92.70 LAND USE TRESPASS.
    Subdivision 1. Public land definition. "Public land" means publicly owned land or
interests in land including land and interests in land that are owned by the state, counties, or
road authorities, administered by the commissioner of natural resources, owned by the state as
beds of navigable waters, acquired as conservation easements with benefits running to the state,
a county, or the public under the conservation reserve program, water bank program, or other
state or county programs.
    Subd. 2. Casual trespass. (a) A person who uses public land for personal use or personal
economic gain where the use is prohibited is guilty of trespass and a petty misdemeanor and shall
be subject to a penalty not to exceed $50 per occurrence and is subject to a civil penalty for
twice the amount of actual damages.
(b) A person violating paragraph (a) may be issued a ticket by a sheriff, conservation officer,
or personnel of the department designated by the commissioner. The ticket must identify the
trespass, where the trespass occurred, and the official observing the trespass. A copy of the ticket
must be sent to the public agency responsible for managing the land.
(c) The civil penalty shall be paid to the public agency responsible for managing the public
land. A civil penalty paid to the state is appropriated to the state agency responsible for managing
the land to restore the damage and improve state land.
(d) Within 60 days after a ticket is issued, the public agency responsible for managing the
public land where the trespass occurred must make a determination of whether a civil penalty will
be sought for the trespass and notify the person.
    Subd. 3. Willful trespass. (a) A person who willfully and knowingly uses public land for
personal use or personal economic gain where the use is prohibited is guilty of trespass and
a misdemeanor and is liable to the state or county for a civil penalty three times the amount
of the damage.
(b) A person violating paragraph (a) may be issued a ticket and summons for a court
appearance. The prosecuting authority shall prosecute the misdemeanor and shall bring an action
for the civil penalty or, on failure to do so, the attorney general at the request of the public
agency responsible for managing the land may prosecute the misdemeanor and shall bring an
action for the civil penalty.
(c) Damages must be determined as the greater of:
(1) the cost to restore the public land to the condition it was in before the trespass occurred
plus an amount to compensate the public for the loss of use; or
(2) the economic gain realized by the person committing the trespass.
(d) The civil penalty shall be paid to the court and the court administrator shall pay:
(1) for a trespass on county land, the entire amount to the county to be used for restoration of
the trespass and county land improvement purposes;
(2) for a trespass on state land, the civil penalty to the state agency responsible for managing
the public land which is appropriated for restoration of the trespass and state land improvement
purposes.
    Subd. 4. Separate actions. The prosecution for criminal trespass and the civil penalty are
separate criminal and civil actions. If a trespass occurs, an action may be commenced for the
criminal penalty, the civil penalty, or the civil penalty and the criminal penalty.
History: 1989 c 353 s 12