of a new bill in the committee. The bill, H.723, introduced by Representative Zon Eastes (D-Windham 1) proposes to clarify the existing law that land postings are valid and enforceable for a full twelve month period, rather than an interpretation that has required land owners to update their postings in alignment with the calendar year. Currently, the bill doesn’t make any substantive changes to the process that hunters and land owners are used to, but that might change.
Information for In Committee news reports are sourced from GoldenDomeVt.com and the General Assembly website.
Under the existing system, landowners must place signs in lines 400 feet or less apart across the area of their land they wish to exclude, and also at each corner. This allows the land owner to enjoy their property free from hunting, fishing, or trapping, except for those they give express permission. This type of land use exclusion differs from “No Trespassing” as it applies only to hunting, fishing, and trapping and does not interfere with public use of the land for hiking or other uses. The land owner must also visit their Town Clerk and file a record of their land postings along with a $5 fee.
During witness testimony, multiple witnesses mentioned an alternate system that uses purple paint stripes on trees that would be legally enforceable in the same way that the current system is, except purportedly these stripes would last longer than signs and wouldn’t need to be updated annually. This system is used in multiple states, though the color of paint varies.
Supporters of this policy testified that the system is easier for property owners and is more inclusive for the elderly and for individuals with disabilities that prevent them from walking their property and updating signs. “We would not know when someone was on the land hunting unless they were very responsible and informed us. So because of all of that, we were opposed to having anyone come on the land to hunt…. Last year several neighbors volunteered to help us with posting, but I can’t ask them to do that every year. I am unable to do this at all because of a medical condition I have that doesn’t allow me to walk without a walker. We have a forested land that’s hilly. My wife is 62. She can’t do it by herself either”, said Vermonter Nick Defilippis.
Opponents of the purple paint policy cite that the current system encourages landowners to be active stewards of the land, in a similar way that hunters are, and who would be aware of problems that need to be addressed on their property. Transitioning to a colored stripe system may cause more land conservation issues to go unnoticed and trees with stripes can fall down—which could lead to conflicts with hunters and other sportsmen who fail to see the paint on the fallen tree.
Internet personality and YouTuber, Morgan Gold of Peacham, was among those who testified Wednesday over Zoom about the undue hardships he faces having to post signs around his property, which he claims may be the largest goose farm in Vermont. Gold explained that it takes him a half day’s worth of work once per year to post or update the signs around his property, describing the process as “onerous and complex”.
When asked by a member of the committee if extending the posting timeline to only once every two or five years would make his problems better, Gold replied that such a change wouldn’t help him much and the only difference it would make in his life is that he wouldn’t have to use a Sharpie and update his signs each year.
During his testimony, Gold mentioned that he has had eight encounters with hunters over the ten years since moving to the Northeast Kingdom from New York City and purchasing a historic area farm. He admitted that most of them were honest mistakes but that some were not.
Gold has become a controversial figure among sportsmen due to his interactions with hunters, especially hound hunters. One particular interaction occurred when a hound hunter knocked on his door to ask permission to retrieve his dogs from Gold’s property, which according to Fish & Wildlife was not in compliance with the state’s posting laws at the time. Gold confronted the hunter with a camera and posted the exchange to his YouTube channel. This resulted in the hunter being relentlessly doxxed for years and leveled with death threats, including phone calls answered by his wife that urged the elderly couple to commit suicide. The videos regarding this interaction are currently available to watch on Gold’s YouTube channel.
Morgan Gold wasn’t the only witness that had conflicts with hunters. Other witnesses for the committee described hunters releasing dogs onto his land as “pure malice, just asking for trouble” and that he specifically posts signs to prevent hound hunters.
The issue at the heart of this conflict between sportsmen and property owners is written into Vermont’s constitution. Article 67 states, “The inhabitants of this State shall have liberty in seasonable times, to hunt and fowl on the lands they hold, and on other lands not inclosed, and in like manner to fish in all boatable and other waters (not private property) under proper regulations, to be made and provided by the General Assembly.” The question before the committee is whether the posting system currently employed by Vermont Fish & Wildlife is the correct system to respect both sportsmen and property owners, and satisfy the regulatory requirement of the constitution in Article 67.