Mark Zen, longtime PaddleWise member and contributer asked that I pass this along to PaddleWise and I'm happy to to do so. Mark will be undergoing major back surgery and doesn't have regular access to his email. We all wish you well Mark! From Mark Zen: to PaddleWise: -Unfortunately, this is already happening in Colorado to whitewater rafters and other boaters. We have a very archaic systems. My understanding, very basic, is that how the water laws were at the time a state joined the Union, froze how the water rights and trespass laws apply. So here, we joined in 1876, so all water laws are based on the laws at the time. Because of the wording, theoretically, only a small section of the Colorado River as it leaves the state is deemed 'navigable.' It is in the courts, and has been for quite a while. Recreational boaters cannot touch the land beneath the water, the land owner owns to the the middle of the main water channel. all of the land under the river. Hit a rock, go to jail. this drags on & on, but it has been like this [locked in various court settings]. Cattle ranchers need to keep their livestock contained, and therefore put fences across the rivers. Marek does much more paddling than I right now, so he can probably give a more up-to-date interpretation. mark z Jackie Myers wrote: > Wow.... I can't believe there hasn't been more reaction on PaddleWise > about this judge's ruling. The arrests for boaters "trespassing" have > already been happening. > # o, o__ o_/| o_. o__/ # </ [\/ [\_| [\_\ [\/ # (`-/-------/----') (`----|-------\-') `\--------/--------/' #~~~_at_~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~_at_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~~~~~~~ # mark zen, po box 474, fort lupton, colorado, usa, 80621-0474 #-=========--===========--============--=========--====--==========------- # Semi-Random Fortune: # Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. # Cultivate peace and harmony with all. # ~~George Washington (1732-1799) U.S. President *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In Minnesota, navigable waters are defined as "those lakes and streams that were used (or were susceptible of being used) as highways for commerce at the time Minnesota became a state." The state owns the bottoms of all navigable waters, but the bottoms of other waters may be owned by adjacent landowners. Fortunately, thanks to the fur trade, navigable waters in Minnesota include many that are navigable only by canoe or other small watercraft, such as the Pigeon River, which is legally navigable in its entirety, despite the fact that it includes the 120-foot high Pigeon Falls! FFI, see Minnesota DNR Water Law Basics, http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/waters/watermgmt_section/pwpermits/waterlaws.html and Navigable Waters of the United States in Minnesota, http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/docs/regulatory/mn_nav_waters.pdf Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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