This past weekend while out scouting, I came across an illegally placed tree stand on corps land. it is illegal because there were no tags on it identifying the owner. There were also tire tracks on the ground under where the stand was placed; it is also illegal to drive on federal corps property with a motor vehicle. I could have legally taken the stand home with me since under federal law it is abandoned property, but I'm no thief.

I have seen heavy deer population in this very location and my concern is that whoever put this stand up is attempting to poach these deer. The season doesn't start for a few more weeks and this particular section only offers up 2 week hunting window; the whole situation is odd.

so, I reported what I found and the location to the corp land manager to determine what he wants to do about it.

what would you have done?

Maybe call the Game Warden as well? It's a good thing you didnt move the stand. I would probably cut the straps and left it on the ground but the game warden might want to try and catch who goes to it because if you just drop the stand the person will find a new spot..

on public land ya can leave a stand up for 72 hours. have come across stand that was their longer than that. i just backed out, respected it. usualy have several places ta choose from. have seen ATV tracks off the ATV trails, figured they may have gottten something. its work doing it with out one, done it enough times. motor vehicle do a lot more damage than ATV Edit: could be for a handy cap person, have seen that.

The Corp land manager said he was going to take care of it.
On Corp land, property is considered abandoned after 24 hours, unless there is a tag on it with owners full address, name and phone number.
No vehicles of any kind are allowed on Corp land- I doubt a handicapped person that needs to bring a vehicle in is going to be climbing up a tree stand, they would more likely use a ground blind.
plus, considering its not even deer season, there is no reason for a stand to be there-thus my concern over poaching deer.

hopefully the L.M. does his job here.

My mistake, i was looking in public land book. guess Corp land has different rules. all my stands have name & such on them with permenant marker. best wishes hunten

I would've done the same thing. Taking the stand could just start a war. Let the officials deal with it.

Id say leave it alone, messing with another persons stand is a big NO NO in my book. Even if its "legal" it still aint right. If the corps people find it they will take care of it. The vehicle tracks could have been from a game warden or a corp person so you cant assume the worst. Id leave the guy alone and find another spot.

lol yall are nicer than me... you build a stand on public you very well know the law and to bad if it gets taken. Id say the no no was building a stand and thinking your going to get it all to yourself.. find some grass and stand in it or become a tree... youll do much better anyway

I would have done the same as you except I probably would have called the game warden instead of the Corp land manager. Either way, looks like you did the right thing.