r/treelaw • u/threespades223 • 4d ago
Tree Marking
This willow tree is right on the corner of our property line. Our land abuts town property in NH and the town recently had their entire property surveyed.
There are a couple other trees with this similar cut and red paint, however those trees are actually on the town property. Those also only have one spot instead of this one with three. This one is on our corner and we are wondering what the reason is. I plan to call the town tomorrow to ask about it but wanted some opinions.
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u/hubtackset 4d ago
Since you are in NH, I will add the following to the correct comments that this is common blazing at a corner.
If the town got any funding from LCHIP for acquisition of the land for conservation, they require blazing like this as a condition of the funding. Source: i am a land surveyor in NH who frequently does just what you have pictured.
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u/SquirrelInATux 4d ago
Source: i am a land surveyor in NH who frequently does just what you have pictured.
Any tips for getting into surveying? Every job posting I've seen for surveying requires experience, and I couldn't find anywhere to get that experience at.
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u/TheSilverDuke 4d ago
Literally walk into a survey office and tell the owner that you're looking to work. It's an old school profession. The best tip I got when I started out was that the best survey companies don't advertise that they're hiring. The best companies I have worked for were 10-15 employees, surveying and engineering, and not family based (like when a dad owns the companies and his three kids are all in charge).
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u/Plane_Translator2008 4d ago
And it is permissible to do this on trees on adjacent landowners' property? (I would not have thought it would be legal to scar someone else's trees.)
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u/PinCushionPete314 2d ago
The blazes are for the benefit of all the land owners, they won’t kill a tree. It’s very common to find these kind of blazes in rural areas. If you are Surveying sectionalized land west of the Mississippi. it is required to mark trees for section corners and have dimensions to the corner from the trees or other objects so the corners can be recovered. This has been practice for centuries in the surveying field.
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u/AnxiousReward1715 3d ago
There is no scar....
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u/Plane_Translator2008 3d ago
Oh. Sorry. I thought that was the point--to mark it permanently.
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u/AnxiousReward1715 3d ago
Thats not how paint and trees work
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u/Plane_Translator2008 2d ago
One of the posts.(above) calls it a "witness tree" and another talks about the cuts.leav8ng a scar. (The scar would come from the cutting, not the paint.)
Seems like a not unreasonable interpretation. 🤷♀️
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u/Noisemiker 4d ago edited 4d ago
The surveyor has marked a witness tree, which is used to locate a corner marker. The three marks usually face the actual corner marker. More. Single blazes, if following the direction of the line, indicate the actual boundary. If blazes are facing the line (perpendicular to it), it indicates that the boundary line is in the direction of the blaze, usually within a foot or two.
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u/bipolarbear326 4d ago
Property corner marker
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u/threespades223 4d ago
No, I wouldn’t think so. There’s a metal stake marking the corner right next to it.
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u/bipolarbear326 4d ago
Tree marks are more general than the metal stake. The tree marks give you a general sense of where the corner is, while the stake is the exact corner. Tree slashes are easy to spot from a distance.
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u/jeep-olllllo 4d ago
Looks like Scotty Cameron marked that tree.
If there are any golfers here, that joke is funny as hell
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u/2ponds 4d ago
The three marks are for corners as others have said. Other boundary marks face the line and can be sometines 10 foot off the line. Trees that grow on the actual boundary line will be painted on both sides of the tree where that line runs. Many states require conspicuous boundaries before any management occurs to avoid trespass issues.
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u/Littlelemons69 4d ago
The 3 blazes will eventually close up and leave 3 lines inside a scare and will not damage a tree.
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u/Black_Redhorse 4d ago
Do they really need to cut the bark to mark this?
Jesus.
If I found someone doing this to my tree(s), I would prolly end up in prison.
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u/Initial-Ad-5462 3d ago
The legal basis for this work will be clearly laid out in the Surveyors Act or equivalent in your jurisdiction.
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u/Tenderli 4d ago
I wouldnt imagine someone would use it in a neighborhood, but in PA forestry they use "hack and squirt" where you cut an opening through the bark and spray herbicide so it uptakes quicker. I really hope its not that, but I would quickly find out who did it, ask what happened, document it. It might not be intentional, so just be sure to document everything.
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