The Ohio Department of Natural Resources continues to be active in the Western Basin of Lake Erie.
Some call it progress … some call it destruction of a way of life. A Toledo Blade article this past week describes issues that could arise from the marina expansion project on Middle Bass Island.
The article, written by Steve Murphy, says that ODNR plans to spend about $11 and a half million to expand the marina and improve the adjacent state park on the island.
Part of the project includes the purchase of a private marina on the island. That facility will be added to the state-owned docks and after the project is completed available dockage is expected to increase from 50 to 360.
But, according to Murphy, some island residents are upset about the inconvenience of the project
Plans are for the state marina to be closed from fall of 2007 to spring of 2009. The article quotes some year-round and seasonal Middle Bass residents' concerns. They say that many depend on their boats to get back and forth to work on the mainland, Put-In-Bay and Gibralter Island in PIB.
State officials are quoted as saying that the end result will be worth the inconvenience.
Have they ever lived in while having their homes remodeled? It ain't pretty.
ODNR officials must be quietly smiling after reading about a Michigan Supreme Court decision announced this week.
The MSC overturned an appeals court ruling that had said that owners of property on the Great Lakes have control of their property all the way to the water. In its ruling, the Supreme Court decision says that, in Michigan, the public has the right to "beach walk" along the water, even if a private person owns it. There is a very similar controversy going on between ODNR and Lake Erie property owners in Ohio.
Elements of the Michigan decision may or may not have an effect on the Ohio matter.
This week, Hugh McDiarmid, Jr., writing for the Detroit Free Press, offered some advice for those cheering the Michigan ruling as a victory for the beach loving public.
McDiarmid said the concept is much like that of the sidewalk in front of your house. He said that the general public has the right to walk along it, but they cannot stop, build a fire and break out a cooler on it.
He also notes in his question/answer article, just where the "sidewalk" lays. McDiarmid says that, according to the MSC decision, "Great Lakes beachfront from the water's edge to the high-water mark is open to the public." The "water's edge" is pretty easy to spot, but where is the "high-water mark"?
He says that it is defined as being "where the water's action has left a distinct mark." For instance, it could be a ridge of debris or the verge between wet, hard packed sand and dry, loose sand.
At least one individual justice's opinion in the Michigan decision notes that the state legislature still can enact rules for the public's behavior on the beachfront "sidewalk."
Finally, if you enjoy America's Cup sailing competition, there's good news. Outdoor Life Network has announced it has gotten the right to air the 2007 Cup races in the U.S. Plans are for OLN to carry the qualifying regattas this year, the Louis Vuitton Cup to decide the Challenger in 2007 and the finals between the LVC winner and the defending champion Alinghi of Switzerland.