The first rule of forest stewardship is that you can't manage your forest if you don't know where it is. Many landowners have only a vague idea of where at least some of their boundaries lie. There are two big reasons why finding and clearly marking your boundaries is an essential first step in a forest stewardship program:
History has shown that when boundaries are unmarked and trees are cut without the owner's consent, it's not that difficult to convince a court that one was "guilty through mistake." Thus, if your boundaries are unmarked you're essentially inviting anyone interested to "purchase" your timber for "its reasonable value."
THE DEED DESCRIPTION
The only way to be sure where your boundaries are is to obtain a deed description which accurately includes bearings and distances for each boundary line. Some fortunate landowners have such a description in their deed, or have a registered survey map which includes bearings, distances and corner markers. Many deeds, however, contain only vague descriptions which refer to old corner markers and abutting landowners who are long deceased. In some such cases the corners may still be clear, and/or older area residents can be found who can help locate them. If the corners are known and you and your abutter agree on them nothing else may be necessary. In other cases however, a search through town hall deed records will be required. If you do not feel capable of doing such a search yourself a licensed surveyor or in some cases a private consulting forester can be retained to do it for you.
Once the description is obtained, you and/or your forester can develop a good working property map to guide your forest stewardship activities.
SHOULD I READ ON?
The remainder of this fact sheet describes procedures for finding and marking forest boundaries in the field. If you're planning on trying this yourself you'll want to read it all thoroughly. If not, you may only need to read the section on how to properly mark boundaries, and then to go on to the next fact sheet, leaving the rest to others.
CORNER MARKERS
A variety of traditional corner markers have been used in Connecticut. Some of the more common are multiple "blazes" (oval shaped ax cuts) on trees, iron pipes (i.p.), rock piles, drill holes (D.H.) or other unnatural marks in rocks, concrete posts, or the corner or intersection of two stone walls. Surveyors will often place wooden stakes for reference purposes at various locations during a survey. It is important to note that a surveyor's wooden stake is not necessarily on the corner, and often in fact is not.
COMPASSES
A compass sets direction by dividing a circle into 360 equal slices
called azimuths or degrees. Azimuths are counted clockwise such
that:
0o and/or 360o is due north;
90o is due east;
180o is due south; and
270o is west.
The standard symbol for a degree is o. In most boundary work, the compass is divided into four quadrants (northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest) and "bearings" are described by the number of degrees they depart from north or south into a quadrant (see Figure 1). Thus, an azimuth of 60o is the same as the bearing N60oE; an azimuth of 120o is the same as the bearing S60oE; an azimuth of 240o is the same as the bearing S60oW, and an azimuth of 300o is the same as the bearing N60oW.
DECLINATION
It is important to understand that a compass needle points not to true north but to magnetic north. The angle between true north and magnetic north is called magnetic declination. In Connecticut, we have what is called westerly declination, meaning a compass needle points west of true north by approximately the following number of degrees, depending on your location:
Fairfield county- 13oW
Litchfield county- 13oW
Middlesex county- 13 1/2oW
New London county- 14oW
New Haven county- 13oW
Tolland county- 14oW
Hartford county- 13 1/2oW
Windham county- 14oW
Before you can use bearings on a deed or map to find things in the field, you must determine whether they are true or magnetic. If the map doesn't say which, the bearings are likely magnetic. The best way to tell for sure is to take a field bearing along a known boundary line and compare it to the map bearing.
ADJUSTING MAP BEARINGS FOR DECLINATION
If your map or deed bearings are true, your declination must be added in the NE and SW quadrants, and subtracted in the SE and NW quadrants to obtain the magnetic bearing you will use in the field.
Example: Assume we are in Tolland county. 1) The true map bearing is N60oE. Add 14o and shoot N74oE in the field. 2) The true map bearing is S40oE. Subtract 14o, and shoot S26oE in the field.
If your map bearings are magnetic, no adjustment is necessary.
ADJUSTING FIELD BEARINGS FOR DECLINATION
To determine the true bearing from a bearing shot in the field, your declination must be subtracted in the NE and SW quadrants and added in the NW and SE quadrants.
Example: Assume we are in Tolland county. 1) The field bearing is N60oE. Subtract 14o and record N46oE as the true bearing. 2) The field bearing is S40oE. Add 14o and record S54oE as the true bearing.
UNITS OF MEASURE
Some old English units of measure can still be found in New England deeds, including:
rod = 16.5 feet
chain = 66 feet (composed of 100 links)
link = 7.92 inches
mile = 5,280 feet
acre = 43,560 square feet
Two people and a flexible 100-foot tape can be used to measure distances. The rear person waits at the starting point while the lead person drags the tape out along the line. When the lead person has reached 100 feet, the rear person calls for him/her to stop (in heavy brush or rough terrain, stretching the tape out straight for a true measure can become a challenge!). The rear person then walks forward to the lead position, and the process is repeated. The rear person uses small sticks, pennies or similar items and transfers one to a "counting pocket" for each 100 feet traveled.
FINDING THE BOUNDARIES
Even after you've obtained a good description, finding forest boundaries in New England usually requires a little aptitude for detective work. Some boundary lines follow permanent and obvious markings such as stone walls. Often, however there is little or no clear evidence of a boundary line. Common "clues " to look for include a series of flat stones at regular intervals (which were once the bases for chestnut rail fencing), and/or traces of old barbed wire fencing. Don't automatically assume, however, that a barbed wire fence is right on the line, because that's not always the case. And never mark a line permanently until you are sure it is correctly located.
To find a boundary line, the following technique is sometimes successful. Boundary work is done more easily when leaves are off the trees.
1. Start at a corner that you are sure is accurate.
2. Run a test line by taping along the appropriate bearing for
the distance indicated. Temporarily mark the line as you go with
plastic flagging or strips of cloth. When you reach the end of
the measured distance, you should be in the vicinity of the corner
you are seeking. Only in the rarest of instances, however, will
you hit the the corner "on-the-nose."
3. At the end of the test line, search for evidence of the old corner. This can be done by walking in an ever-enlarging series of concentric circles (Figure 2). The evidence may be very meager: a pile of stones, rusted pipe, rotted stake or slight irregularity in the terrain where the corner once was.
4. If you find the corner you are seeking and it actually falls on the test line, the test line becomes your permanent boundary line.
5. If the corner falls to either side of your test line, you must relocate the permanent line from the corner, back to your beginning point.
MARKING THE BOUNDARIES
Once you are satisfied that the boundary line and corners have been located, notify your adjacent property owner(s) and obtain mutual agreement on the boundary location. The boundary should then be marked permanently.
Red paint marks on trees are the most common way to mark forest boundaries today. Forestry supply houses and some hardware or farm supply stores sell long lasting paint made specially for boundary work. Each mark should be four to six inches on a side and about six feet above the ground. Only mark trees that are healthy, vigorous, and not less than four inches in diameter.
Few trees will be exactly on the boundary line. For those that
are, place two marks on opposite sides of the tree so that the
line actually passes through the marks (Figure 3). When there
are not enough trees on the line itself, mark trees within five
feet of the line so that the marks face the line (Figure 3). Be
sure you are still in sight of the previous mark when you make
the next one, so that once you're finished, you can stand at any
point on the line and see at least two boundary marks.
In those instances when enough trees cannot be found on or near the line, or they are all too small to mark, you can build small mounds of stones or if necessary use fencing.
When you reach a corner, special attention should be given to
marking it. To make the corner more evident two or three "witness"
trees can be selected and painted with three marks each at four-inch
intervals, one above the other. All the marks should face the
corner directly (see Figure 4).
BE SAFE, NOT SORRY
In trying to locate boundaries, some landowners will encounter obstacles that they simply are not equipped to overcome. Complicated deed searches, errors in past surveys or existing markers which were improperly placed can result in hours of fruitless and frustrating labor. A forester can often help, but remember that only a licensed surveyor has the formal training necessary to accurately locate difficult boundaries. In some cases, a survey will be the only answer.
Stephen H. Broderick
Extension Forester
Brooklyn Extension Office
139 Wolf Den Road
Brooklyn, CT 06234-1729
(860)774-9600
E-mail: stephen.broderick@uconn.edu
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Some of this material was modified with permission from: Wood H.P. and R.W. Kulis. Woodland Boundaries. Univ. of Massachusetts Coop. Extension Bulletin L-206.