INDIANAPOLIS — A yearslong dispute over private property rights and public access to Lake Michigan is headed to the Indiana Supreme Court, whose decision could affect every visitor and Region resident who goes to the beach in Northwest Indiana.

The Hoosier justices will decide in coming weeks whether to grant transfer, and thereby vacate, a landmark Indiana Court of Appeals decision that all parties to the case of Gunderson v. State believe was decided incorrectly.

At issue are how far inland, beyond the actual water of Lake Michigan, does the state's ownership go; how close to the water an individual can own property; and who possesses the land in between that's sometimes covered by water?

The Court of Appeals, in a 3-0 ruling, affirmed in December that the state's interest extends to the "ordinary high water mark," which it 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.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Supreme Court has agreed to decide who owns the land immediately adjacent to Lake Michigan.

The high court's order granting transfer in Gunderson v. State vacates a 2016 Indiana Court of Appeals ruling that established an unprecedented property-sharing arrangement between the state and lakefront landowners.

All parties to the case agreed the appellate court's resolution was unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons and asked the Supreme Court to dispose of it and independently weigh the merits of their claims.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thursday in a case that could determine whether Region residents and visitors will enjoy the same open access to Lake Michigan beaches as generations past.

Don and Bobbie Gunderson, of Long Beach, asked the state's high court to rule that beachfront properties on Lake Michigan extend to the water's edge and that property owners have the right to limit who enters or uses "their" beach.

Peter Rusthoven, the Gundersons' attorney, claimed the principle of ownership to the water's edge consistently has applied, even if not always enforced, from the time the land that would become Indiana was part of the Virginia colony, through the adoption of the 1787 Northwest Ordinance and into statehood in 1816.

"We have a very simple test," Rusthoven said. "Everybody can see where the water is. Everybody can see where the water's edge is."

Justice Steven David asked Rusthoven what would happen if the water in Lake Michigan receded 100 feet for some reason.

Rusthoven said lake-adjacent property owners would gain 100 feet of land, because their property line is "a moveable freehold to the water's edge."

Access for everybody

Solicitor General Thomas Fisher, representing the state, argued that in 1816 Indiana was given by the federal government ownership of its portion of Lake Michigan and the lands underneath, up to the ordinary high water mark.

That point generally is 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.

Fisher said the land between the ordinary high water mark and the water itself — effectively the beach — continues to be owned by the state and is maintained as a public trust for all Hoosiers to enjoy.

"The idea is everybody has access to these waters and these beaches for ordinary, reasonable activities," Fisher said.