Fall 2023 15 Landowners can extract several types of revenue from their tracts, from solar contracts to agricultural leases and, of course, timber production. Some are more complementary than others. Solar, for example, is a “one-way door” that completely alters the landscape for decades—making it difficult and costly for a landowner to revert the land to timber production at the end of the solar contract. For landowners who are looking for revenue opportunities with little to no adverse impact on the forest, hunt leases and recreational use licenses naturally fit within the overall scheme of forest management. The Hunt Lease Hunt leases are agreements between a landowner and an individual or group that allows access to property for the purpose of hunting in return for a lease fee paid to the landowner. Whoever purchases the lease has exclusive rights for hunting subject to the lease duration and terms. There are many ways to put a hunt lease together. Historically, the most common has been annual lease for all hunting rights across all hunting seasons. While hunting seasons vary greatly across counties in Virginia, the vast majority of the hunting seasons occur September through mid-May. Thus, these are the months you could expect to see hunters on your tract. The most popular type of hunting is deer hunting, which provides forest landowners a nice market to offer their property for lease. Sometimes a landowner may desire to offer separate leases by game species (deer, turkey, or waterfowl) if they themselves want the option to hunt or use their property for another purpose during a particular season. Alternatively, they may only want to offer a lease based on calendar dates (October to November for example). It’s important to note, the more conditions or restrictions placed on the lease, the fewer hunters will be interested and the lower the rates and revenues. Hunters by nature tend to be very independent and appreciate options to hunt whenever and however hunting regulations allow, and they will pay for that flexibility. Hunt-Ready Land So, what drives the hunt lease value of a tract? Simply put, one that is accessible, has habitat diversity, holds game species or where game frequently traverses, and offers the hunter a buffer from surrounding activities that could adversely impact their hunt. Accessibility: Within an hour or so of home translates to less commute time and more time to hunt. It also means ways to navigate to a hunting location on the tract (trails or open woodlands), and open enough to observe game. Consider two extremes: a five-year-old pine plantation (“jungle”) as compared to 100-year-old hardwood forest that is open and easy to walk through. Habitat: Wildlife gravitate to areas that have food sources, water, cover/ bedding/resting areas. Yours doesn’t have to have it all, but those attributes should be nearby. Holds Game: Even if a tract checks all the habitat boxes, sometimes game just isn’t there to the extent you might think. It’s a bit like people and neighborhoods—different people are drawn to different areas. If there are many disruptive activities on a tract, they can push game to areas where the game feels safe. Buffer Area: An archery deer hunter could have great success on a five-acre tract in a quiet urban setting. At the same time, a 50-acre tract of mature forest surrounded by a clearcut tract likely won’t hold many deer until the surrounding clearcut grows to include food, water, and cover habitat. Also, if your neighbor lets his dogs run free, that creates a disruptive environment. There likely won’t be much game around an area with roaming dogs! To Lease or Not Aside of being a complementary activity to production forestry, hunt leases provide landowners opportunities for: • revenue • property “policing” through lessee presence—dissuading trespassers, dumping, illegal uses of property • property posting and trail/property maintenance if written into lease terms • help with wildlife management and mitigation of crop damage—vehicle collisions to tree/crop damage • sharing a limited, private resource with those who truly appreciate the exclusive use of the property Leases and Licenses. Hunters generally refer to an agreement that allows them to hunt property as a “lease.” Others view these agreements in strict legal terms as “licenses.” We’ll use these terms interchangeably in the article. When considering charging others to hunt or use your property for recreation, we suggest working with legal counsel to craft an agreement that meets your needs and protects your interests. Hunt Leases FOR FOREST LANDOWNERS By James Stacia LAND USE & MANAGEMENT PLANNING
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