Sue Lani Madsen: Just because it looks abandoned, trespassing still not OK

Last Sunday’s front-page article “Exploring places left behind” made it clear trespassing is illegal, but it didn’t capture the sense of personal invasion.

Fifteen years ago, when we started a new livestock enterprise, neighbors loaned us space in what we jokingly called the Gray Family Business Incubator. It looked like an abandoned barn and sheds, and was just what we needed. There were a few scraggly trees. The foundation was all that remained of the house.

Rural fire departments like ours make good use of old houses for live fire training. Some of them could have been saved for future use or for nostalgia’s sake as part of the cultural landscape, but unoccupied buildings attract varmints. The kind of varmints who call themselves urban explorers.

Thieves are a constant problem. Roger had plans to fix up the antique harvester stored in an old shed, until he discovered one of the unique wheels had been stolen. Probably someone’s garden ornament now. Trespassers also hit Tom’s place, where pieces of horse-drawn equipment disappeared. And Jill found a group in their field during harvest, cutting armloads of ripe wheat and filling two SUVs. They peeled out when spotted. Trespassers have even dismantled entire sheds for the collectible siding.

The most audacious story came from Gerald. He owns several pieces of farm property with houses and barns intact. Or at least one barn was intact. A fellow dropped by the local tavern asking questions, and was told the owner lived out of the area. Apparently that was an all-clear signal. Thieves cut off the projecting beam with its block and tackle at the hay loft. In the process, they broke the loft door and nearly collapsed the roof of the barn.

Neighbors called him. “It really disgusted me,” said Gerald, who plans to move back after he retires. He is particularly discouraged when he finds vandalism in buildings he hopes to restore. His cousin Michael has confronted trespassers on his behalf, asking if they have permission. The response is too often “we thought it was abandoned.”

Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Barkdull confirmed that state law does define a limited defense for entering an apparently abandoned building. But it also clearly makes crossing agricultural land trespassing and allows law enforcement to infer criminal intent when someone enters a building without permission. Given ubiquitous problems with looting and vandalism, “just looking” isn’t going to be well received by the deputy or the prosecutor.

Signs don’t seem to make a difference. Lisa added a heavy gate on their private road after a self-absorbed man ignored “No Trespassing” signs, assuming he had the right to access their pasture to catch a Pokemon. Dan argued with an urban adventurer who planted a geocache and insisted Dan didn’t know his own property. Carol questioned hunters who claim they can’t see signs. “If their eyesight is that poor, they shouldn’t be carrying a gun,” she said.

Then there are the photographers. Some avoid trespassing and compensate with good lenses. Molly spotted a familiar photograph on a Seattle photographer’s website captioned, “Look what I discovered in central Washington!” Molly thought it was a little cheeky to claim discovery of her family’s homestead house, but at least it was taken from a public right of way.

Steve had a family drive right into his farm yard to take pictures of his outbuildings. When told he was on private property and trespassing, the driver became belligerent and threatened violence. “Over the years I’ve had shots fired over my head, been chased by armed trespassers in four-wheel-drives and called every name in the book,” Steve said on Facebook. “The funny thing is, in all but a few instances, had the trespassers asked I would have gladly given permission.”

Every square foot of land has a parcel number, property lines and property owners. Barns and outbuildings are never really abandoned. These are not places time and people have forgotten. These are places where people live and work.

Rural property owners have another rule for Jeff Torres and his urban explorer friends: We are not your playground. You don’t need signs to tell you it’s not your land. No trespassing.