BY JESI MUNGUIA
The clock is ticking for property owners who are encroaching on public land. Encroachment is when someone's private property; like a house or a fence, sometimes a sign or a septic system, extends on to state land.
200 cases are what the DNR calls historical or structural encroachments. And now the state is moving forward to resolve those cases.
Structural encroachment cases occur when property owners, sometimes inadvertently, trespass onto state land with a house, garage or even a well. If the structure's been there since prior to 1973, it's considered historical encroachment.
People with these encroachment cases were notified by a letter from the DNR earlier this year. The state says if property owners can prove the structure was there before 1973 new property lines will be established.
Lori Burford is the Department of Natural Resources Encroachment Specialist.
"When there's an encroachment, it takes away not just from that area but the surrounding area. It's basically privatizing that land that the public has a right to. So getting these resolved and off the books certainly will give staff more time to focus their efforts on other priority issues as well as really help us protect the public land for the public."
Burford said, people who have encroachment cases will have a chance to purchase the land until December 31.