Landowner Profiles

Dennis Campbell

Sangerville, ME

Property Statistics:

How much land do you own? 300 acres

Where is it located? Sangerville

Do you live on the property? No, but there is a farmhouse on the property. .

When did you acquire it/how long have you owned it? It has been in the family (in-laws) since a 1723 homestead. Seven generations have lived on the property. Within the last ten years, the family has moved off and it has become more of a weekend/vacation home.

What is the breakdown of cover types (forest, meadow, agriculture, wetland)? 30 to 40 acres are a cedar swamp, 35 acres of field, and the rest is forested. 100 years ago, a total of 250 acres had been cleared for farmland. Now, the majority of the property is in forestland and is managed for timber products (cutting approximately 10 cords/year for 65 years, and more recently cutting 2, 000 cords in 10 years).

Do you post your land? Why/why not? My land is posted after recent events.

Ownership Objectives:

What are your reasons for owning your forest? Your objectives for management?

The main reason is to grown wood for retirement and the next generation who will inherit the property.

Do you have a forest management plan? If so, does it include recreation? No formalized plan, but the landowner consults with a forester approximately once a year. The main objective of the harvesting activity is timber stand improvement-cutting out the poorly formed trees and allowing growing space for the more merchantable stems. The landowner is currently going through the 16" to 18" pine and thinning the culls and pruning the more desirable trees. Not being enrolled in Tree Growth gives the landowner flexibility for sub-dividing the property for family.

Recreation:

What types of recreation do you allow on your land? Up until recently, the property had been open for hunting. Friends and locals of the landowner are still allowed this type of recreation. However, these recreationists all have stamped hunting licenses indicating that they have permission to hunt on this parcel.

Why do you allow recreation? Growing up, the landowner always had access to un-posted property and it was nice to have. However, Mr. Campbell strongly feels that recreationists should contact the private landowner prior to recreating. A little common courtesy by asking for permission goes a long way. Recently, some recreationists take for granted the fairly open access to property and do what they feel like without regard to the landowners wishes. This is unacceptable.

Who recreates on your land? Friends and family.

What problems have you experienced with recreation impacts or recreationists, and how have you worked to solve those problems? There have been several problems with recreationists on this property. Approximately 3 or 4 years ago, people on ATV's rutted up freshly planted fields. After dropping a tree at the road entrance to block access to the fields, people cut up the tree and hauled it away as firewood. Last year, another individual decided that the field would be a great place to park his motor home and set up camp-including a fleet of several ATV's and a pickup. This particular "squatter" even had a clothesline strung! In another instance, people entered re-seeded fields and where four-wheeling. The wardens got involved and took aerial photos of the damage (approximately $3000 worth), but the DA will not prosecute the people who damaged the property stating that they were "just kids". Tree stands have also been found in high value white pine trees. The final straw, which resulted in the property being posted, occurred during the first weekend of bow season. 8:00 at night, four pickup trucks were parked behind the barn in the field. At 9:00 they were still loading the deer (under an apple tree). It was surmised that these individuals were jacking deer and hunting at night.

The takeaway message that we got from Mr. Campbell is that hunter courtesy is extremely important. Prior to recreating, an individual needs to contact the landowner. One can not assume that they can hunt on the property. Teaching people respect from an early age should help with this issue.