Thread: Posted - Get Out!

Private waters and land are a touchy situation. Many of us get tired of the trash folks leave behind. Walmart bags, fast food crap, etc. I had to put the skids to it here. Which I'm sure many of us land owners have encountered. I've had folks riding along the Vermilion river and shooting squirrels along the riverbank, while the pellets hit the house. The trash is unbelievable once again.

The organization you speak of can fight it, but I'll fight back where we live.

As a large landowner myself.....i know what your talking about. I manage mine myself also.

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The law states "if the water was navigable in the year 1812 it belongs to the state or feds. any land from the year 1812 to present time that has eroded since then and now has ponds and bayous on it, that water, pond, bayou, ect belongs to the land owner.

Louisiana is the only state to have a law like this one. only WMAs will be accessible if this trend continues.

You need to send emails to your State Legislators and you need to establish contact with your local Tourism Commission.

No one I'm aware of is challenging private land owners rights.

Also BASS and FLW are leaving the state because of this law.

Tournament anglers banned from Louisiana waters, BASS says | NOLA.com

Originally Posted by Tracker123

The organization you speak of can fight it, but I'll fight back where we live.

I don't think that the org is trying to gain rights over the land. It's just the water that flows and is navigable that fishermen want access too. The land owners around Vermilion Parish want us to stay out of their oil field canals, but don't mind asking WL&F to spray their bad water plants. How can public money be allowed to keep a private canal clear?

There are maps available showing waters claimed by the state and it's very little of the areas we fish in the Southern part of the state. If you fish in an oil field canal chances are that it's considered private by the present law and you are subject to being run out.

One can make some interesting arguments about the early maps and the oil companies posting canals. The old maps not only show water claimed by the state but also water owned by the landowners. The canals weren't there on the old maps so there wasn't any water on the property where the canals are now. When the canals were dug the water owned by the state flowed over the landowners water bottom but it was never landowner water. The legislature passed a bill giving the water to the landowners. There is a question whether they have the authority to give away public resources and pick and choose who gets exclusive rights to public resources.

Also, the oil companies are public companies and are preventing the public from accessing public resources that flowed over water bottom when the landowners voluntarily removed their land. A lot of valid arguments could be made if someone had the time and money to fight it. The problem is the landowners have the money and the influence. At the very least, the landowners should have to pay the state for the water and for the fish based on population per acre if they deny public access. This should be an annual payment due to evaporation and the ebb and flow of the tide. They should also have to pay higher taxes due to the canals, water, and fish increasing the value of the property.

None of this will happen because the legislature responds to money and influence, not right or wrong. I personally would like to see all bass and redfish tournament trails send a notice of cancellation of all activity in the state until the issue is satisfactorily resolved and their contestants aren't subject to fines for unintended violations. Until the state loses revenue the sportsmen don't have a chance.

That being said, I understand the complaints of actual private landowners having their property trashed and would feel the same way. I feel like that when I pick up trash someone threw in my yard but never felt like I had the right to close the road.

Here's the bigger problem, the beds of these waterways are private things. So, talking to your legislator will likely do no good. Any legislation would result in a taking requiring a payment to the owner. Take a look at the Crooks case involving Catahoula and the millions awarded to the bed owners. This is a be careful what you wish for situation.

Originally Posted by PMantle

Here's the bigger problem, the beds of these waterways are private things. So, talking to your legislator will likely do no good. Any legislation would result in a taking requiring a payment to the owner. Take a look at the Crooks case involving Catahoula and the millions awarded to the bed owners. This is a be careful what you wish for situation.

Think of air and water as two mediums for transit by plane and boat. You can't restrict the transit in the air over your land because air is public unless you contain it. Water should be public in the same way. The landowner should have to contain it to claim it.