Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/588129
54 • NOVEMBER 2015 • WORLD FENCE NEWS Mysteries are for TV and books continued from page 52 items as well. Their experience has taught them that it is not usually worth trying to save the fabric that has been "through the mill," so to speak. In general, if it can't be re-used with a minimum of clean-up, then you are better off getting rid of it; the labor factor involved usually makes it futile. Every once in a while, someone will inquire about clearing vegetation, particularly if they are looking to do a job in a real rural area. I have talked with some contractors who do, or have done, ag fencing or farm fencing, and they shared some basic thoughts with me some years ago, which I will pass on as best as I can. First, they always say to try and choose a line which requires the min- imum of vegetation clearing. Having said that, in a woodland or shrub area, clear a width of at least six feet to give sufficient room for working while erecting the fence and enough room to walk up and down the fence line. When clearing the line, two or three people can go ahead with slash- ers, bow saws, etc., keeping a safe dis- tance from one another. If you have the additional man- power, one or two people can remove the cut vegetation and drag it back to a suitable place for removal. If the wood- land or shrub is sparse enough, the cut material can usually be disposed of by scattering, if it will not endanger livestock. Today's more fire-conscious thinking may dictate other handling, so consult with the customer. While some of what I have been talking about may seem a bit obscure to some of you, I thought I'd share a story or two about what kind of situa- tions can occur from time to time. The following was related to me by a contractor who had a customer tell him the following: The property owner said that about a week prior, his neighbor told him that he wanted to have the property line cleared so that the existing fence could be relocated to the true property line, on which it did not sit at the current time. The customer went out on the property with a GPS and put orange flags marking what he believed to be the true property line. The customer said that her hus- band was going to demand a survey be done before any bulldozers cleared the property, but that one day, while they were gone, the neighbor had cleared a 30-foot wide path. She said that it clearly encroached on their proper- ty and that without an actual survey, it appeared that the neighbor cleared an equal amount of property on both sides of the boundary. She then asked the contractor what can be done about this. The contractor told her to get three things: one, a boundary survey; two, a title report; and three, a good lawyer. Further, he suspected that the neighbor may be in trouble for tres- passing. At any rate, something that could have been resolved easily turned into a big hassle, and held up the fence job considerably. Finally, here is a story concerning an Oklahoma family who had a "beef" with a gas and oil company, as regards to their property prior to having some fence work done at the location. A gas and oil developer had drilled on this person's property, and the company agreed to put a road in a straight line on the south property line, but instead veered into the cus- tomer's property about 500 feet off their easement. The fence company told the cus- tomer that they could not get involved in civil matters, but they helped the customer in convincing the gas and oil company to clean up a lot of their mess. In the meantime, the customer is suing the oil company for the $50,000 in damages which they allegedly suf- fered. So the gas and oil company signed an agreement with the customer's neighbor to drill a well on the neigh- bor's end; part of the "perks" for the neighbor was that the company would bulldoze their neighbor's west prop- erty line, which is the customer's east property line. The story continued in that the gas and oil company said that the neigh- bor had to be the one to legally hire the bulldozer operator themselves, so that the gas and oil company would not be liable for damages to the origi- nal fence customer. The customer really hated being put in this position because they al- ways got along with the neighbor, but she was really upset at the situation and because of the following calcula- tion (the linear footage comes out to about an acre of land that was cleared on their property), this situation is continued on page 58 The best way to mark post holes... 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