Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Public Right to Walk on Great Lakes' Beaches Upheld

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal of the Michigan Supreme Court's recent decision declaring that the public has the right to walk the dry sand beaches of Michigan's Great Lakes shores.

In Glass v Goeckel, 473 Mich 667 (2005), the Michigan Supreme Court held that regardless of title, under the common law "public trust doctrine" applicable to the Great Lakes, the public has the right to walk the Great Lakes shorelands up to the ordinary high water mark ("OHWM"). For those who are curious, the OHWM is defined as follows: "the point on the bank or shore up to which the presence and action of the water is so continuous as to leave a distinct mark either by erosion, destruction of terrestrial vegetation, or other easily recognized characteristic."

In reaching its decision, the Michigan Supreme Court noted that historically, the state has served as "the trustee of public rights in the Great Lakes for fishing, hunting, and boating for commerce or pleasure." The Court added walking on the beach to this list, concluding that "because walking along the lakeshore is inherent in the exercise of traditionally protected public rights of fishing, hunting, and navigation, our public trust doctrine permits pedestrian use of our Great Lakes, up to and including the land below the ordinary high water mark."

Supreme Court Stays Out of Michigan Beach Walking Debate [Detroit News]

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home