Troubled waters: Landowners, angler wrangle over access to Va. river

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Fascinating story. The people living on the river claim they own the ground beneath the river, according to a grant made before the Revolutionary War. This is in a really pretty part of Virginia, far from any urban centers.

Troubled waters: Landowners, angler wrangle over access to Va. river

By Susan Svrluga, Published: August 19
The Washington Post

on the Jackson River in Virginia — Dargan Coggeshall chose a fly for his rod, read the fishing rules posted at a state-maintained put-in and pushed his kayak into the shallow water of the Jackson River, promoted by Virginia as one of the best wild trout fisheries on the East Coast.

Two summers ago, when he went fishing here with a couple of friends, a woman who looked upset came out of a waterfront house and took pictures of them standing in the middle of the stream.
....

“Two days later, a sheriff shows up at our doors,” said Coggeshall, who has since spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to prove that he and his companions were not trespassing on this Alleghany County waterway.

His case has spawned a lawsuit that pits private property rights against public access in a state where recreational fishing brings in more than a billion dollars a year.

[TreasonousBastard]

1. This is a huge problem around here...

people pay at least a hundred thousand extra here for waterfront property, and expect that they own the beach to the high tide mark. That part is easy.

But, which high tide mark, since there are several? And beaches build up or erode, so the high tide mark often moves up and down. And if you lose beach, who pays to put some sand back? What if you lose beach because of the jetty put up to save someone else's beach?

Some of this goes back to British land grants, and others to the constant battles over riparian rights, but at least it's just some asshole homeowners putting barriers on "their" beaches to keep people out, not fights over cities vs. farmers for water.

My attitude is that nobody should own waterfront property, with few exceptions where it makes sense (like marine businesses). The view is nice, and you can walk past your front yard and fish or clam and tie up your boat, but where is it stated you have a basic right to do that? Tough shit-- wild beaches and riverfronts are fast disappearing and preserving them is more important than a the convenience of owning them.