How many of you have leases that stipulate road maintenance such as bush hogging and cutting back the limbs ? What are your requirements and do you lease from private or corporate owners?

I lease from a timber company, and there is no requirement that roads must be maintained.

As a private land lessor and lessee, I've never heard of such. I can see keeping the roads usable though, and not rutted out. How are you going to enforce branch trimming? Seems unenforceable.

Most timber companies couldn't care less about the roads until its time for a crew to move in or move out out, so most people have to go outa pocket to have any road work done. I do have one timber company that started having me go through each tract every couple of years for road maintenance.

I leased from a private land owner and that was one of our responsibilities. Keeping roads and fires break usuable.

It's not in our lease but we use a common sense approach to take care of these issues.

this

Thanks for the replies. Was mostly talking about keeping roads open by bush hoging and trimming limbs, etc. Not hauling dirt and dozier work. I do like Wiley's approach, use some common sense and keep the roads clear.

We lease from a corporate landowner (not a timber company) and we are responsible for road maintenance, including gates. There is no verbiage stating how it's to be performed or to what extent.

Most of my leases stipulate what NOT to do with roads. Examples: Do not disk them. Do not plant them. Do NOT damage them.

We do it because it should be done. Our only restriction on roads is no trucks. ATV and buggies only.

Having a road that is installed correctly with good berms and turnouts are usually the key, and if you have known wet areas stay off of them till they dry up some. A lot of our roads you can drive a car all over the place.

I'm with WildlifeBiologist. Mine says what NOT to do. It has a general catch all - don't damage, but then has some restrictions for certain roads - ATV only. I've had to enforce it and fine people before when my roads got torn up. Of course, they didn't pay and just left, but that's the way some people are.

As for having a clause requiring regular maintenance and brush, etc., only a fool would sign that lease.

Oh, and I am a private land owner who leases to others, and I also lease some land myself.

My family has been leasing land from the same family for about 50 years and every lease I have actually seen from them from as early as the early nineties has all had bush hogging roads in it.

Thanks for the replies.

I was in a club that the landowner(private) required us to keep some pastures bushhogged.

Our is what not to do on roads. Obviously if they are built correctly they don't tear up as easily. The problem is fewer and fewer people know how to build one correctly.