Highway Scrounging?

I see guys doing this all the time and wonder how they get away with it. In fact, there are a few guys that do it right in the median on a site on the Interstate where the DOT dumps all those trees. I can't see how they get away with it for long and they must not because that site always has a mountain of wood going to waste on it. Around here, I think you will eventually get nailed for it.

Guaranteed you could be written for either and more depending on the mood of the law enforcement official. This will probably be aggravated depending on how much traffic is on the road. Of course there is also the real and higher probability risk of getting greased on a more highly traveled road. I often load while parked on city streets but the potential threats are moving slower and are generally much smaller than the open road. There is a reason we spend so much money on cones, lights, etc to protect our highway workers.

An easement is not public property. The easement depending on how written only allows specific uses for specific people. Example: I gave the county a 20' easement on my property for road construction and maintenance. They are also allowed to place underground utilities there. If you look at a plat map the property is still mine.

I would contact the state or local DPW. I scrounged trees that were down on a highway that runs through town. It's a heavily wooded area and not a multilane highway that has white lines on the side and you can get off the road so to speak. I contacted the DPW cheif and he said take them if they are within 15ft of the road. Your case being a multilane highway might be a stretch. This usually involves police duty to move cars to the other lane before getting to the work area.

95% of my wood for the last 4 years has been scrounged from the high way I take to work.
In those 4 years only one officer stopped me to make sure I was OK. He said to make sure I was off the road.
It is very common around here. I have spoken to the road crews here and it is alot less work for them
to leave the big wood and just chip the brush. This year alone after the two storms here I have gotten my self and
my in laws 2 years ahead. I only get the wood when I can pull off into the grass. It way to dangerous any other
way. There are alot of guys that do this here so I have to be quick.

You have to do whats right in your area. Probably wouldn't hurt to call or stop and ask a hwy Dept worker for permission. I doubt it will be given for liability reasons.

I have a friend who has a plain white truck. He puts on an orange vest, puts out orange cones and cuts along the highway. His plan is to look the part. So far - it's worked flawlessly and he scrounges alot without being challenged or fined.

I know in my township, especially after storms, they will buck and roll the big pieces to the side of the road for us scroungers and it's encouraged. This was a good year.

I've been eyeballing a downed tree on the 4 lane highway nearest me. I will probably stop and buzz it this weekend (unless it's a poplar - hard to tell from the way it's laying).

Sometimes it easier to beg for forgiveness than ask permission.
I'd say. "I talked to Rick at DOT, he said it's OK, just don't cause any traffic problems "
"Well you can't be doing that" I,d say "OK" & load up & move on.
But I doubt anyone would mess with you, (man with axe & chain saw & doing work)
Get one of those reflective vests that road side workers wear.
If they throw you in jail, we'll send a cake with a chain file in it

Hunters pull off the highways around here to hunt powerline areas. They park way off the highway and it doesn't seem to bother anyone. I'd be more concerned if a person driving 65 mph was watching what you are doing and gets into an accident. If one starts highway scrounging, and others get the idea, that is where the problems start. It becomes a hazard and public nuisance. Personally, I think it is not worth the risk trying to re-enter the highway over a load of wood. I'd only pull over in an absolute emergency. There are just too many careless drivers out there.

I think most states are the same. Road are on right-of-ways except for Interstates and such. We generally own to the center of the road but the county has the right-of-way. If the county cuts a tree on our side of the road, that tree belongs to us so if someone comes along and tries to take it, they are thieves. But even though the county has the right of way, they still have to ask permission to cut trees unless the tree is dangerous. For example, the county wanted to pave a one mile road that we have to drive on to get to our place. They first surveyed and then had to ask every land owner permission to cut trees that were in the right of way. All gave permission except for one that had 1/4 mile frontage. End result is that the road is still gravel. All that survey money was wasted.

Ask before taking.

Right now in PA it is deer season and hunters are parking all along highways including interstates. I think as long as you are well off the pavement you will not get any hassle for parking. Running a chainsaw along a public highway might be a different issue, but pulling off the road is fine. If Rick at PennDOT says its OK, then why not give it a try?

basswidow said:

You have to do whats right in your area. Probably wouldn't hurt to call or stop and ask a hwy Dept worker for permission. I doubt it will be given for liability reasons.

I have a friend who has a plain white truck. He puts on an orange vest, puts out orange cones and cuts along the highway. His plan is to look the part. So far - it's worked flawlessly and he scrounges alot without being challenged or fined.

I know in my township, especially after storms, they will buck and roll the big pieces to the side of the road for us scroungers and it's encouraged. This was a good year.

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With so many private contractor's working for towns and the state, looking the part sounds like a great idea. Not creating an issue that cops think they need to deal with goes a long ways. These days nobody wants to give permission to do anything without a legal wavier.

From the storms this year our private community has a huge amounts of trees (all oak) down on empty lots. So many it's an eye sore. I have been talking to our environmental committee how this can be a win / win for everyone. They like the idea of cleaning up the look and removing the potentially dangerous trees. So far plan A is to give us the owners info so we can contact them for permission. I'm trying to have them send out letters to the land owners, work out the releases and tell us what lots to go harvest the downed trees. This is probably going to take so long to work out the wood will rot before we can get to it. Plan B was to look the other way as the trees got cleaned up. This is also being considered. I am hoping to get this worked out soon so harvesting can begin in the spring.

Why not enroll yourself in the Adopt a Highway program? You could pick up a few beer can and scrounge all the wood you want. I would of course be up front with the highway department about why you are willing to pick up the beer cans that you threw out of your truck last weekend. Tell them that it's not just about the wood.... It's ALL about the wood.

It can be complicated. When the power company did line clearing along the highway ROW next to our land, some scroungers appeared and then loaded up their trailers. My kind words to them were to unload it all because it was not their wood, not their land. But all ROW is not equal. Sometimes the road authority owns the land for the ROW, sometimes just a ROW and the land is owned by abutting landowners, sometimes another form of easement which gives certain rights to the road authority, sometimes an easement by law with rights specified in the statute, etc. Best is to ask both the road authority and the abutting landowners.

One way to approach this question is to ask yourself whether or not you have the right to go on the land, cut down the trees yourself, and then haul the wood away. If you doubt you can do this, then you also might doubt whether without permission you can take the wood from trees someone else has cut down.

IanDad said:

Again, this is a US Highway owned and maintained by the State of PA. The private landowners adjacent to the ROW have NO claim to this land. It is NOT stealing form private landowners. Jurisdiction is important when you discuss such matters. Legally, if a tree falls on this land, the adjacent landowner has no right to claim it as their own either. This is state owned property. Period. Similar (but not the same) to a State Forest.

That said, it still does not seem like a great idea for the many reasons posted above.

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Just to clarify, is this a limited access highway? Does it have on/offramps and fences that separate the highway from the all the adjoining property?

A title plat will show you all you need to know about ownership and what is granted as part of the ROW. Most times though the state may own the pavement but everthing underneath and out to the sides belongs to someone else.

I have seen people grabbing wood with DOT or police right nearby. In most places, it is just part of the game. Some DOT or town guys get pissed because they want the wood too! I have done it but I did it at 6Am on a Saturday - off the right shoulder. Lots of nice Locust. Got a load off the exit on the edge of the woods. If you can get your vehicle substantially off the road, you are good to go in my book.

I have scrounged cords and cords off the side of NY state highways. DOT, EPA, local and state police vehicles have driven by while I am working and nobody has said a thing to me. My truck is always way off the pavement and I NEVER cut more than I can load while I am there.