Foraging in The County (to buy, tax, living)

[Karesuando1988]

Hi folks, it's been some time since the last post. Pretty quiet, no more fuss from the neighbors, so that's terrific.

I've been pondering doing more outdoor exploration but feel unsure about it. I see posts on Facebook about folks foraging wherever they want as long as it's not posted and that just seems odd to me. Wanted to check with longtime residents and see what the prevailing opinion is.

I might be on horseback part of the time, snowshoes the rest of the time. Not sure what I'd find, it's mostly just getting more familiar. I used to have a journal of wild, overgrown apple trees found on family hikes, something like that is what I mean. Not damaging woods or doing anything destructive, just exploring.
How do you hunt up the owner if you're in the middle of noplace, and there's no address? Town tax maps?

It used to really bother us when people tromped all over our farm in MA. I don't want to make anyone angry.

[maineguy8888]

I "explored" at least fifty properties when we were looking to buy our house. Many of them were out in the country, nobody living there. I looked for "POSTED" signs. If I saw one of them, I would go down the road and ask a neighbor about the situation. Other than that, I just respectfully explored. I met a few neighbors that way..........people who stopped in to see what the "snooping guy" was up to. That's great that they cared enough to do so.
I never had a single problem. Once I explained what I was doing there, we would have a good chat. I'm not saying that problems can't happen. But I think they're pretty rare.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by Karesuando1988

:
How do you hunt up the owner if you're in the middle of noplace, and there's no address? Town tax maps?
:

These days most towns have the properties on a Geographical Information System (GIS) - mapping software that connects the properties with their boundaries to records on the owner. Typically, you find a link to the system on the town's website and once inside, navigate around just like with Google Maps. Then when you zoom in enough, the property boundaries will be drawn for the lots in that area, and then you can click on the lot to access the associated data, which will include the owner's name and address. It's not completely different from using tax maps and other town records, but this kind of system makes it a good deal more convenient to explore the data.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

My guess is that only 10% of rural towns in Maine have gone with GIS. I visit a lot of town offices in a year. Some are very helpful. Some are downright hostile and you practically need a freedom of information request to get a look at their public records. It varies by town.

That said, there is not a rusty iron pin in the State of Maine that I cannot put my hand on - except for the one under six feet of water in the pond the beavers made, but I know where it is.

Foraging is becoming dangerous. A raiding party came through our town and dug up thousands of dollars worth of chanterelle mushrooms. Another bunch (or maybe the same bunch) came through and stole thousands of dollars worth of chaga which grows on birch trees. You can pick wild raspberries along old logging roads, but don't go on anybody's land to forage. The owner may be dependent on what you steal.

Dried chaga sells for $25 to $50 a pound depending on quality.

I let a lady take all the chanterelle mushrooms she wants from my land. She knows not to take too many. She has to get them before they become too odorous or the deer will get them first.