Almost the same thing happened to me on private property 5 years ago on land I had hunted for many years. Seems some guys got permission and set a treestand only 10 yards from mine(which was up already). Nevertheless I let him have the spot. I didn' t figure it was worth hunting if we both would leave that much scent around. As it turned out I am glad I did, the newbies rode ATV' s up to their stands, scouted the woods before getting into their stands every time and besides.......I had it better across the farmer' s lane.