BIG Power Line Right of Way
 

I need some advice guys.

I've been looking at some land for a while now. It's 119 acres in Eastern Ky. I was super excited about the place after looking on the map.

Well yesterday we go look at the house/land. Come to find out, I was way off on what the property lines are. 30 acres on one side of a "road" and 89 across the "road." The road is really just a gravel driveway that goes to the one house who is further up the holler.

Right through the middle of that 89 acres across the road is a HUGE power line right of way. This isn't the little power lines, this is the big massive ones. Probably close to 100 yards wide, you can hear the electrical stuff popping off of the lines above your head kind of thing.

Will this power line hurt/effect the deer? I've found a lot of stuff where people hunt power lines but when I look further I realize its really just smaller right of ways. I haven't found anyone hunting on the big ones like this.

This is a HUGE concern for me and a potential deal breaker.

Also important to note that other than the roughly 11 acres of power lines cut out, the rest of the 78 acres is mature hard woods that need to be timbered.

Any and all advice would be appreciated.

I don't have anything of value to add other than pointing out what is probably already obvious - use this new info to your advantage (if not a deal breaker and lost interest) to drive the price per acre down more. I could overlook a lot if the price was right....

Will be sitting on the exact same type of power line before day break in the morning with my 8 yr. old daughter for youth doe day. The power line is actually one of the reasons I bought the place because of the hunting potential. I've learned that the deer aren't stupid and know where to cross the powerline so that they are not in view from a road. I have a tower blind on the highest point over looking a steep hollow which isn't visible from the road. We take deer on this line crossing every year, including my wife's best ever a few years ago. Turkeys love the openings to strut around in come spring. This major powerline is basically the only opening PERIOD in a block of nearly 20 thousand acres of thick private hardwoods so the critters appreciate it. They only cut/mow the r.o.w. every 5 years or so and in the mean time, I benefit from the gallons of raspberries that grow in the open light. Planted chestnut trees just off the r.o.w. this spring and plan on doing a food plot on the flat by the tower blind next spring. The downsides, reduced real estate value (and property taxes though), the lines reap havoc on cell phone batteries for some reason and drain mine without using it in a morning sit, and the static that makes it to the ground is nearly unbelievable! Leave a metal object lay under the line for a few minutes then hold your hand about 1/16" from it and get a small jolt. Can't be good for ya right? But there are million dollar homes built right on the edge of this line in places and they apparently have no issues with interference. I love the spot where my property is but don't think I would ever build there because of the line. Oh, and if they ever annex (take whether you like it or not) another wider r.o.w. against the existing line, they compensate you very very well for the r.o.w. but accordingly so...... It happened here and many people received many more times what they paid for the property and it's still theirs, just with another power line running through it. People tried to fight it but "the man" always wins and it went through regardless.

Thank you for the responses so far. Luckily the house and 30 acres are about 1,000 feet past the power line ROW. From the house you wouldn't even know they are there because there is a bend and a huge mountain blocking the lines, so that part doesn't bother me. I have already used this in my price negotiations as SilverBullet suggested.

WV pointed out, how good can this be for a person to be around this? I honestly don't know.

As far as the hunting goes, those are all great points, and it did kind of peak my interest. Around here, being able to see 20-50 yards is a big opening. For me to be able to have this much visibility is very rare and intriguing.

Do you have any rights on this section of land? I'm pretty sure the electric company in my area came and sprayed chemicals. That's a big no no for me and I even put it in the contract with my offer on the property. If they spray chemicals and theres nothing I can do about it then that will def be a deal breaker for me.

I used to hunt deer along a big powerline in Northwest FL near P/Cola. I took several in the clearing along it. Deer will get used to it quickly if they aren't already.

If you are concerned if the power line has an adverse effect on deer, walk the power line and look for sign that deer are using it for food bedding etc. One thing a power line does is give an edge between the woods and the grass, edge is what wildlife loves.

I, or someone in my group, hunts a very large powerline every year. We typically take 3-5 deer from that stand every year. It's nearly 150 yards wide and over 700 yards long across the property we have access to. It's very thick, and very productive.


Before buying I would, obviously, walk the property. But I believe you will see lots of deer sign on that right of way.


BE CAREFUL where you build/hang stands. The company will clear it every few years either chemically, or by cutting it. On ours they bring a helicopter in with a huge saw that cuts overhanging limbs. You wouldn't want to be in a stand on the edge when the helicopter shows up.


-Jake

I did ride the property line with the owner and was looking for deer signs the entire time, but also trying to make sure I was listening to him about the property line and stuff.

I did see one spot in the power line ROW where it looked like a lot of deer might have been crossing. Seems like a logical place for them to cross by just looking at the terrain too.

This is all very interesting to me. I've never experienced anything like this before lol. I've only hunted mountainous hardwoods. I'm loving what I am hearing from everyone so far.

I guess my ONLY concern at this point is the chemicals being sprayed every few years. If I can keep them from spraying chemicals then I have to say that I'm loving the power line ROW idea.

As far as I know, you can't..... I welcome the spray. It kills off the big stuff, and the next year it'll be nice and green with fresh, lower growth. Ours can be very difficult to walk in, and very difficult to see deer in after several years of growth.


The spray tames it down every couple of years.


-Jake

So you cant plant food plots that year? I'd maintain it myself if they will let me.

I don't like the thought of creating an 11 acre biological dead zone and spraying tons of poison across my property. Not only that, imagine the year when the rest of it gets sprayed/killed and mine is still nice and pretty. I would definitely welcome the spray on everyone else's property if they want lol

Do they spray with a helicopter?