ARREST THREAT FOR CHOTARD HUNTERS

[1deadduck]

On Saturday, East Carrol parish Sheriff deputies gave warning notices to anyone hunting inside flooded timber that trespassing citations will be issued starting Sunday Dec. 30th.

[GordonGekko]

must be private land huh?

[pntailhntr]

make him prove you are in Louisiana and make him prove where the boundry line is!!! NEVER HOLD UP!!!

[mudsucker]

must be private land huh?

AND La. law might be different than Ms. law concerning that!

[GulfCoast]

Tara vetching to the wardens again?

[redneckduck]

they can't do that legally. call ms game and fish

[Seymore]

Worked with attorneys who called La. law "frog law".

[GordonGekko]

must be private land huh?

AND La. law might be different than Ms. law concerning that!

you're right there are differences.... in La. to the best of my understanding when a body of water floods private property the property (and the water above it) is still private, the only parts that are public are within the "natural banks" or something along those lines....

[flockduster]

la. deputy parks truck and launches boat on ms. side and writes trespassing tickets to ms. hunters while leaving truck unattended on ms. side. one brave deputy is all I can say. Like to be there to see that show.

[BR549]

That law is no different than Mississippi's. If it's private it's private. Doesn't matter if it's dry or 10 feet under water. Yall need to go back and read the sticky on the General Discussion forum. It's pretty self explanatory. There are places on the LA side of Chotard that the "natural" bank isn't 20 yards inside the treeline. And prolly the most anywhere would be in front of Chotard landing and that's prolly not over a 100 yards out there. Everybody just looking for something for nothing! I bet if you owned Tara you would be doing the same thing!

[Jelly]

Is the river at flood stage? If not, they can hunt anywhere.

[DUCKAHOLIC]

Again ""@#$%#" TARA AND WILLOW POINT"

[LawDawg]

must be private land huh?

AND La. law might be different than Ms. law concerning that!

you're right there are differences.... in La. to the best of my understanding when a body of water floods private property the property (and the water above it) is still private, the only parts that are public are within the "natural banks" or something along those lines....

I believe that is the Ms law too.

[BIG TIMBER]

The river is NOT AT FLOOD STAGE!! "@#$%#" Tara!! Kill dem ducks!!

[butla21]

I found this article on a forum and saved it. It might have been this forum. I found it very interesting. Hope it helps






Since the topic of hunting on public water comes to the surface about once a week prior to and during duck season, I thought it would be good to put it all in one post that would be easy to find if needed.


Quote:
ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE
MIKE MOORE, ATTORNEY GENERAL
Re: Hunting on Navigable Public Waters Covering Private Lands

Dear Senator Huggins:

Your opinion request has been received by the Attorney General's Office and has been assigned to me for research and reply. Your request states:

There are certain lakes in my district that have public boat landings, though portions of the lands adjacent to and underlying these lakes are privately owned. Because a question has arisen regarding the right of the public to hunt on these waters, I hereby request an opinion from your office based on the facts and questions set out below.

For the purposes of your opinion, please assume that the waters of these lakes are navigable. Private owners have record title to the adjacent upland and to submerged lands underlying the lakes. The private owners deraign their title from persons who acquired these lands by patent from the sovereign. The private owners pay taxes on the submerged lands. There are points where the public can reach the waters of these lakes without trespassing. The private owners believe they have a right to exclude the public from hunting waterfowl on those portions of the lake overlying private lands. This would be consistent with the statute which provide[s] that "(i)t shall be unlawful to hunt, shoot, or trap or otherwise trespass on the lands or leases of another after having been warned not to do so, whether in person or by posting of suitable notice in conspicuous places on such lands." Miss. Code Ann. Section 49-7-79 (1972). Do the owners of private lands which are submerged under public waters have the exclusive right to hunt on these lands? Does Miss. Code Ann. Section 49-7-79 (1972) apply to lands that are submerged under public waters?

The general rule of law is that the public has no right to hunt on public waters where the land underneath those waters is privately owned. The more difficult question is whether or not Mississippi follows the general rule.

Miss. Code Ann. Section 51-1-4 (1972, amended April 8, 1994) provides in part:

Such portions of all natural flowing streams in this state having a mean annual flow of not less than one hundred (100) cubic feet per second, as determined and designated on appropriate maps by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, shall be public waterways of the state on which the citizens of this state and other states shall have the right of free transport in the stream and its bed and the right to fish and engage in water sports.

(Emphasis added). This Office has previously issued opinions to the effect that the term "water sports" includes hunting, and thus Section 51-1-4 gives the public a right to the use of public waterways for hunting. MS AG Op, Polles (Dec. 6, 1993); MS AG Op, Tucker (Dec. 3, 1976). We previously stated that floodwaters of public waterways were part of the public waterway. MS AG Op, Tucker (Dec. 3, 1976). However, in 1994 the legislature amended Section 51-1-4 to add the following provision:

[Nothing herein contained shall authorize any person utilizing said public waterways, under the authority granted hereby,] to hunt or fish or go on or across any adjacent lands under floodwaters beyond the natural banks of the bed of the public waterway. Floodwater which has overflowed the banks of a public waterway is not a part of the public waterway.

This language, of course, supersedes that part of our previous opinion respecting floodwaters of public waterways. It should be noted that Section 51-1-4 applies only to natural flowing streams. But while the statute is silent with respect to public lakes and certain other public bodies of water, nowhere does it state that public waterways as defined in Section 51-1-4 are the only public waters where the public can exercise the right to fish and engage in water sports. Although Mississippi follows the common law rule that riparian owners own the beds of navigable freshwaters to the center of the stream, see Ryals v. Pigott, 580 So. 2d 1140 (Miss. 1990), cert. denied 502 U.S. 940 (1991); Dycus v. Sillers, 557 So. 2d 486 (Miss. 1990); Cinque Bambini Partnership v. State, 491 So. 2d 508 (Miss. 1986), aff'd sub nom. Phillips Petroleum Company v. Mississippi, 484 U.S. 469 (1988), navigable freshwaters have historically been available to the public for a variety of recreational uses. We find no distinction between public waterways and other public bodies of water when it comes to the public's right to hunt.

We therefore conclude that the public does have the right to hunt on navigable public waters covering private lands.

Sincerely,

MIKE MOORE, ATTORNEY GENERAL

Larry E. Clark Special Assistant Attorney General


I took this from an email I got from an attorney with the MS-AL Sea Grant Legal Program. He specifically states that his email is not legal advice: