Frustrated Land Owner

I was out at a small, tight brookie stream after work yesterday. Its on private land, but the sign indicates that the land owner has an agreement with the game commission to allow people to use his land for hiking, hunting, etc. Its actually a nature preserve. It's absolutely beautiful back there. There are a few remains of old cabins (stone chimneys still standing), a walking path, and a tiny, tiny stream that eventually flows into a reservoir. I never see any trash back there, which is wonderful.

On my walk out, I ran into the land owner. He was younger than my dad. Probably in his upper 40s. The land has been in his family for a long, long time. He stopped and thanked me for "just being a normal guy". I laughed and told him some people would question the normality of a guy who tromps through poison ivy and thorns to catch 5"-8" brookies. He said he has been having such a problem w/ teens back on his property partying all night. He said, "I told them I'm cool w/ them doing it, hell I did it when I was their age, but at least clean up after yourself and put your fire out when you're done!" I could see from the fire pit behind him that some of the logs still had hot embers. This is what really pissed him off. he said in the past week he put out 3 different smoking fire sites that weren't put out correctly. He seems at his wits end.

I thanked him for allowing us on his land, and tried to sympathize w/ his plight. I said that as a fly fisherman, I see more and more private land being posted because of these kinds of problems. I said I'd hate lose access to his property, but I'd fully understand if he posted it. It's a shame. Why can't people just respect others' property? Talking to land owners, many of them want people to enjoy their property but get frustrated at this crap and, eventually, post their land. When we talk about jerk land owners, I can't help but wonder if they really are jerks, or if circumstances simply have made them cynical over the years.

On the upside, I mentioned how his stream is just littered with brookies. He said when he was a kid, it wasn't that way. He said the brookies were almost completely gone from the stream, and he has been able to watch over the years as they've come back to a strong, healthy population. That's a great testimony to the fish and to caring land owners!