Several residences near Milla Vista Park, which is east of 10th Street Southwest and south of Minot High School, have coulee property on their back sides, which has led some park visitors to believe their properties are park or public land.

One resident, Danielle Luedtka, said campsites and fire pits have been found on private property, raising homeowners’ concerns about fires in the heavily treed area and about liability should injuries happen. That is on top of the trash issue.

“There’s been a lot of trash,” Luedtka said, listing pallets, tires and a variety of camping litter. There’s an old car embedded from years ago.

“I would like to just keep my property clean, but at the same time, every time I go down, there’s just more trash,” she said.

Milla Vista, part of the Minot Park District in southwest Minot, has a no-dumping sign in the background.

Elly DesLauriers, executive director of the Minot Park District, said trash in the park has been minimal this spring.

“But in the history of the park, we have had to monitor it for things of that nature,” she said. She added the park district plans to erect more signage to discourage dumping.

DesLauriers said the park district has been helped by residential neighbors who keep an eye on the park situation, and the district is open to assisting neighbors with their concerns as much as possible. Most of the coulee lots are not directly connected to Milla Vista Park. However, the park district is looking at adding more signage to indicate where park ends to help reduce trespassing issues through the coulee, she said.

Luedtka said she erected “no trespassing” signs as directed by city police after encountering a number of unwanted visitors who insisted the land was part of the city park.

“If people think that’s a city park, why are you bringing so much trash down there?” she said. “Are they doing that to other parks? I don’t think so. So, why disrespect this area?”

According to information from the Minot Police Department, the trigger for any law enforcement response, including trespassing, is an incident report. That can be a call of an incident in progress or documentation of an incident, including known time of occurrence. Trail camera footage or security video is particularly helpful to police in a trespassing investigation. If law enforcement identifies the individual, the property owner can choose to press charges.

Trespassing is typically a Class B misdemeanor, according to police. The maximum penalty is a fine of $1,000, 30 days in jail or both. Repeated incidents involving the same individual can result in increased penalties.

Police added it’s also important for property owners and the public to know that other behaviors, such as illegal campfires or trash dumping, can lead to additional charges.