Rules for Hunting on Private Land

Deer rifle seasons opened in mid-October in much of Idaho. Fish and Game is receiving a few calls from landowners upset about people hunting on their private land without permission. Hunting laws in many states require that hunters have verbal permission from the landowner before hunting on any private land. Some states require written permission to hunt private property. Neither is the case in Idaho. A law requiring permission to hunt any private land would be a real challenge in Idaho, where about 67% of the land base is public. With so much public land, and much private land interspersed among tracts of public ground, it isn't always apparent if land is public or private. The Idaho trespass law states that "no person may enter private land to hunt, fish, or trap without permission if the land is either cultivated, or posted...". So, land that is cultivated cannot be hunted without permission, and the landowner must post uncultivated land to keep hunters out. Hay fields and irrigated pasture are cultivated lands. Proper posting consists of legible NO TRESPASSING signs; trees or posts painted with 100 square inches of high visibility orange paint; or, metal fence posts painted orange for the top 18". One of these markers must be posted every 660 feet (or closer) around the property and at Ôreasonable access points'. Conspicuous signs posted where a public road enters and leaves private property, through which or along which road the public has a right-of-way, also constitutes proper posting.