No Trespassing!
The last relatively warm day we had I took my kayak out on Sunset Lake for one more look at the fall colors. Up near the north end of the lake, I was greeted by “No Trespassing” signs sticking right out of the water. Now, this is not up where the lake has become choked with weeds – this part was wide open, and still very much a lake – not a creek or a marsh.
I approached closer and noticed there was a partly-legible name on the signs. All I could make out was “Brad.” The rest of the crayon markings must have washed away in the rain. I supposed Brad lives nearby and thinks that he can claim an entire part of the lake as his, since not many people get up that way, anyhow.
Someone should let Brad know that under Michigan law, the public has a right to use navigable waterways. Some deeds may entitle a person to the soil under a body of water, but navigable waterways (other than those inland lakes that have no inlet or outlet) cannot be blocked off or “privatized” by nearby property owners.
I’m no lawyer, but the plain reading of the law appears to me to indicate that Brad has overstepped his bounds.
Besides, does Brad want to be liable for the pollution that’s coming downstream from “his” part of the lake into the rest of Sunset? If the North part of the lake is Brad’s, including the creek that feeds Sunset, then he must be responsible for the fertilizer that’s causing extreme algae and plant growth in the lake. What is the cost to the rest of the community for all of Brad’s pollution?
What’s killing off the Swans in Sunset Lake? (Graphic picture.) Are they being poisoned by toxins that are coming from the property that Brad is claiming as his? I think he’d better take stock in how far he wants to carry his property rights.
I, for one, will be asserting my right to use navigable Michigan waterways come Spring.
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