As many of you know, the Riverbend property was flooded with deer hunters last year. I personally encountered 3 groups of hunters and each of these gave a vague description of permissions they had been granted by RB property owners. One owner found a newly constructed deer hunting stand on his property and I have found "deer baiting" devices on my property, spent shell casings, and signs of large vehicles moving through and becoming stuck on my property.
Picture of Deer Feeder on my property, June 2009.This deer feeder was placed by a trespasser on my property. The deer feeder is a improvised device that dispenses feed and sets a pattern of movement by deer that attracts them. In itself, it is not illegal. However, it demonstrates the extent of intrusion onto our property by unknown persons and their expectations to return later when they can take advantage of predictable patterns of movement.
There are many important issues that arise with this situation, among them, damage to property, security of personal property on site, owner safety, owner liability, and breaking NC Wildlife laws. Current NC law requires written permission from a property owner. The property owner assumes responsibility for the individual they have invited to hunt on their land and can theoretically be held accountable for any misdeeds or injuries. Because property boundaries are not clearly marked in a publicly visible manner, a permission by a land owner at RB is essentially a permission to the entire property. If a written permission is presented to an owner or wildlife agent, as required by law, it is generally not verifiable on site.
For information on NC Wildlife laws, go to
NCWildlife.org. To discuss specific issues or events consider calling the wildlife officer assigned to that general area:
Bryan Scruggs,
Master Wildlife Officer,
776-1028We may need to plan carefully for this year's hunting season to avoid a repeat of last year's experience. Please wear safety colored clothing when hiking at Riverbend during the high risk season. Before granting permission to a hunter, please consider the impact on other property owners.
NC Eastern Deer Season-2009 Bow and Arrow: Sept. 13 – Oct. 10 Muzzleloading: Oct. 11 – 17 Gun: Oct. 18 – Jan. 1
DG
I own Lot E, 10+ acre lot, it’s a nice river front lot and I plan to sell it in the near future, but I wanted to check with the property owners within Riverbend before I went to a realtor. Neighboring lots are B and Q. If any RB property owner is interested please contact me at rosebroughr@bellsouth.net or 919-854-1994.
