Is it legal to post a ditch along public highway?

[NJL]

From what i've read, the navigable vs non-navigable argument is only relevant to deciding ownership of the land beneath the water (i.e. mineral rights) and has nothing to do with the scenario in the original post. As far as i can tell, any body of water with sufficient size & depth to float a "pleasure" boat is available for public use regardless of who owns the land below. So if that body of water is accessible through a public domain, such as an easement, then there should be no issues with recreational use.

Of course, that won't stop the adjacent land owners from trying to restrict access and convince law enforcement to issue trespass summons; but i'm pretty confident the courts would side with public use. It just depends on how much you want to wrestle with the red tape.

There was a similar situation near where i grew up. A large lake surrounded by private land with no public access. Eventually the water rose enough that it butted up against a township road. People started driving out on it to ice fish, which enraged the nearby landowner. He convinced the sheriffs to ticket the people, but when taken before a judge were all dismissed. In the end, the only thing the landowner was able to do was convince the township to put no parking signs along that stretch of road.

 

[ndlongshot]

And all water technically belongs to the state. And is public. If its landlocked, the landowner controls access, but they dont control the water.

Thats why, if you can access it from a public domain, go nuts you are on public property. Just dont get out of the boat. This section of apple creek has a section line (we've already covered this part) that goes right to the stream edge.

Fish away.

 

[wby257]

From what i've read, the navigable vs non-navigable argument is only relevant to deciding ownership of the land beneath the water (i.e. mineral rights) and has nothing to do with the scenario in the original post. As far as i can tell, any body of water with sufficient size & depth to float a "pleasure" boat is available for public use regardless of who owns the land below. So if that body of water is accessible through a public domain, such as an easement, then there should be no issues with recreational use.

Of course, that won't stop the adjacent land owners from trying to restrict access and convince law enforcement to issue trespass summons; but i'm pretty confident the courts would side with public use. It just depends on how much you want to wrestle with the red tape.

There was a similar situation near where i grew up. A large lake surrounded by private land with no public access. Eventually the water rose enough that it butted up against a township road. People started driving out on it to ice fish, which enraged the nearby landowner. He convinced the sheriffs to ticket the people, but when taken before a judge were all dismissed. In the end, the only thing the landowner was able to do was convince the township to put no parking signs along that stretch of road.

Im surprised the Judge threw them out. The landowner owns to the middle of the road in most cases. That is why sportsman cant shot off the road if posted the direction you are shooting.

Yrs ago My kids and I would go North of town to Twin Lakes and fish off the road. We knew the land was posted and only fished off the road. The landowner got pissed as there were maybe 6 to 8 people out there everyday. He called the Sheriff and the Game warden. Both told us we had to leave and couldnt fish off the road. Its the law and nothing we could do about it.

 

[Lycanthrope]

And all water technically belongs to the state. And is public. If its landlocked, the landowner controls access, but they dont control the water.

Does this mean I can swim in my neighbors pool?

 

[ndlongshot]

Does this mean I can swim in my neighbors pool?

Yes. Thats exactly what it means.

 

[espringers]

i've often wondered how hard a fella could push the OHWM on navigable waters issue....

from allen's link:

ORDINARY HIGH WATER MARK (OHWM):

That line below which the action of the water is frequent enough either to prevent the growth of vegetation, or to restrict its growth to predominantly wetland species.

ie... sandy beaches

BOATING ON NAVIGABLE WATERS:

-North Dakota owns the bed and banks of these waters below the OHWM.
-You are NOT trespassing while you are boating on these waters, as long as you stay BELOW the OHWM.
-You must access the river legally, via section line,public property, or with landowner permission.
-Fences are only allowed across navigable rivers by the issuance of a Sovereign Land Permit from the OSE, the permittee must abide by general conditions set forth by the OSE, which include ssafety precautions for boaters.
-Shore usage such as hiking, fishing, and short-term camping is permitted on sandbars and shorelines which are below the OHWM.
-When in doubt, ask, and ALWAYS be courteous

 

[Allen]

A sandy beach is almost always below the OHWM, but in places where there aren't really sandy shorelines, you should still be able to see a clear difference between the vegetation above the OHWM and that below it.

Interestingly, there was a move afoot in the legislature a couple sessions ago to change the boundary to the Ordinary Low Water Mark. This would have been a huge change for everyone as it was a proposal that would have again given away many thousands of acres of land and mineral rights.