We live in an unincorporated township, run by a small town board. So small, that the town treasurer, who used to work at the high school Maggie teaches at, lives down the road from us. Maggie has been attending the monthly board meetings to learn more about the town and to meet people. One of the things she learned was that many of the landowners in our town are recreational owners and not full-time residents. This includes one of our neighbors. The family hunts in the spring and fall, and hangs out on weekends in the summer. They work hard throughout the year on trails, and always seem to find more morels that us. The owners are two brothers and their father, and as we met each one in the first few months we owned our property, they each asked the same question - if they shot a deer and it crossed onto our property, could they track it?
As with most of rural Wisconsin, the Driftless Area gets its share of deer hunters. During the gun season, shots ring out periodically during the day, we dig out our blaze orange gear so we can safely walk our own property, and the lumberyard closes so the Amish owners can hunt. The town gets one last shot of business before winter sets in. The stores are a bit fuller, and the local butcher is crowded with hunters dropping off their harvest for processing.
Hunting season also offers a chance to see more of our neighbors. Earlier this fall during bow season, I happened to glance at my phone one evening and noticed a text from our neighbor. One of the brothers had shot a deer just before sunset, it ran onto our land, and they were asking if they could track it. We had previously told them they could recover a wounded animal that crosses onto our property, so I texted back to say yes. They were able to locate the deer, so it was a happy ending - for the hunters. The night before the gun deer season, we heard a knock on our door. It was the brothers with a box of frozen venison sausage to thank us for letting them track their deer. We appreciated the gesture and reiterated they were welcome to find an errant deer anytime.
Two nights later, I was talking to my mom on the phone and was distracted by a pickup truck and trailer pulling into our driveway. Puzzled, Maggie and I went outside to find another neighbor - a father and son. They own a landlocked parcel to the east of us, which they only use for hunting. They managed to shoot a deer, just before sunset, which of course ran off their land. I brought out an aerial map and we deduced that the deer was not on our land but on a parcel that was kitty-corner to us. We said that area of our land had steep bluffs and fencing, which limited where they could cross onto other properties. We suggested they talk with the brothers next door, as they had better access to the adjoining parcel and knew the owner. Hopefully their story ended well.
As large parcels of rural land get broken up and sold off, one of the unintended consequences is that wildlife does not respect property boundaries. People, including us, post their land to keep trespassers at bay, but it is important to know your neighbors and cooperate. Nobody wants to see a wounded deer or turkey suffer or go unrecovered. Strangers stick out more with less people around and we all keep an eye out for each other. Just be sure to have that orange hat handy the week before Thanksgiving.
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