TRESPASS QUESTION

[luckycrank]

Say a land owner owns to the water surface if the water drops say 2-3 feet do they own where water was or water currently is .......thoughts ?

[LightningBG]

Depends on what the water way is classified as.

But to probably answer the question.... It isn't public land, and you can not use it.

[LightningBG]

Water law basics

Excerpted from Questions and Answers about Water Laws in Minnesota.

Who owns the bed of a lake, marsh, or stream?

When a water basin or watercourse is "navigable" under the federal test, the State of Minnesota owns the bed below the natural ordinary low water level (see: Lamprey v. State, 52 Minn. 1981, 53 NW 1139 [1893]; and United States v. Holt State Bank, 270 U.S. 49 [1926]). The federal test used for navigability is: "when they are used, or are susceptible of being used, in their natural and ordinary condition, as highways for commerce, over which trade or travel are or may be conducted" (see: State v. Longyear Holding Co. 224 Minn 451, 29 NW 2d 657 [1947]). If a court has found that a lake is non-navigable and meandered, the shoreland owners own the bed of a lake in severalty (see: Schmidt v. Marschel., 211 Minn 543, NW 2d 121 [1942]). If a stream is non-navigable but has been meandered, the shoreland owners own to the thread (centerline) of the stream. If a lake or stream is non-navigable and not meandered, ownership of the bed is as indicated on individual property deeds.

Also see: Pardon Me Myth! - Who Owns the Lake Bed? PDF icon.

What are riparian rights?

Riparian rights are property rights arising from owning shoreland. They include the right to wharf out to a navigable depth; to take water for domestic and agricultural purposes; to use land added by accretion or exposed by reliction; to take ice; to fish, boat, hunt, swim; to such other uses as water bodies are normally put (see: Sanborn v. People's Ice Co. 82 Minn 43, 84 NW 641 [1900] and Lamprey v. State, 52 Minn 181, 53 NW 1139 [1883]). The riparian owner has the right to make use of the lake over its entire surface (see: Johnson v. Seifert 257 Minn 159, 100 NW 2d 689 [1960]).

What are riparian duties?

It is the duty of the riparian owners to exercise their rights reasonably, so as not to unreasonably interfere with the riparian rights of others (see: Petraborg v. Zontelli, 217 Minn 536, 15 NW 2d 174 [1944]). They cannot dike off and drain, or fence off, their part of the waterbody (see: Johnson v. Seifert). It is a public nuisance and a misdemeanor to "interfere with, obstruct, or render dangerous for passage waters used by the public" (see: Public Nuisance Law, Minnesota Statute 609.74).

What are public rights?

Where the public is a riparian landowner, such as a public road abutting the water or at a public access, the public has riparian rights (see: Flynn v. Beisel, 257 Minn. 531, 102 N.W .2d 284 [1960].).

Additional information

Minnesota case law has established that a public road abutting a body of water gives the public riparian rights to the water. Riparian rights exist whether or not the lake is navigable or public and regardless of who owns the bed. Riparians are entitled to exercise their rights over the entire surface of the lake. One riparian cannot keep others from using all of the lake. Where access to a "wetland" is available from a public road, Minnesota Statutes Section 103G.235 provides the following: "In order to protect the public health or safety, local units of government may establish by ordinance restrictions upon public access to any wetlands from city, county or township roads which abut wetlands." In all other cases (i.e., state or federal roads abutting "wetlands" or any public road abutting a "public water"), the public has the riparian right of access.

Trespassing on private property

The belief that the state owns a strip of land around all Minnesota lakes for public use is absolutely false. Riparian property (property abutting a lake, river, or wetland) is either privately or publicly owned. The general public can access water bodies or watercourses via public property, but not through private property. Individuals entering private property without permission from the landowner are trespassing and may be prosecuted under the state trespass laws. It is illegal to trespass on private property in order to gain access to a water body or watercourse without first obtaining the verbal or written permission from a landowner.

[Ufatz]

What a wonderful post! Thank you for providing information that is relavent and direct. As cited, there have been many tests of "navigability"and they generally make it pretty clear where the law stands,regardless of State involved.

Been in on a bit of that, you see.

[Tom7227]

I don't want to challenge Lightening's sources because I haven't done the research. However the DNR is in the process of bringing cases against 25 landowners on White Bear Lake who have manipulated the exposed areas near their homes. It was reported in the White Bear Press that the landowners had been sent letters and I believe the story also indicated that cases were going to be brought in the future. Again I don't know what is correct but it seems to me that the DNR would not spend the time and money to deal with the issue if the law was as clearly on the homeowner's side as indicated above.

Also a friend was cited by the Army Corp of Engineers for altering a waterway where the 'waterway' is a seasonal stream that you couldn't float a kayak on for a good portion of the year. I believe there is a U.S. Supreme Court case from the early 2000's that attacked the interpretation the Corp was using but again I have not read that case recently, and it's too late to try and do it now.

[Ufatz]

I would have to guess Tom that the shoreline owners are being charged with violations of one or more of the RIGID State statutes governing what you can and cannot do with your property. Trust me, I KNOW about this one. Some of these State and even County regs are a little much in my opinion but they are there and you have to deal with them.And they are getting tougher....or at least they would be if the MN Leg. could find a topic more important than the Vikings statium to take up their time. Ha. In the case of the COE charges who knows-that agency has been out of control for decades. Want to trim the federal deficit?....cut the COE funds in half and slash the payroll by an equal amount. A joke!!

[Tom7227]

Found the article and the claim is a violation of aquatic plant management rules as Ufatz suggested. I was incorrect in thinking it dealt with ownership rights.

http://www.presspubs.com/white_bear/news/article_a4bdb210-04df-11e1-948a-001cc4c03286.html

[Ziesmer]

Is there any law on how close a duck hunter in a boat has to be from a house when hunting? Additionally, if said duck hunter shoots a duck and it lands on my property does he have the right to go onto the land and retrieve the duck or is that trespassing? Is a swamp considered public water for hunting or is that part of my private property?

Thanks!

[castmaster]

Thanks for the post Lightning. I was always under the understanding that "Navigable Waters" was designated by "If it can float a canoe its navigable". According to that post that wouldnt always be correct.

To the poster who asked if a hunter could retrieve game from his property or if that would be trespassing, a hunter is allowed to enter private property without permission in order to retrieve game animals they have shot. The hunter must be unarmed, and must immediately exit that private property upon retrieving the game.

We just went through that very thing pheasant hunting in SD. A racnher called in and came and confronted my dad and I after he saw my dad on his property. Thankfully he was honest enough to admit he had saw that my dad had laid his gun down on the ditch side of the fence and was unarmed on his property. The sheriff told him that was all my dad needed to do to be legal, and everyone went on their way.

[Mark_W]

I'd be careful stating the above info on roadway's abutting water as there are exceptions. There are grandfathered in places within MN where a roadway was built over private land and split a lake in two. The landowner still owns the land under the roadway and it is considered private property. Even though the water is right up to the edge of the road, and is well within the 35' of the centerline, I can't access this lake to ice fish as I'd be on provate property to do so.

Had multiple conversations with the CO regarding this and went to the courthouse to check property lines. Sure enough, the landowner owns the land under the roadway and right up to the water edge. Real pity as this lake is a good spot to winter fish.

Mark W