Wooster
Wooster v. Department of Fish & Game
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Robie, J.
*1023 Opinion
In this quiet title action, plaintiff Kelly C. Wooster sought to establish that property he owns in Calaveras County is free and clear of a conservation easement recorded on the property over 30 years ago either because the Department of Fish and Game (the department) failed to post no hunting and no trespassing signs on the property as required by the conservation easement deed and agreement or because the grant of hunting rights to the department was void from the outset. The trial court sustained the department’s demurrer without leave to amend and dismissed the action.
On Wooster’s appeal, we agree with the trial court that Wooster is not entitled to the relief he seeks. Even if the department failed to comply with its obligation to post signs on the property, that failure did not extinguish the conservation easement or give Wooster a basis for rescinding the easement. Furthermore, the grant of hunting rights to the department, so that the department could prohibit all hunting on the property, was entirely legal and consistent with the statutes governing conservation, easements. Accordingly, we will affirm the judgment of dismissal.