If you see this color painted on a tree in the forest, your life may be in danger – here’s why

Forget a red flag – if you see purple, start running.

In nearly two dozen states, a purple sign on a tree or other stationary object in nature indicates private property, and depending on where you are in the United States, landowners may be heavily armed.

To be absolutely sure? Stay out.

Forest signs are considered an acceptable substitute for current signage in a wide range of states—some states use orange, red, or blue, but many, including Florida, Texas, Alabama, and South Carolina, choose the more universal purple.

Lawmakers in favor of paint markers believe it’s a cost-effective way to show land ownership without forcing residents to buy expensive signage, which can be vandalized, and is also environmentally friendly and doesn’t create an unnatural pain in the ass. eye

In states with purple paint laws, the size of the signs and the distance between them is regulated to be about 8 inches tall, one to two inches wide and about three to five feet off the ground, according to the Daily Mail.

However, critics are concerned that not everyone knows what the signs mean, while posted signs can be easily read and understood.

“The advantage of signage is that anyone walking by a boundary can easily read that there is a private land boundary,” Andy Mossey, the Catskill Center’s stewardship and advocacy coordinator, told the Times Union in 2021.

“If it’s just purple paint with no signage, people might be less likely to understand what that is unless the state itself and organizations across the state have done a significant job of getting that information out to all visitors, ” he said, he said. .

Not to mention, determining where public land ends and private property begins is expensive, but allowing landowners to mark their own territory can create a host of issues.

“If you only use purple paint, can there be scratches?” said Maria Bedo-Calhoun, president of the Catskill 3500 Club, adding that she would call for stricter enforcement in states like New York, where purple markings are not legal. applicable. way to show property lines despite efforts to make it so.

She argued that people already ignore strict warnings on proper, written signs, so a patch of paint – which lacks clear guidance – would make it easier to violate.

“They clearly said, ‘Don’t go in the creek, stay on the trail,'” she continued. “I think signage is important, knowing that people violate it even with a clear sign.”