Hunt club trespassing over water

[Pheroze]

"This Week that the club went to the highest court to appeal a portion of the B.C. Appeal Court ruling that stated if a lakebed is privately owned, anyone floating above it on public water is still trespassing."

Leave appeal was denied.

B.C. fish and game club ponders its future after Supreme Court refuses appeal | Globalnews.ca

The small fishing club near Merritt that launched the legal action is now considering its future.

globalnews.ca

 

[BourbonTrail]

I don’t understand how the lake is public, but the lakebed is private. Normally they go together. Also, how does “the Crown” fail to achieve an easement to its own property?

 

[Pheroze]

I don’t understand how the lake is public, but the lakebed is private. Normally they go together. Also, how does “the Crown” fail to achieve an easement to its own property?

Yeah, the entire thing is strange. I will have to pull the case at some point and see.

 

[Bullthrower338]

IDK if it is similar to a lot of places out west in the US but a waterway in many places at least MT and WY that I know for sure are owned by the people and therefore navigable, step out of the water mark and you are trespassing. Now that was law, common courtesy was to ask permission which I only remember being denied twice to walk a stream and fish but who knows nowadays with all the sue happy folks running around everybody is scared that an accident might happen on their land and they are held responsible.

 

[Shootist43]

Pheroze, I have / live on navigable waterfront property. I own the shoreline, seawall and docks. I believe the legal term is "ripairian rights." The general public cannot access my property or improvements from the water without my permission

 

[Pheroze]

Pheroze, I have / live on navigable waterfront property. I own the shoreline, seawall and docks. I believe the legal term is "ripairian rights." The general public cannot access my property or improvements from the water without my permission

Yes this is the law as I know it. But this article seems to indicate that being on the Water is somehow trespassing. That's what I find confusing.

 

[R.M.C.]

Sounds strange for sure

 

[gprippers]

In Oregon on some rivers the property lines go to the middle of the river. Prior to 2005 (if i remember correctly) you could not step foot out of a raft or boat onto the shore line at all as it is private property. Now here is the kicker that started FINALLY got the state govt to open their eyes and rethink this crap! On this river im speaking of, or any NON NAVIGABLE river in Oregon you couldnt fish it because there was no way to do so because it was all private property! No access and if you did find some public property to get onto the river you couldnt boat it and you couldnt walk the river from fishing hole to fishing hole as it was private property to middle of the river! This was obviously causing major issues and even altercations when these landowners tried to kick people off the river bank while fishing their way thru from hole to hole. The law had been this way for years but most property owners didn't raise to much of a hassle as long as people didn't litter or get stupid messing around on the property etc. Along comes some new property owners from California and other places who took to trying to enforce their property rights with shotguns pointed at people etc. This happened enough that they had to finally figure out what the hell the issue was! The law had been misread and mis-used for so long but they finally changed most of the non navigable rivers to navigable so that you could boat on them which means you could fish them as you could stand on the bank of these types of rivers as well as pull your boat or raft onto the shore line to take a break or what ever.

Anyway, big mess they pretty much have it figured out but from time to time you get a new property owner that reads in his property deed that he owns the river itself out to the middle of the river and by god he is going to enforce it! Usually gets straightened out pretty quickly one way or the other and thankfully it doesn't happen to often...i haven't had a gun pulled on me in quite a few years now while making my way down my favorite Steelhead stream here in southern Oregon!