Thread: miss. river floodwater

Guess no one wants to tackle my question.

Here in ms delta I've heard different opinions. It all goes on who you ask. The same issue with the ms river levee. Some say it's public, some say it's not.

Thats why i would kind of like to hear from a wildlife officer in MO. I have researched it from different angles and different states. I was just wondering if a person were to get caught duck hunting in flood waters that covers private are you violating a hunting without permission or any kind of tresspassing law. Some states see it that if the flood water is over the ordidnary high water mark which is defined as above where the normal bank is or where the vegitation starts or stops like the tree line, then you are tresspassing. Lousianna for example has a case law that a person has the right to traverse flooded private property but not to engage in the act of hunting or fishing. Somewhere there has to be a law that deals with this situation.

I was always told that the rule in Mo, or at least on the Missouri river, is public property stops at the high water mark, which is usually the vegetation line at the tops of the banks. I know of a few guys who have had charges pressed against them for mushroom hunting along the banks of the river. I don't know if flooded conditions affect this rule or not, but I would think if you pay taxes on the ground then it is private, regardless of if there is water covering it or not. I would guess a wildlife official would answer your question in due time, but sometimes it takes a few days or even a few weeks for them to respond here because first of all they are busy guys with a lot of ground to cover and second your question is gonna be a little tough to get a definative answer (as to whats legal and how to enforce it). it seems like when a tough question is asked, our agents like to ask other agents their opinions so you get an accurate answer.

...and third, I'm sure that anything you read here is not going to be legally binding, and your mileage may vary with your local agent at the time s/he runs into you. Being informed, though, and having an answer here might help in that moment, or even when contesting it later on. But I seriously doubt that in a case like this where there seems to be a gray area on what is considered public and what is considered private, you're going to have different agents interpreting it differently.

Just last year, wasn't there a big story about a guy who was arrested for shooting and killing a man for trespassing and threatening him on private property? I mean, sounds like the altercation happened on private property, but the whole thing stemmed from whether the exposed sandbars and bank were considered private property (and therefore off-limits to people on canoe/float trips).

Yes I heard about that too. Where i live the Miss R. floods every year and the question always comes up about just being able to run a boat across flooded land which is private property. I know this is kinda a grey area but i really want to know how a wildlife officer would prosecute or not prosecute in this situation. Im talking about thousands of acres being flooded. I guess it would be up to each state on how they interpretate the law even if it is one dealing with this situation. It seems all of the states that border the Miss. R would have some kind of recipricle agreement on this matter as they do on hunting and fishing license.

Way back when (i'm talking in the '50s) whenever the Miss flooded the private ground north of St Peters MO, my Dad and I would have permission from the landowners to wade out and gig roughfish (no limit on carp and buffalo).

PERMISSION is the key word!

private property seems to me means private, flood or no flood, the line is still there and you should stay away, period.