# County Road Right of Way



## FIP

I am a newbie to mushrooming and was checking an interesting looking spot along a gravel county road. There was a row of trees between the road and a hay field, not posted, no fence, and I was ~10 feet off the road. Guy drove up, said it was his family property, they hunt it for mushrooms, and I needed to leave. Thought about arguing that it was road right of way but decided it wasn't worth the hassle. Took comfort in knowing I had identified a spot good enough for someone to try protect.

What is the etiquette of hunting spots like this?


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## Take'm

In Michigan the mushroom is the "fruit" of the land owner. Since the land owner technically owns to the center line of the road, they are indeed his shrooms. Not saying people don't pick them anyhow though.


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## bobberbill

Lesson learned. It's his property to the center of the road. No different than tapping his maple trees along the roadway. Apologize, thank the man, and move on.


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## geo5

The landowner does not own to the center of the road. The state owns 33 ft from center each way, in Michigan. Public road right of way. Technically you could pick there without worry of a ticket but ethics should say otherwise. There are lots of people who road hunt. There are also tens of thousands of morels on public land away from the threat of upsetting a landowner.


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## Liver and Onions

geo5 said:


> The landowner does not own to the center of the road. ........


Why do I pay taxes on that land then ?

L & O


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## UplandnWaterfowl

geo5 said:


> The landowner does not own to the center of the road. The state owns 33 ft from center each way,


You are very wrong, please post the Michigan law that supports your post, you won't find it because there is clear law that says the easement is for vehicle travel only. Also, please post your address, I want to have a party this weekend and I think that the 33 ft from the center of the street in front of your house on your front lawn should be a great spot to invite everyone since you say it is state public land.


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## geo5

Most of the money to maintain that land (roadways) comes from your property taxes. The rest of us also pay tax on that very same land. Not through property tax though


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## Scout 2

Not according to my deed and tax bill


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## geo5

Post that clear law then. So we can all see how right YOU are. Good luck telling the state any of your land is not an easement for a public road if they want it. As for the rest of your post that is ridiculous, I stated that I thought it was an unethical thing to do.


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## Scout 2

One chunk of my land has 40 acres bordering the road. I pay taxes on the land starting from the center of the road to the back prop line. If I did not pay taxes on the road my tax bill would not say 40 acres. I have according to law give the county permission to use my land for a road and they maintain it/ I cannot refuse anyone from using the road which I think the right of way goes to the center of the ditch


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## nichola8

Most rural roads are 66' ROW, some major arterials and truck routes have a 100' ROW. So the county and or MDOT owns in most cases 33' off of centerline. Therefor the owner of the property still technically owns the property up to the road. The ROW IS owned by the state/county, it's like a shared ownership with the landowner so that municipalities can maintain ditches, shoulders, power poles, utilities. That being said, the ROW is private property of the property owner. You must have permission of the property owner to access the ROW unless you are working with a local municipality performing maintenance/construction, or you have a permit to work within the ROW. Either way Michigan Law does NOT allow you to treat the ROW as public easement.


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## FREEPOP

geo5 said:


> Post that clear law then. So we can all see how right YOU are. Good luck telling the state any of your land is not an easement for a public road if they want it. As for the rest of your post that is ridiculous, I stated that I thought it was an unethical thing to do.


A right of way or easement does not imply ownership, only that the land can be traveled. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ease·ment
&#712;&#275;zm&#601;nt/Submit
noun
1.
LAW
a right to cross or otherwise use someone else's land for a specified purpose.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

right of way
noun
1.
the legal right, established by usage or grant, to pass along a specific route through grounds or property belonging to another.
a path or thoroughfare subject to a right of way.
plural noun: rights of way
2.
the legal right of a pedestrian, vehicle, or ship to proceed with precedence over others in a particular situation or place.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------


You are allowed passage, not to take anything. 

See, it's as easy as understanding what the words mean, that you use.


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## Mushroom Jack

You don't want to eat those mushrooms anyway. They'd possibly be full of contaminates.


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## geo5

Agreed Jack. They would be full of chemicals, lead, brine, oil. I was wrong about the ownership. The property owner owns to the center of the road, but...the easement can be used for pedestrian travel. If you had to have landowner permission to walk in the easement you could not use any sidewalk, bike path, or country road for a stroll. Private land must be posted every 150 ft. Or fenced, for law enforcment to ticket a trespasser. I have been using this method to access streams and lakes for 20 years without issue. Been stopped by the dnr at a bridge, checked my license, said good luck, parted ways.


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## FREEPOP

geo5 said:


> Agreed Jack. They would be full of chemicals, lead, brine, oil. I was wrong about the ownership. The property owner owns to the center of the road, but...the easement can be used for pedestrian travel. If you had to have landowner permission to walk in the easement you could not use any sidewalk, bike path, or country road for a stroll. Private land must be posted every 150 ft. Or fenced, for law enforcment to ticket a trespasser. I have been using this method to access streams and lakes for 20 years without issue. Been stopped by the dnr at a bridge, checked my license, said good luck, parted ways.


Darn, you're wrong again. It doesn't have to be posted every 150 feet. You are on a roll though :lol:


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## DanSS26

Geo, the state, county, or local government has an easement through the property owners land. The easement is for passage through the property owners land. Not for picking fruits, vegetables or anything else.

ease·ment - noun.
1. LAW
a right to cross or otherwise use someone else's land for a *specified purpose.*


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## hillbillie

and pick your streams wisely
They have to be navigable,as per page 39 of the Michigan fishing guide.

I believe you can't access a inland lake from a ( private land ) road right of way.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.


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## Downriver Tackle

FREEPOP said:


> Darn, you're wrong again. It doesn't have to be posted every 150 feet. You are on a roll though :lol:


 Yep. When I had my trespassers issue, I was told the signs had to be posted in a manner that one must be visible from anywhere a person may cross the property line. No specific distance.


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## FREEPOP

Downriver Tackle said:


> Yep. When I had my trespassers issue, I was told the signs had to be posted in a manner that one must be visible from anywhere a person may cross the property line. No specific distance.


Exactly!


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## swampbuck

hillbillie said:


> and pick your streams wisely
> They have to be navigable,as per page 39 of the Michigan fishing guide.
> 
> I believe you can't access a inland lake from a ( private land ) road right of way.
> Please correct me if I'm wrong.



You can from a road ending at the lake. As the easement continues into the lake along with the property owners riparian rights to the bottom lands 

But not from a road that parallels the shoreline, if the easement/private property extends to the lakeshore.

That is from Jacobs vs. Lyon twsp, Mich. Supreme Court.


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## Steiny

My survey pins are out in the road, and that is where property lines are measured, pin to pin.


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## Luv2hunteup

AG land and the adjoining wood lots are not required to be posted to enforce trespassing laws. The OP indicated that it was a hay field with a wind break of trees.


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## hillbillie

swampbuck said:


> You can from a road ending at the lake. As the easement continues into the lake along with the property owners riparian rights to the bottom lands
> 
> But not from a road that parallels the shoreline, if the easement/private property extends to the lakeshore.
> 
> That is from Jacobs vs. Lyon twsp, Mich. Supreme Court.



Thanks swampbuck


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## Liver and Onions

Mushroom Jack said:


> You don't want to eat those mushrooms anyway. They'd possibly be full of contaminates.


I can't recall seeing any mushrooms as I have been going down the road. I have seen lots of asparagus and asparagus pickers though. The only roads where I think I might see mushrooms would be very rural roads with trees close to the road. Better be driving slow too.

L & O


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## Scout 2

I have seen a few driving by some tree stumps. They were about a foot tall. They tasted like a wax and were not good at all. Some were so old and hard that I could not cut them off


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## jatc

Scout 2 said:


> I have seen a few driving by some tree stumps. They were about a foot tall. They tasted like a wax and were not good at all. Some were so old and hard that I could not cut them off


 
Dude those weren't mushrooms! Those were my wife's "smurf house" lawn decorations!!


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## hillbillie

Liver and Onions said:


> I can't recall seeing any mushrooms as I have been going down the road. I have seen lots of asparagus and asparagus pickers though. The only roads where I think I might see mushrooms would be very rural roads with trees close to the road. Better be driving slow too.
> 
> L & O


Guilty in the past,before I was enlightened.
Same with firewood.


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## Scout 2

jatc said:


> Dude those weren't mushrooms! Those were my wife's "smurf house" lawn decorations!!


 Just had to check to see if anyone was awake. My neighbors wife bought a bunch of wax ones and put around a stump in their yard. They looked like the real thing and could be seen from the road. Within a day they were gone and you could see where someone parked on the edge of the road.


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## DirtySteve

geo5 said:


> I have been using this method to access streams and lakes for 20 years without issue. Been stopped by the dnr at a bridge, checked my license, said good luck, parted ways.


you cannot legally access a lake stream this way. I too have done it and been checked dnr with no issue. but I have also been told to leave with a polite warning by dnr as well on another occasion. the dnr wont ticket or hassle you unless someone complains. they dont know if you are the landowner or a person given permission by the landowner when they stop to check your license. the time i was checked with no hassle the dnr was floating the river in a boat checking fisherman. the only legal method I have heard for accessing at a bridge that might be legal is if you were to shimmy down the piling into a navigable stream.......I would love to hear a co's opinion on that one. 

there is specific wording in the right of way rules that address things like trapping, flower, berry and mushroom picking......you cant do it legally. there is a thread in the legal forum I beleive that talks about it.


_Posted from Michigan-sportsman.com App for Android_


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## DirtySteve

Scout 2 said:


> Quote:
> 
> Originally Posted by jatc
> 
> Dude those weren't mushrooms! Those were my wife's "smurf house" lawn decorations!!
> 
> Just had to check to see if anyone was awake. My neighbors wife bought a bunch of wax ones and put around a stump in their yard. They looked like the real thing and could be seen from the road. Within a day they were gone and you could see where someone parked on the edge of the road.


that is a pretty funny story. I wonder how they tasted?!


_Posted from Michigan-sportsman.com App for Android_


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## Oldgrandman

I thought they passed a law or something where you no longer need to post private property. That the onus is on the person to know where he/she is at. Here is what I fojnd, amended in 2013?

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(h5...eg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-750-552


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