[Southsider2k12]

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-an...aign=user-share

INDIANAPOLIS — Northwest Indiana property owners whose land borders Lake Michigan cannot restrict individuals from accessing the lake, fishing or walking on the beach, so long as visitors remain on ground that's usually covered by water.

In a landmark property rights decision, the Indiana Court of Appeals on Wednesday affirmed that the shore of Lake Michigan is owned by the state and held as a public trust for all Hoosiers.

The state's interest extends to the "ordinary high water mark," which the court defined as the line on the shore where the presence and action of water is continuous enough to distinguish it from land through erosion, vegetation changes or other characteristics.

That's a more flexible definition than the specific numerical level used since 1995 by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to identify the lake's ordinary high water mark.

[diggler]

[Groucho]

Good on all of them what led the charge to keep the rights of all to beach access.