This commentary is by Annie Smith, a resident of Westminster.
I would like to comment on the commentary “Advice for newcomers to Vermont,” written by Lilly Salvia and published on July 9. While I appreciate her sentiment, it is unfortunate to try to shame newcomers who choose to post their land for a variety of reasons.
To assert that people who post their land are arrogant, or have disregard for tradition, actually lends itself to more division among communities — the very thing that the author professes to oppose.
If we want to talk about tradition, Article 1 of the Vermont Constitution promises Vermonters the right to protect property, yet property owners are burdened with the onerous and oftentimes impossible task of posting signs every year, to the letter of the law, and even paying a small fee to the town clerk.
While other hunting-friendly states like Maine make it much easier to post land by simply painting a purple stripe on the base of a tree, Vermont’s law is a physically impossible endeavor for most. Also, given that I suffer from Lyme disease, the thought of walking through high grass with ticks just waiting to pounce on me while I nail signs onto trees every 400 feet couldn’t be any less appealing.
I would say that this draconian posting requirement is discriminatory against people with disabilities who cannot physically post their land or against people who are fearful of contracting Lyme disease (Vermont leads the nation in Lyme cases).
Why do people post? Well, it’s not really any of my business, but I’ve heard these reasons as examples: are fearful of bullets hitting their property (there are little to no restrictions on proximity of hunting near a dwelling); have had bad experiences with hunters in the past disrespecting property; have young children who play in the woods and don’t want them running into armed strangers; have livestock/pets that they don’t want disturbed; etc.
And, just as we are asked to respect hunters, those who don’t believe in killing animals should be respected as well. Why are their values not respected? They aren’t telling hunters not to hunt the 500,000-plus acres of public land that are open to hunting; they are simply asking that you not kill animals on their property. Yet they are shamed and that’s OK?
I’ve also heard from multigenerational Vermonters that hunting seasons used to be mainly the November deer rifle season and folks gave up their time in the woods during these few weeks. Now, hunting seasons, including the hound training season for hunting dogs, lasts all year!
Vermont Fish & Wildlife keeps extending hunting seasons to the point where there really are few times that we can recreate on our lands — that we pay taxes on — without the fear of someone hunting.
Speaking of hunting with hounds, the only way the landowners are really protected from packs of radio-collared hounds that plow through private property in pursuit of some poor bear or coyote is if their land is posted. Posted land may protect landowners against civil trespass in those cases. If you don’t post your land, you may be awakened by loud, barking hounds at night, since hunters train their hounds on raccoons at all hours of the night, even during the summer.
So, out-of-staters, please move to Vermont and do not feel ashamed for posting your land. There are a lot more of us and we should not feel bullied into submission.
Perhaps if Vermont Fish & Wildlife would clean up some of its hunting practices — including wanton waste, wildlife killing contests, the open season on coyotes, and the hounding of bears and other wildlife — landowners may feel more comfortable not posting their land. Or how about hunters just ask permission? Isn’t that the neighborly thing to do?
Until then, the only way to fulfill your constitutional right to protect property is to post your land or post hunting by permission only.
