This project involved legal research to update the limited liability recreation statutes in the Northeastern states and to analyze the amount of protection they give rural landowners who let recreationists and other people use their properties. An analysis of court cases over the last 15 years provided insight into the extent of protection offered by these statutes and their current limitations. The study concluded that New York`s General Obligations Law 9-103 does not offer as much protection as similar statues from other northeastern states, and recommends that the legislature consider updating the statute.

Access to private lands is important to managing white-tailed deer populations. The public also enjoys hiking and other recreation activities involving long-distance trails, parts of which need to traverse private lands. Moreover, some local economies depend significantly on tourists who visit these areas for recreational purposes. Landowners who allow the public access to their lands are at some risk of liability if a recreationist is injured on their property. Limited liability recreation statues have been in existence in most states for several decades, but their coverage of situations that can occur related to injuries to recreationists, people who construct and maintain trails, and others has been limited.

Research has been completed and a report prepared. Multiple copies of the report have been sent to the New York State Legislative Commission on Rural Resources, the New York Farm Bureau and the New York State Conservation Council. Presentations have also been made to the NYS Fish and Wildlife Management Board and to wildlife managers of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Four bills currently in the New York legislature incorporate some findings from this research. One bill expands coverage from a specific list of activities to all recreational activities. A second bill also provides liability protection for people who assist in developing and maintaining trails on private lands. A third bill provides a tax deduction for landowners who allow the construction of trails through their lands, as well as liability protection. A fourth bill incorporates some of the above provisions, and also directs the Superintendent of the Insurance Department in New York to study further ways of providing liability protection for landowners.

Unrestricted funds