Hello, I have a person that wants the observations from all users to be automatically obscured within the boundaries of their natural area. They have limited public access but they are concerned about poaching Is there a way to accomplish this?

Easy answer is no, but they can contact users and ask them to obscure some observations (I think obscuring everything is too much, not every species is a poaching aim and obscuring will hide date and time).

In their case I would suggest they get all visitors to obscure all their observations. Even if poaching was not a concern they may not want people coming to their land thinking it was okay to do so without permission. I keep all observations of my property obscured because it borders a nature preser…

As a general rule, I obscure all my observations on private land unless I have the owner’s permission to post unobscured. (Exceptions for private areas that allow public access, such as privately-owned parks or preserves.) Perhaps this should be added to the general iNaturalist etiquette?

No. Is a a fence required where you live? I don’t want a fence to keep wildlife from passing through. Also some parts are so thick with brush and greenbrier that I can’t even get there to possibly put a fence or even know exactly where the border is. I could post signs but since there is a creek mo…

By law here you can walk in everywhere where it’s not fenced, thus implying it’s a land of free usage, so pretty much everyone builds a fence.

That makes sense. Here you are not allowed to do that.

Laws about trespassing here in the U.S. vary by state, and enforcement varies more. You could probably get a person charged, legally, with trespassing on small lots in town, especially if the lot is fenced. In the country, it’s harder unless you put up no-trespassing signs. If the place is fenced …

[image] sedgequeen: This is public land so we can go on to it, but some ranchers view it as their private land that we are trespassing on. I presume they’re Libertarians. :laughing:

Enclosing public land, or blocking off rights of way, goes back a long way in history across the world. Each time a national park or reserve / preserve is designated. Or a large dam drowns a valley. I recently read that a village was cleared to make Central Park in New York. What may survive as a m…

Is there a way to automatically obscure all observations in a defined place?

General

marina_gorbunova February 12, 2022, 4:53am 5

But how can someone just come to a private property? Isn’t it always fenced?

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Is there a way to automatically obscure all observations in a defined place?

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