How long do you let wood sit before you claim it?

lexybird said:

cuznguido said:

I pulled into my place about two years ago, just a few months after we had purchased it. We had done no work there or anything but still it was MY place. There sat a dump truck backed up to a corn elevator backed up to a splitter. Two people sawing and splitting and out of the woods comes a bulldozer pulling a whole tree--big white oak of course. Across the road sat another truck, not a pickup, a large truck already loaded. Where the truck was sitting it was across the road--my road. The guy comes sashaying over and asks if I want him to move so I can get through. You can imagine the rest. But my point is, if it ain't yours it ain't yours.

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well what happened ,did you call the authorities ? did they get prosecuted ?

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Wood Duck said:

if it is private land, then you gotta ask, even if it sits there a long, long time. If it is some place that is 'open for scrounging' then I'd pick it up right away. For example, there is a lot of roadside on land that is in public ownership around here, and if PennDOT or the power company cuts trees and stacks the pieces along the road shoulder, I will pick it up. Most of the time it is only a couple of pieces, but it adds up. Then there is the third category - land of unknown ownership, of which there is a lot around here. I'd be inclined to say if the land isn't near a house, farm, or other identifiable human habitation, and it isn't posted (if posted there should be a phone number on the NO Trespassing signs), then four months seems fair. I don't want to take anyone's firewood, but also hate to see it rot. Who cut and piled the wood? If it wasn't a road maintenance or powerline maintenance crew, then somebody cut it for another reason and you should leave it or ask. It is tough to leave wood, but better to leave it than take wood somebody wants.

My final thought: If it isn't saw logs suitable for purposes other than burning, and if it sits there through the burning season, there is very little chance that anyone will ever move it.

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