Is this legal?

austinjenna wrote:
It happened to us at a state park, we could not get in without hitting an old dead branch so we went to the office and explained it to them. The response was someone was just in there and had no problems. I responded with yes it was a popup camper..just come to the site and look. The staff did come right out, saw it and agreed the branch had to go, was in the way etc and cut it off right then. I would have never done that myself.

And how long did that whole process take! way too long I`m sure. Which is why I`ll trim it myself, if its a small branch. I don`t carry a pole saw with me. So I stop at a pruning shear.

It happened to us at a state park, we could not get in without hitting an old dead branch so we went to the office and explained it to them. The response was someone was just in there and had no problems. I responded with yes it was a popup camper..just come to the site and look. The staff did come right out, saw it and agreed the branch had to go, was in the way etc and cut it off right then. I would have never done that myself.

Common Law dictates that a persons or common property may not be altered by another party without due process, except when in imminent danger to persons or public safety.
The law does not protect personal property,like an rv, it does protect persons and public safety.
Damage to real property from hazards to personal property is a tort issue, as well as the reverse, damage to personal from real property .
Trees, all features living or dead are the property of the landowner thus protected by law as property and within the rights of the landowner to dictate treatment of all features on that real property.
When that property is held out to the public for fee or service, there shall be an expectation that it is reasonably free of danger to persons or public safety.
An offending branch does not qualify as a danger, is property. Do not cut it without permission. To alter anothers real property without permission is a crime without proving it is an immminent danger to persons or public safety.

In Florida state parks you are not allowed to remove any vegetation alive or dead or molest the wildlife in any way. If caught you will answer for it and most likely be evicted. Should they keep the vegetation trimmed better? Yes, but you can't do it for them.

Roy&Lynne wrote:
Sorry, I didn't mean to start anything - well maybe I did. It seems to me that if we all trimmed a little bit from a camping area that soon there would be nothing left to enjoy.We might as well just all stay in concrete campgrounds.

Actually if we all trimmed just a bit for our RV's to fit then there would be no more "is it ok to trim a tree at my site?" Posts! And everyone would be happy!

Dutch_12078 wrote:

spoon059 wrote:
Legal? You mean is there a law that allows or forbids someone from cutting a branch? Could a police officer come and ARREST you for cutting a branch? I highly doubt this is an issue of legality, more so its an issue of should I or shouldn't I.

Once again, I am happy to have a smaller travel trailer rather than a larger 5th wheel. I've never had any of these problems.

It might be considered vandalizing state property.

36 CFR 261.9 (USDA Forest Service) Damaging or removing any natural feature or other property of the United States.
36 CFR 2.1 (National Park Service) ) Possessing, destroying, injuring, defacing, removing, digging, or disturbing from its natural state Plants or the parts or products thereof.

Of course, whether to actually cite you is left to the discretion of the Law Enforcement Officer. Often, they may choose to simply issue you a warning, especially if the infraction is minor. Or they may evict you from the campground, or they may issue you a citation (a ticket). Unless you are extremely unruly, they probably wouldn't physically arrest you (but that pretty much depends on your actions and response).

If the LEO issues a citation, the recipient must either pay the fine (forfeiture of collateral) or appear before a magistrate in the Court of Jurisdiction (go before the judge). If you are found guilty, you may end up paying the fee and paying court costs.

Here's some info about USFS Law Enforcement:
http://www.fs.fed.us/lei/enforcement.php

Sorry, I didn't mean to start anything - well maybe I did. It seems to me that if we all trimmed a little bit from a camping area that soon there would be nothing left to enjoy.We might as well just all stay in concrete campgrounds.

ok,i stay at hocking hills state park in ohio frequently.the rules say no downed wood in park can be picked up for firewood.the reason is many creatures use this as homes.salamanders millipedes,mice.chipmunks squirrels etc.people drag logs up out of woods to burn,chop living trees with hatchets(no person under the age of 30 ) should be allowed to touch a hatchet in state park,im sitting at my site and i hear a gas chainsaw fire up,the ranger shows up and the guy is upset because he gets a citation for cutting downed wood!i stay at jolly roger rv park in the keys in winter,21 year old idiot tent camper takes an ax and starts cutting palm tree limbs by pool off!! ok im done ranting,people will do anything it seems to my dismay!!!

drsteve wrote:
A little common sense goes a long way.

In a manicured RV park, I would not touch a thing. In many state parks, however, there's a shortage of grounds keeping workers, resulting in a lot of untrimmed growth, and removing a small encroaching branch or two isn't likely to upset anyone. Pulling out power tools, chopping large limbs or, God forbid, entire trees, is not going to pass muster.

I agree--- the last few times I've been at Fl state parks, there was no way get the slides out. I had to cut a few offending branches so that I can future campers could properly utilize the site. It seems that the camp hosts don't do routine trimming as they had in the past, so what used to be a usable site, gets overgrown fairly quickly in our wet,sunny,hot environment.

spoon059 wrote:
Legal? You mean is there a law that allows or forbids someone from cutting a branch? Could a police officer come and ARREST you for cutting a branch? I highly doubt this is an issue of legality, more so its an issue of should I or shouldn't I.

Once again, I am happy to have a smaller travel trailer rather than a larger 5th wheel. I've never had any of these problems.

It might be considered vandalizing state property.