Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
The Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News is the newsletter of the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund, published five times per year. The News is intended to provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas among citizens and organizations working to protect aquatic habitats in the Great Lakes Basin.
Volume 15, Number 3 • Fall 2007
Lake Erie
Basin Update - U.S. Side
Strickland policy on Lake Erie raises questions
about public's right to walk the shore
By Jack Shaner, Ohio Environmental Council
A controversial new policy ordered by
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has given
sportsmen and women, beach visitors, and
conservation leaders cause for concern
over the future of one of Ohio’s
most sensitive natural resources —
the 312-mile shoreline of Lake Erie.
The controversy revolves around control of
the strip of land between the water’s edge
and the lake’s furthest natural landward
reach (the “ordinary high water mark”)
when this land is not covered by water.
Under Ohio law,
shoreland located
lakeward of the ordinary
highwatermark
is subject to government
protection and
public access, regardless
of whether it is
covered bywater on a
given day.
Some private owners
of upland property
adjoining the coast
contend that their
deeds give them
exclusive control over
the coast—to the
water’s edge and
even beyond. Under the ODNR’s new policy, as ordered by Governor
Ted Strickland:
- The ODNR will accept all upland property deeds at face value,
regardless of whether a deed recites a property boundary of
the ordinary high water mark, the water’s edge, the low water
mark, or even the international boundary with Canada—unless
a deed’s boundary is found to be limited and/or unenforceable
by a court of law.
- A state permit will continue to be required before an upland
property owner can build a dock, breakwall, condominium, or
other structure along the lakeshore.
- A state lease for any land that may be occupied by a lakeshore
structure will no longer be required; instead, leases will be
optional.
- The ODNR no longer will be represented by the Ohio Attorney
General in a lawsuit pending in Lake County that contests the
State of Ohio’s ownership of the Lake Erie shore. Instead, ODNR
will not contest supposed private ownership of the coast and
will be represented by separate counsel.
The Strickland Administration’s new policy is aimed at
accommodating the complaints of some of the estimated 5,000
owners of private upland property along the lake.
But the new policy has left sportsmen and women, and
conservationists wondering about their rights and the rights of 11
million Ohioans to access and walk along the shoreline.
How vigorously will the Strickland-Fisher administration protect
Ohio’s North Coast and its sensitive spawning grounds and coastal
wetlands from commercial development?
Will the new administration defend the right of families and anglers
to walk and fish along the dry shore?
Or will the Strickland-Fisher team allow the coast to become the
exclusive domain of a few thousand privileged upland property
owners, stripping access to the exposed bottomlands from their
rightful owners, the 11 million people of Ohio?
While the Strickland-Fisher administration has withdrawn to the
sidelines of this debate, an outspoken champion of the public’s
interest in Lake Erie has emerged:Ohio Attorney GeneralMarc Dann.
Attorney General Dann has argued forcefully in the pending court
case that the State of Ohio has always owned the lakeshore below
the ordinary highwatermark and that sportsmen and families in fact
do have a legal right to walk below the ordinary high water mark of
Lake Erie.
Ultimately, it may take the Ohio Supreme Court to resolve this
debate.Meantime, you are encouraged to learnmore aboutwhat’s at
stake and to express your concerns to Governor Strickland and
Lt. Governor Fisher and your appreciation to Attorney General Marc
Dann. For more information, go to www.ConservationOhio.org.
For more information, contact Jack Shaner, Ohio Environmental
Council Public Affairs Director, 1207 Grandview Ave., Ste. 201,
Columbus, OH 43212, (614) 487-7506, Jack@TheOEC.org
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Michigan Shorelines Open to All
In July 2005, Michigan's Supreme Court confirmed that the
public has the right to walk on the Great Lakes shoreline -
specifically between the water's edge and the ordinary high
water mark. The complete decision can be found at http://courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/Clerk/Opinions-04-05Term/126409.pdf. The decision upheld that the Great Lakes shoreline is
a resource shared in common by the public and thus
protected under the public trust doctrine for public access.
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