Oh boy, neighbor selling his land to a..
Whitetail Deer
Contributors to this thread:
Solar company to put in a solar farm on his fields adjacent to my north border. I don't know what to think. This is the border where all the bucks get shot off as they leave my ground. If the deal go thru and the permits are approved I will have no more hunting pressure concerns there, but I'll have a big ugly solar farm and some degree of maintenance after the initial installation nightmare is over with. The entire thing will be fenced.
What do you think?
I’m seeing more and more pop up here in MA what a damn eyesore. Funny the tree huggers aren’t chaining themselves to trees anymore when it involves solar panels. That could be good for you or bad only time will tell. The deer will definitely be moving and funneled along the fence not sure if that works for you. I’m guessing it will work out for the better despite the eyesore.
It will be a quiet neighbor at least. Not much you can do about it, just think positive and deal with it.
If it’s where all the bucks get shot and they won’t anymore it sounds like it could work for you.
Your electric bill will go up.
I think you're going to be better off. Look on the sunny side of this.
Eminent Domain = you’re next. Haha
I think you are looking at it wrong. It does not matter if it effects your hunting, property value, or enjoyment of your land. It is saving having to burn the disgusting fossil fuels and without that your place would be underwater due to the ocean rising in 5 or 6 years anyways. ;)
Darn ugly things. We have acres and acres of them here in Fla. Other than being an eyesore, they are fairly quiet places. (renditions of "Pave paradise and put up a parking lot") If the fence is high enough, it may act as a funnel. If you don't have a woods buffer between your property and that border, I'd start planting now with trees and such that will hold the deer on your property and screen the view. Darned if I know why this doesn't bother the greenies. Obviously, they've never actually seen a solar farm.
I sure wouldn’t want it. Would hate for all the trucks going in and out at the exact wrong times too.
I agree with mqqse with the moving out and in of equipment. Sounds like this year could be a loss. But future you may be ok by deer hanging out with you more. It could be worse Pat, the Amish could have bought it posted their land and hunted on yours haha!
We had a huge wind project go up here about 15 years ago, used to be some monster bucks up on the ridge where they did the project...now it's not even worth going up there.
At the very least, it will take a Season (maybe a couple), for things to get "back to normal", IMHO.
Animals will probably get used to the equipment, just like they do with loggers. A bigger concern might be the 6' tall chain link fence they often put around solar farms..
They usually lease not sell
Pat, you never mentioned which property this is..NY, PA,???
Just got an offer for that here locally. They typically do a purchase and a long term( 30 year) lease option. I imagine a lot of these will go belly up in the short to intermediate term, ie Solyndra, especially when government incentives dry up.
I think that I would look at it as a positive. The deer will quickly adapt to any routine activities on the land. If it provides an area with no hunting pressure immediately adjacent to your land that sounds wonderful to me. If it is a deer proof fence it will provide funnels and pinch points, If it is not you will need a little more time to see how the deer are relating to the area. With the predominate wind being SW having a deer dead area to the north is not all bad as it provides safe access. I hope that it works out well for you. I think that it will. Even this year's activity may help funnel deer to areas that are easier to hunt.
I am very interested in what your experiences are. I have over a mile of high voltage power lines running through my property. I have been contacted just through the mail to rent the area under the powerlines for solar panels at an attractive rental rate. I have not pursued it but I can see where it may help my hunting. I also have some bedding, travel and food plots in that area so I am reluctant.
Good for him.
If the bucks are funneling through there naturally, that fence will likely stop that. It could go eitherway for you on that. Depending on how severe it affects their travels. I’m guessing they’ll just go around it. Who knows though? It might incentivize traveling deer to choose a different route changing how they cross you.
It is what it is. But, I’m guessing once you adapt, things will be good. Best of luck on it.
We have a big solar farm where I work that is fenced in and I always see the deer outside the fence never jump it. Got a hell of a run going along it every winter.
Tie into it and get some free power.....bastards! :). :)
Questions I would have:
What kind of fence are we talking about? One that allows wildlife to come and go?
How big of a property?
How much of it will be solar panels?
Are they removing any timber to do this?
Will they plant anything around the panels to benefit wildlife or is it just going to be one huge ocean of panels?
Hopefully it doesn’t turn into what people think is remotely owned community property.
Similar to railroad property. Electric transmission line property.
And people think since no one they know owns it. It’s ok to hunt.
Deer will live inside the fence also.
Good for him.
If the bucks are funneling through there naturally, that fence will likely stop that. It could go eitherway for you on that. Depending on how severe it affects their travels. I’m guessing they’ll just go around it. Who knows though? It might incentivize traveling deer to choose a different route changing how they cross you.
It is what it is. But, I’m guessing once you adapt, things will be good. Best of luck on it.
Oh! Man! Amish trespassers, solar farm, What next?
Your Neighbor sells to off road truck / moto-cross club,
Can't be any more stressful then what you are dealing with now. I have a neighbor who insists on shooting any buck that crosses the fence. I would gladly take a solar field for a neighbor then that!!
Well....ya don't need to worry about solar power for your trail cams anymore....;-)
What used to be on the land: Unpredictable effect on deer movement with historical loss of some big bucks.
What will be on the land: predictable effect on deer movement, no loss of deer or big bucks.
I have no idea what solar farms are like, but unless they destroy the key whitetail habitat in the area I think you have a net hunting positive, as unsightly as it may be. From my recollection of the property you have everything necessary to keep and hunt big deer on the property you own. Don't sweat it. We can only control what we can control, and you bought with that in mind.
Start planting pine trees on that border so you can't see the solar farm. Unless the fenced off property really changes deer movements, it should be a win for you because it will no longer be open season for any deer on that property.
Or sell it to them too and buy another parcel!
I might be finding out what my property would be worth for a solar farm too...and then upgrade.
Look at your temps around those solar fields.Once installed air temps increase on the property and adjacent due to the panels and no vegetation/canopy. Florida is covered and more coming.FPL says 1million solar panels in a few years.They are buying sections at a time for solar farms.Just wonder whose money?????????
Two years of construction and that border area will be compromised. Should see bigger bucks a few years after that. You could do any improvements to the north area to coincide with construction. Trails and movement will change obviously. Knowing which way they will move out to feed will be key. Pros outweigh the cons IMO. Closer their fence is to your Property the better. Location of Access road to the farm would be what worries me. Maybe you could have input on that??? Good luck Pat!
Dollar how ironic all this talk about climate change and adding solar panels to crank the heat up more ha. I’m guessing your electric bill will probably stay the same or increase.
At the very least, I’d demand a free charging station for your ebike…
Thought you were gonna say " sold to a.....mish!"
Spike, they put one in up the street and my bill has more than doubled. Those 'in lieu of property taxes' payments they give to the towns come right out of the rate-payers' arses.
The heck of it is, that makes it a (hidden) *regressive* tax, yet the PROgressives cheer for it.
The ones getting rich are the gyppo companies building them - and try to find out anything about these snakes. You'll have better luck getting Hillary's tax returns.
Well dang, get yourself some heavy duty electric cord and run it under ground to your property.
Do people actually find solar farms "ugly"/unsightly?
I mean any more so than power lines and transformers? More or less than oil rigs? More ugly than an open pit mine?
Anyways, my biggest concern if I were you is the fence line. How tall, what kind, etc, not jumpable for a deer? Maybe you can talk to them about how it's a high traffic area for deer and animals/migration area. Maybe they can finagle some type of animal corridor in a section of it that would allow the deer to keep flowing to and from your land as usual. Shouldn't be anymore costly to implement. And if the owners are into solar, they are probably into wildlife preservation.
Looks like the next Bowsite article... Broadhead penetration testing on solar panels
Don K, expandable broad head do more damage to Solar Panels than fixed.
https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/LandWater/PrivateLandPrograms/FencingWithWildlifeInMind.pdf
worming holing, interesting reading
Two blade? 3? 4? Cut-on contact? Trocar tip? Single vs double bevel? Extreme foc? Show me the science!
Be glad it ain't a f#$$#$$$ wind mill farm, super ugly and noisey as hell
"And if the owners are into solar, they are probably into wildlife preservation. "
gooood stuff there, would love to visualize your correlation...not hear it, just visualize it, you should make a short film
The solar farms around here are pretty sterile. Tall chainlink fence, vegetation kept short. If they built them higher off the ground they could be great habitat. Obviously would cost more to install and service. Shade would be a plus for vegetation and critters.
If it doesn’t mow down all other available habitat I’d rather deal with something predictable as opposed to something unpredictable like someone whacking a bunch of stuff.
Just spread corn over the panels?
Are not solar farms fenced in?
That is a strong consideration if true.
No question about it, it will help your mature buck population. Maybe an eyesore, but your eyes will feel a lot better with double the P&Y bucks walking around.
@itshot
https://earth911.com/business-policy/solar-farms-food-security-wildlife-habitat/ https://enyo-energy.com/frequently-asked-questions/ https://www.macaubusiness.com/portugal-big-game-slaughter-because-of-solar-farm-hunt-federation/
Like anything man made or any type of development by man it will displace wildlife to some extent. That extent is largely dependent on design and considerations given to wildlife. Whether it's fossil fuel development, green energy or simply a road it can drastically affect wildlife depending on how you go about doing it.
In 5 years you are gonna say that it was the best thing that ever happened for you.
Unless the builder is not following codes/ordinances, I'm pretty sure they will not seek nor consider any input from Pat. That is, if he can even find someone in charge to talk to. I agree with the statement that you should be glad it's not a wind farm.
Nothing can be learned from hat guy
Bou'bound, normally I wouldn't trust Moore to slice a loaf of bread, but he might have something this time. I am convinced that those big solar farms are a scam, and the only ones making out are the (*very* obscure) companies installing them.
Idly wondering about the effects of ongoing maintenance (grounds and mechanical) around a big solar farm. Periodic mowing, fenceline spraying, service to panels, etc.
Pat this might be the best thing next to your farm. There will be no hunting around the solar panels. More deer and the bucks will grow older too. Solar panels have a life of 20 to 25 years and will not pay for their self in that length of time.
If see if you can lease the place from them for hunting
I see the biggest negative as the loss of farmland for the deer. And freedom of movement.
They are installing these all over Southern Wisconsin. The companies installing them are sneaky as hell. They approach all the landowners to gain leases for many contiguous acres of land before even approaching the rural municipalities. Once they have the leases in place, there is nothing anyone can do to stop them. They install them, then they sell the leases and all the infrastructure to the Power company. They are all basically in cahoots with the State. Once the installers sell, they are gone for good and the power company is responsible for any upkeep or maintenance. I should also say the landowners are very well compensated if the solar farm is installed. Much more than they could make from farming the land by growing crops. What it does to the land and wildlife long term remains to be seen, but my gut tells me it is not good.
What Helgermite says is true. The same sneaky practices are used by the wind turbine industry. I know first hand because it is happening in my county here in Ohio.
Florida has Florida Power & Light "FPL". They are saying that they are buying the land which seem to be 1/2 or full sections at a time.Only takes a few months and complete install of panels by contractor then FPL takes over.I'm sure it's our money they use. Oh FPL asked for and just received permission for our new price hike.So this seems to be win win for all,HA
If not for govt. subsidies none of these so called "green" projects would be economically viable. Same thing for the ethanol industry here in Iowa. For you bottom line is land that was once habitable for wildlife will not be when covered with solar panels.
Thanks for all the info.
I do think this will help, rather than hurt the deer hunting on my property. 90% of the deer bed on my 312 acres but they like to venture out onto those open fields at dusk where the bucks are killed during NY’s 6 weeks of rifle season starting in October and ending in December.
The farmer lets a bunch of people hunt his 700 acres and they all know that the big bucks are on my ground because I only shoot mature deer and my extensive food plots.
I still hate the thought of it. The view from those fields was magnificent and the thought of all those ugly solar panels makes me sick. But I suppose it’s better than many other options.
I would consider buying those fields if I had more confidence in NY’s deer management program. Unfortunately I have none. It’s a disaster. And I’d rather buy adjacent property in Ohio even though the land there is 4x per acre.
Pretty sure everyone thought you were talking about Ohio Pat. I turkey hunted around some in MA this year and other than being unsightly I wouldn’t think it would hurt the hunting. I’m sure it’ll be fenced and I bet the deer still go in there to feed.
When you say fences, are you talking deer proof fencing around the panels?
Yes, deer proof chain link fencing around the entire solar farm according to the landowner
Don't worry about trucks going in and out. Those deer will adjust quicker than you will lol...I hunt next to a landscaping company home base. I watch those deer just stand there at the fence and watch the trucks go right by then jump back over the fence again.
No matter what happens, it is a loss of habitat for all deer. It will create issues, barriers and problems. I know the solar and wind projects in Mule Deer areas have significant impacts on the animals movements, and activities…
No matter what happens, it is a loss of habitat for all deer. It will create issues, barriers and problems. I know the solar and wind projects in Mule Deer areas have significant impacts on the animals movements, and activities…
Exactly WYO
Assuming The deer on Pat’s land were feeding, getting significant nutrition from those fields that will now be closed to them, it could impact his herd
I see a drop in the value of your land, whose going to want to buy it with those ugly, loud windmills ? Wonder what the noise will dhave to deer, will they stick around or leave the area? Will be interesting to see.
I'm sure the deer will not utilize the area where the panels are anymore from what I have seen of them. They are a waste of habitat and farm land, but they do make the liberals giddy as hell, so I assume there will be a big push for those waste of lands.
A guy I shoot trap with is also considering leasing his acreage to a solar farm here in the socialist republic of NYS. Its like $750/acre; with 20 acres to lease he'll get $15,000/year before Uncle Sam & Emperor Cuomo get their take.....
LBshooter, not windmills, thank god. Solar panel farm.
I don't disagree there may be a drop in my land value. NY farmers are a dying breed, the taxes, regulations and the cost of doing business is killing family farms in NY. So I always knew something would happen to the neighboring farm, and none of it was going to be positive. This option may be the lessor of many evils.
Call me crazy but is $15,000 a year worth losing your land to a solar field?? I know in PA one of our farmers dad signed a deal with the gas company, they came in last year to add a gas pad in one of the fields with all sorts of equipment. He tried everything to get out, even pay and send them to another area and they wanted nothing to do with it. Thankfully that area of the farm has houses on the back side of the woods thru the field so we never really hunted there to hard but still. They clear cut probably 10-15 acres to install their pad and equipment. crazy how much has changed down there in 5-10 years, never mind 15-20.
My bad pat, misread it. Solar farm isn't anywhere near as bad as wind farm. Maybe sell out to the solar farm company and find a new palace ?
"Call me crazy but is $15,000 a year worth losing your land to a solar field??"
Depends what your income from the land is. And if you're getting older, and your kids don't want to farm, what are your options?
Was in northern NY several years ago, locals said some old farms not being worked, but being optioned for hydro-fracking.
No fracking In NY thanks to King Cuomo. In my area of NY, all the abandon farms are being bought by the Amish. Would rather have a solar farm as a neighbor.
Makes me laugh, the enviro tree huggers, have no problem clear cutting the forest to build solar farms.
Yeah, there's a big patch of woods near here, owner is a solar company. Matter of time before they clear-cut it? Could destroy 270+ acres of habitat.
Man will cut their own throats for a dollar. Money, really is the root of all email
One day, all habitats will be gone due to people wanting that money, and the money will already be spent and gone, just like the habitat.
I'm probably in the top 5 of earthy crunchy bowsiters, and even I have serious issues with the way these solar "farms" are being planned (or not) out. So sad to see them taking over place after place.
That said, in two areas I hunt which have had them installed, they made absolutely smashing funnels Pat. The deer didnt give a poo about the solar panels or the occasional maintenance (very occasional). But suddenly they were traveling the edge habitat created between the fence and adjacent woods really well. Some spots its nocturnal, but overall, I'd bet it increases your ability to understand where the deer will move on your property.
The initial install likely takes a while and is pretty disruptive, that may change movement this year and the deer may be hanging at the other end of the property more... But over the next few years, it may focus movement more.
I'm not sure how this will work out for you. I do know where I live Interstates 79 and 80 run through the county. I find the best Deer trails along the Interstate. Deer will cross but Coyotes and Bear don't like to unless pressured.
Unfortunately land gets sold. And neighbors dont always like what happens on the land (housing, strip malls, hotels, solar farms ,etc.) Only way to control what happens is to buy the property. But unfortunately that isn't an option for most people.
Pat,
I recently bought 120 acres here in Maine. Found out the neighbors are putting in a solar along a good portion of my north property line.
It’s a great deer bedding area, and I’m hoping it shifts some of the bedding to me. Additionally most of the trespassing occurs from the north so I’m hoping it will slow that down.
I’m not happy about it, but I also don’t want to be told what to do on my own property.
Best of luck, Julius
Be happy you have private property.
Be happy you have private property.
Pat, at best, he would've put the land into a conservancy, where it could not ever be developed. At worst, he could've had the property divided up and developed into "country get away estates". I think that this is a good thing. There was a huge solar farm put up about 2 years ago near Hudson, in Columbia county where I have a place. It supposedly supplies power to Albany hospital, but it did not affect the deer at all, albeit, there is no perimeter fencing. While I have never hunted the adjacent properties, I have witnessed the deer there my entire life, and they are still in the open fields, same time, every day. As long as those "deer proof" fences are 12' tall, they hopefully will remain on your side, and not wander far.
They’re putting up solar farms as fast as they can down here. Very good deal for landowners. I hope it makes your hunting better pat
Times they are a changin.
It will work well for you!! Look up the regs and laws. No hunting within so many feet, fenced in and they will actually make sure their is no trespassing. Also I would say it is leased as their is a fortune to be had in NY. We just had a neighbor lease 100 acres to power company. 15 grand a month for the next 20 years, if you have a huge flat area with a good southern exposure companies are paying big bucks!! Shawn
You'll be fine. It will at least be a constant and you have enough land, knowledge and work ethic, to make any changes you need on your side of the fence. It'll be an eye-sore to you, but not the deer. They may like knowing danger can't approach from that one direction and may adjust their bedding areas, etc.
Pat any time you have a change that will reduce hunting pressure I think it’s a good thing. And there’s still going to be beauty to be seen up there. It could be worse.
Could be worse, our neighbor sold his property to a real a$$.
I’m involved with supplying equipment to solar farms. I have been on about a dozen projects so far and all have been high fenced around the entire project, on the inside of the enclosures there’s nothing other than solar panels , a transformer/switch station and mowed grass. It basically builds area that is impassable by deer most of these projects are 7-8 mega watt so maybe 50 acres or so. There is a large project starting near my house that will total 1400 acres ( not all contiguous) but large chunks none the less. As part of community feedback they are going to leave 50 yard wide travel corridors through the project for deer movement/ snowmobile trails. Mind you these corridors will have high fences on both sides , I have visions of the locals driving deer during gun season down the corridors and shooting “fish in a barrel” .