On my road if I clear it I claim it, but then again the people there know me and if they had a concern they would say something. I would not clear a tree off a road elsewhere unless it was an emergency.
You know what is weird..way back then when I was scrounging and my friends were, none of us thought two seconds about leaving a saw in the truck. Wasn't near the sneak thiefery stuff going on.
Also, if you didn't clear, well, big branch in the road, someone would hit it maybe later. Trees got bucked to chunks and either chained and dragged over, plow pushed out of the way, or bucked and thrown in the bed. if you waited for the officials to do it, might be three days.
No one hesitated, first guy who went by a branch or tree dealt with it, if they had a truck and saw. I never recall anyone getting upset over that either.
Now I get all off the farm here, but I have thrown a few big branches in the truck from the local roads, but that is rare, I would imagine guys grab them fast around here. The bucket truck utility guys just buck to man nadle size and leave chunks next to the road, they disappear fast. Well, not pine, that will hang out a little while, I am the only guy I know who actually cuts pine for firewood, but people will take it for free if it is cut already, you can get pine all day long around here, leftovers from folks yards or the mech loggers.
I bet this last extended cold snap though got folks thinking!