River Law:

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This is the place to see additional questions and answers about river ownership, conservation, and public access. You will be better prepared to follow the discussion in this section if you have already read the section titled Who owns the rivers? Answers to frequently-asked questions. This section builds upon the discussion in that section.

River law questions Click to jump down to:

I'm interested in information on the ownership of islands in a navigable river. If a modern deed grants land "along the river," would islands in the river be included? What about historically? Specifically, I'm interested in whether islands would be included in such a grant made in the 1790s. Thanks for your help.

NORS: If the river is navigable, islands that are covered during ordinary high water would be public land, like the land along the shore below the ordinary high water mark. Such islands would be held in trust for the public by the states, and if a deed granted them to private ownership, this would be a violation of the Public Trust Doctrine of law. (Such violations have happened in a number of places--they are nothing new.) Larger islands with land above the ordinary high water line could be capable of private ownership, similar to land near the shore of the river above the ordinary high water line. Specifics of your situation could affect the validity of old and modern deeds. Send us more particulars if you would like. Thanks for writing.

To post your question about U.S. river law, click to go to the River Rendezvous--National River News/River Law section. The webmaster will subsequently see your question and ask a qualified attorney to answer it, and will then add the question and the answer to the above list. (Depending on the type of question and the amount of research involved, it could take a while to prepare and post a reply.)

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