power/phone line wood left

[banshee67]

so how does that work? whos wood is it? if its just laying there, shouldnt someone take advantage of it? how much time is fair to give the guys who do the work (if they even want it..) to come back and get it?
its all county roads being cleared and they always just leave it and go on to the next area
sometimes i see stuff from line clearing that sits for months and months, and slowly disappears, it must be people picking at it, no?
it looks like they cleared a ton of lines around here today, on the 2 mile drive back from my friends house i passed a big black locust, a white oak, and i think a sugar maple, all cut down today, lopped into a few sections and left laying on the side of the road where they fell. easy 4 cords of wood just laying there.. i didnt even check the rest of that road
should i just pull up with my trailer and start cutting untill someone stops me?

 

[Ohiowoodguy]

Why don't you just ask the OWNERS!!!???

 

[discounthunter]

ive heard different answers. i got a sweet gum , crappy wood but big, that hit a power line, elec co cut it into about 4 pieces fixed the line and left it in the ditch and the road shoulder. i stopped with my truck,trailer and saw.started cutting,some guys came out to see what i was doing,i asked them did they what it,they said no,they were pissed the elec co left it in the ditch! they even helped me load it. i also found a big cedar dropped 2 years ago from line clearing but they dropped it into private woods,could never get the land owner to call me back.(its still there)

 

[Taxmantoo]

Why don't you just ask the OWNERS!!!???

Around here, we own (and pay taxes on) the land to the center of the road, and the government has an easement, usually for 33' or 50' from the center (66' or 100' wide), for purposes of public travel.

You can walk on or along the road, drive on the surfaced roadway, etc, but you cannot take what's growing there. If a clearance crew left wood in the public right of way, or anywhere on the property for that matter, just knock on the door and ask them if they'd like you to remove it for them.

 

[lone wolf]

so how does that work? whos wood is it? if its just laying there, shouldnt someone take advantage of it? how much time is fair to give the guys who do the work (if they even want it..) to come back and get it?
its all county roads being cleared and they always just leave it and go on to the next area
sometimes i see stuff from line clearing that sits for months and months, and slowly disappears, it must be people picking at it, no?
it looks like they cleared a ton of lines around here today, on the 2 mile drive back from my friends house i passed a big black locust, a white oak, and i think a sugar maple, all cut down today, lopped into a few sections and left laying on the side of the road where they fell. easy 4 cords of wood just laying there.. i didnt even check the rest of that road
should i just pull up with my trailer and start cutting untill someone stops me?

I dont think you will have a problem if its on the side of the road.

 

[banshee67]

Why don't you just ask the OWNERS!!!???

who? my county? my state? i dont get it
this isnt private property, im talking about county roads, no houses around, state/county land, no doors to knock on
i just dont want some nosy idiot calling the cops on me while im parked on the side of the road running a saw, i guess no better way to findout, than try huh? its too nice of wood to go to waste

 

[TJ-Bill]

when we 1st moved to where we are how 4 years ago I had a 10 mile drive into. At the time the road had no powerlines then slow they started to clear the sides of the roads leaving the wood piled up. I thought about grabbing some but didn't know the what the deal was until I saw several people taking it on different days. I did manage a few pieces but pretty much everything was gone. If it was me and the wood is on a side road with no clear owner I say grab it, if it's in front of someone house knock and ask.

 

[wooddog 066]

take it and if someone should say something then heck with it but how many people wanna deal with the wood anyways except for guys that are on this sit hahaha!!!!

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I've gotten wood from power line-trimming before. Call the electric company or phone company, whatever kind of power line it is, tell them that you are interested in the wood, give them the approximate location as best you can, and they'll probably tell you the name of the tree company that did the trim work for them. Call the tree service up and ask if you can have the wood-if they say yes BE SURE to write down the person's name and time that you talked to them and date and have this information on you when you are cutting; if anyone hassles you tell them who you talked to and that you have permission to get it. Good luck with your scrounging!

 

[bass_on_tap]

The cutting crews working for the utility company's will just leave it where it lays for whom ever wants it, it's less work for them. I have gotten many cords of wood from my own street this way. If it's clearly on someone lawn, I'll ask if they want it before taking it. If it's along a wooded portion of the road, I make a judgment call but usually take it. If there is a sizable tree on the owners property line that has to come down, the cutters will notify the owners and ask the owners if they want the wood instead of piling it on the property edge. If the owners doesn't want it, the clearing company will either move it to the side where it's available to anyone or dispose of it.
BTW, I seldom bring a saw with me, I just load the dump truck as fast as I can. Out of sight, out of mind.

 

[corrupt]

Get a sticker made up for the door of your truck "BANSHEE TREE TRIMERS", put on a orange helmet and no one will hassle you while your out there.

 

[thepheniox]

I am one of those city workers that leave the wood on the side of the road. I burn wood myself and have lots. I purposely leave good wood on the side of the road for however wants it. I would prefer someone burn it than send it though the chipper. Just last week I left probably 3 truck loads of locust 4-12 inch diameter stuff for whoever wanted it. Just take the stuff and if someone stops and questions you tell them you talked to some guy from the utility company and he said take it. To bad you forget the guys name, but he was really nice.

 

[Circle B MN]

Here is a pretty simple rule of life....

If it is not your land, then it's not your land to take from.


It all belongs to somebody. Just because you see some one else pick from it doesn't make it okay. It should be rather simple to go to the local township or county seat, check the plat book, and get permission from the owner. I own several pieces of land, and people that ask to hunt, fish, cut, etc are welcome to. Those that don't bother to ask permission get "an ear full". You assume that the wood laying there is unwanted, yet I as the landowner assume that it will be there when I go to get it next week, month, year.

 

[woodbooga]

I am one of those city workers that leave the wood on the side of the road. I burn wood myself and have lots. I purposely leave good wood on the side of the road for however wants it. I would prefer someone burn it than send it though the chipper. Just last week I left probably 3 truck loads of locust 4-12 inch diameter stuff for whoever wanted it. Just take the stuff and if someone stops and questions you tell them you talked to some guy from the utility company and he said take it. To bad you forget the guys name, but he was really nice.

A crew did quite a bit of clearing down the road from me, maybe 3 months ago. Chipped the limbs but left a lot of wood in lengths of 8 to 20 feet. I assumed it was at the request of a property owner since 2-6' lengths are likely to get nabbed by the woodboogers.

Then one day, all the logs were gone. Swell, I thought. Someone's going to get heat out of those logs.

Lo' and behold, a day later, there they were in the town brush pile. The guys at the dump let me load up, but they won't let me run a saw down there. Moot point, anyhow, as the logs had been dozed into a big pile of brush a person would have to be desperate to mess with anyhow.

 

[Pain Cow]

Get a sticker made up for the door of your truck "BANSHEE TREE TRIMERS", put on a orange helmet and no one will hassle you while your out there.

I like that idea. That's the kind of thing the A-Team used to do. Mr. T always wore the hardhat.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Around here, we own (and pay taxes on) the land to the center of the road, and the government has an easement, usually for 33' or 50' from the center (66' or 100' wide), for purposes of public travel.

Was that way where I used to live. Around here, it's very different. The road is county or state property, out to the edge of your property. Usually, that's expressed as so many feet each side of the centerline. For example, the road in front of my house is a one and a half lane gravel road, but legally, it's 50 feet wide. So, I've got grass I mow that is on county property. If wood were dropped there, I'd have no legitimate claim to it.


Point is, you need to know the legal situation where YOU are. It varies from one locale to another.

If a clearance crew left wood in the public right of way, or anywhere on the property for that matter, just knock on the door and ask them if they'd like you to remove it for them.

:agree2:

 

[daywalker]

Funny Story

Well a couple years ago some county boys came out and dropped/cut a bunch of nice dry dead alder in my neighborhood. So as soon as they were done, the same afternoon, I thought, hey, lets get the truck and get some, in case someone else gets a fancy for it. Well, I was the first one there, and after about the 2nd or 3rd pickemup truck load I come back and some guys show up, break out saws, and start packing a bratty little shortbox toyota and a shortbox 1/2 ton chev. Then they leave real quick like. About 2 minutes after that, a lady drives down, parks behind our truck, and does the "index finger come here signal" She proceeds to tell me that I better put her ****ing wood back in front of her property right now before she calls the cops. And other cussing outs. She doesn't believe me when I tell them about the yota and the chev. Well, finally, after talking to another witness, she is somewhat convinced, and she goes home. Well, the next day she talks to me again, with great apologies, and said that she called the county and told them about it, turns out the yota and chebby boys were friends of te tree workers, and that no, they really shouldn't've taken it w/ out asking. I, deciding to be nice, decide to leave the couple more truckloads for them on the side of the road that I didn't grab after being cussed out. They sat for a week, and then, I thought "screw it." So we went and got 'em. We were the only ones besides the chebby/yota boys that went to get wood after all the fuss. Some People. All that fuss, and we left it there for a whole week for 'em, and nothing. Sorry, it kind of turned into a rant. If you actually read through all that, cool!!

 

[TreePointer]

Here is a pretty simple rule of life....

If it is not your land, then it's not your land to take from.


It all belongs to somebody. Just because you see some one else pick from it doesn't make it okay. It should be rather simple to go to the local township or county seat, check the plat book, and get permission from the owner. I own several pieces of land, and people that ask to hunt, fish, cut, etc are welcome to. Those that don't bother to ask permission get "an ear full". You assume that the wood laying there is unwanted, yet I as the landowner assume that it will be there when I go to get it next week, month, year.

:agree2:

Same here.

I live on a farm on one of those "county roads" and expect folks to ask permission before setting foot on the land, let alone take wood from the premises. We actually have had hunters and ATV'ers use the excuse that they didn't think anyone owned the land.

I don't have much time in the spring and summer to produce firewood, but I would if I had. Blowdowns and utility trimmings sometimes sit until fall/winter when there is more firewood time.

 

[turnkey4099]

who? my county? my state? i dont get it
this isnt private property, im talking about county roads, no houses around, state/county land, no doors to knock on
i just dont want some nosy idiot calling the cops on me while im parked on the side of the road running a saw, i guess no better way to findout, than try huh? its too nice of wood to go to waste

It is easy to find the owners:

1. If it looks like it is on the ROW - go to the county road department and ask.

2. If you need a landowner - go to the courthouse and ask for the owner - you will have to point it out on a map.

I have gone both routes and it works, only takes a few minutes.

Harry K

 

[alderman]

Well a couple years ago some county boys came out and dropped/cut a bunch of nice dry dead alder in my neighborhood. So as soon as they were done, the same afternoon, I thought, hey, lets get the truck and get some, in case someone else gets a fancy for it. Well, I was the first one there, and after about the 2nd or 3rd pickemup truck load I come back and some guys show up, break out saws, and start packing a bratty little shortbox toyota and a shortbox 1/2 ton chev. Then they leave real quick like. About 2 minutes after that, a lady drives down, parks behind our truck, and does the "index finger come here signal" She proceeds to tell me that I better put her ****ing wood back in front of her property right now before she calls the cops. And other cussing outs. She doesn't believe me when I tell them about the yota and the chev. Well, finally, after talking to another witness, she is somewhat convinced, and she goes home. Well, the next day she talks to me again, with great apologies, and said that she called the county and told them about it, turns out the yota and chebby boys were friends of te tree workers, and that no, they really shouldn't've taken it w/ out asking. I, deciding to be nice, decide to leave the couple more truckloads for them on the side of the road that I didn't grab after being cussed out. They sat for a week, and then, I thought "screw it." So we went and got 'em. We were the only ones besides the chebby/yota boys that went to get wood after all the fuss. Some People. All that fuss, and we left it there for a whole week for 'em, and nothing. Sorry, it kind of turned into a rant. If you actually read through all that, cool!!

So you are admitting you are a thief? People who steal my firewood are in the same book with someone who would steal my saw.