"Door County Real Estate" by: Kevin Nordahl, REALTOR®
Your Riparian Right in Navigable Waters
It certainly goes without saying that Door County’s most distinctive geographical feature is its shoreline. As residents here in the county, we all live next to the water albeit by true proximity or by soulful indulgence in its mystic beauty. For those of us who fit into the latter category we reserve what is referred to as our riparian right.
Riparian is a sophisticated word used to describe “living next to the water.” Such singular word use applies specifically to actual owners of waterfront property. There is also another word used to describe a common proximity violation, “trespassing.” So what is the actual rule?
According to the Wisconsin Public Trust Doctrine “All Wisconsin citizens have the right to boat, fish, hunt, ice skate, and swim on navigable waters, as well as enjoy the natural scenic beauty of navigable waters, and enjoy the quality and quantity of water that supports those uses.” (1)
The key word in the above declaration is “navigable.” This means you can put your boat in the water, navigate to any point your boat will go on water and you are 100% within your legal right. It is important to note that we have right to use the water and not the shoreline. This also applies to actual Riparian/shorefront owners.
In a recent shorefront home showing I was describing to my customers how the sands on the shore of Lake Michigan shift on a daily basis and how incredibly complex and remarkably beautiful such subtle changes were. As I was commenting on this million dollar property some people were walking their dog straight out in front of us. Legal? No. Permissible? Well? As a REALTOR® the official line is to say no. As a former resident of a Door County beach neighborhood I had to say, depends. Riparian owners often have the clever notion that their 100’ lot entitles them to the entire four miles of beach. Not true.
If you have permission from every owner to use the beach in a respectable manner (or a property owners association decree) then you have permission as a fellow property owner. Such unwritten rules between neighbors of beachfront apply in some cases but are not the law for the rest of us. If an owner comes out to yell at you for walking on their beach, jump in the water. Yes, walking the beach with your feet in navigable water is legal as long as you obtained access to that waterway by legal means, either by your own land or a public access point. (2)
Perhaps you have heard the local lore about the Door County born and raised farmer who never saw the coast. That’s not too far from the truth. I was talking to a friend who says he loves boats but hates the water. I asked, “Is it because you don’t know how to swim?” To which he humbly confessed he did not. He was a farmer. We have more than 250 miles of shoreline in this county. We also have two YMCA swimming pools each with very patient, understanding instructors and classes for all ages.
If you are going to exercise your riparian right definitely learn to swim first. You never know if you’ll need to use that skill to navigate around our shores. Enjoy the water. It’s your right.
Sources:
(1) Champions of the Public Trust, A History of Water Use in Wisconsin" study guide. 1995. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Bureau of Water Regulation and Zoning as quoted on http://ua.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/wm/dsfm/shore/doctrine.htm
(2) Wisconsin Statue §30.134 as quoted on http://www.americanwhitewater.org/archive/article/898/#statute
Kevin Nordahl is a life-long resident of Door County, a REALTOR® and a member of the Door County MLS. He is the incoming Door County Board of REALTORS® President for 2003-04 and has been a Sales Consultant at Coldwell Banker Door County Horizons in Fish Creek since 1996. He may be reached online at www.doorcountyrealestate.com or by phone at (920) 493-4004.
Kevin Nordahl is a life-long resident of Door County, a REALTOR® and a member of the Door County MLS. He is the incoming Door County Board of REALTORS® President for 2003-04 and has been a Sales Consultant at Coldwell Banker Door County Horizons in Fish Creek since 1996. He may be reached online at www.doorcountyrealestate.com or by phone at (920) 493-4004.