Laws about hunnting rivers in Indiana and Oh

[FairfieldOH]

Hello Everyone,
We are thinking of walking along the river in West Harrison, Indiana, which I believe is Miami Whitewater. I believe it also snakes through Harrison Ohio. I was wondering if there are any laws in Indiana or Ohio that we need to worry about while walking along the river.
Thanks!
Don

[paleoman10]

i don't know about indiana. but as far as i know about ohio, as long as you have permision from the property owner to walk the bank and your not on state or federal park land your alright.

[jdneill]

In Indiana your ok floating on any navigable waterway...but once you touch ground your on private property and should have permission to hunt.

[PLS]

I would assume JD is right since he's from Indi, but Ohio may have a different law. It may not be a law at all. It may be judgements handed down through past court cases. Each state is different and may also have different rulings on what is considered navigable. What you have to look at is where the property is described to. Some property may be described to the high water mark or the high bank leaving us to believe the streambed belongs to the state. Most property descriptions will be described to the thread, thalweg, or center of the stream. In this case that rock you just found, even in the streambed, is a part of the landowners property.

[jdneill]

Here is what I've found from our dnr site...still kinda grey on if it's a navigable waterway and it does mention the high water mark



NRC*>*Nonrule Policy Documents (NPD)*>*Navigable Waterways Roster
Navigable Waterways Roster

I. Navigability
II. Establishing a Roster
III. Roster by Waterway
IV. Roster by County
Information Bulletin #3 (Third Amendment)
SUBJECT: Roster of Indiana Waterways Declared Navigable or Nonnavigable
HISTORY: The original bulletin was published at 15 IR 2385 (July 1, 1992). The Natural Resources Commission in March 1997 approved a first revision (published at 20 IR 2920) that superseded the original bulletin. The second revision made technical amendments correcting code citations and an Internet address (20061011-IR-312060440NRA).* This third amendment adds sections of the Tippecanoe River as navigable in White County, Starke County, and Pulaski County, and corrects an Internet Address.
I. NAVIGABILITY

Property rights relative to Indiana waterways often are determined by whether the waterway is "navigable." Both common law and statutory law make distinctions founded upon whether a river, stream, embayment, or lake is navigable.
A landmark decision in Indiana with respect to determining and applying navigability is State v. Kivett, 228 Ind. 629, 95 N.E.2d 148 (1950). The Indiana Supreme Court stated that the test for determining navigability is whether a waterway:
was available and susceptible for navigation according to the general rules of river transportation at the time [1816] Indiana was admitted to the Union. It does not depend on whether it is now navigable....The true test seems to be the capacity of the stream, rather than the manner or extent of use. And the mere fact that the presence of sandbars or driftwood or stone, or other objects, which at times render the stream unfit for transportation, does not destroy its actual capacity and susceptibility for that use.
A modified standard for determining navigability applies to a body of water that is artificial. The test for a man-made reservoir, or a similar waterway that did not exist in 1816, is whether it is navigable in fact. Reed v. United States, 604 F. Supp. 1253 (1984).
The court observed in Kivett that "whether the waters within the State under which the lands lie are navigable or non-navigable, is a federal" question and is "determined according to the law and usage recognized and applied in the federal courts, even though" the waterway may not be "capable of use for navigation in interstate or foreign commerce." Federal decisions applied to particular issues of navigability are useful precedents, regardless of whether the decisions originated in Indiana or another state.
The primary issue in Kivett was ownership of the riverbed from which the defendant was removing materials. If the waterway was navigable on the date of statehood, title to the bed of the river passed to the state of Indiana and could not ordinarily be conveyed incident to the adjoining riparian property. Also, once a waterway is found to be navigable it remains so, even if the waterway is no longer used for purposes of commercial navigation. United States v. United States Steel Corporation, 482 F.2d 439 (7th Cir. 1973).
In the absence of a contrary state boundary, the appropriate line of demarcation for a navigable waterway is the ordinary high watermark. The Indiana Water Resource, Governor's Water Resource Study Commission, State of Indiana (Indiana Department of Natural Resources, 1980), page 107. The Natural Resources Commission has also adopted this standard by rule. 312 IAC 6-1. If not navigable, title to the bed of the river passes to the adjacent property owner or owners.
Ownership is not the only issue determined by whether a waterway is navigable. Public recreational and commercial usage of the surface of a river or stream often depends upon whether the water is navigable. Other legal foundations may, however, authorize public usage. A prescriptive easement may exist. A waterway may be a "public freshwater lake" subject to IC 14-26-2 and 312 IAC 11-1 through 312 IAC 11-5. Pursuant to IC 14-29-8, the Natural Resources Commission may, by rule, declare a waterway to be a "recreational stream."
State legislation also establishes regulatory functions that rest upon a determination of navigability. For example, a permit is typically required from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources before a person can
place, fill, or erect a permanent structure in;
remove water from; or
remove material from
a navigable waterway. IC 14-29-1-8 and 312 IAC 6.
Other notable regulatory standards applicable to navigable waters include IC 14-18-6 (Lake Michigan fills), IC 14-29-4-5 (dedication of channels into navigable waters), IC 14-19-1-1 (general charge of Indiana navigable waters placed in DNR), and IC 14-29-3 (removal of sand and gravel from the beds of navigable waters).

[PLS]

The clarity of a "navigable" stream will be fought and refought till the end of time. Indiana law is similar with most states in the fact that the streambed of a large river capable of commercial traffic is owned by the state to the ordinary high water mark. There has been more recent court cases that have addressed commercial use as also pertaining to a canoe rental and float business. Best rule of thumb is look to your state laws for removal of a "rock" from a large stream, but look to the property owners for the removal of a "rock" on the smaller streams. Or, just don't get caught.

[FairfieldOH]

Thanks for the advice and help everyone. i guess it's not black and white. We'll have to take our chances and see what happens.

[Buckeye]

While fishing on some land in Ohio, the property owner told me that they own the land under the river as well and the only way I wouldn't be trespassing is if I was on a boat.
When I was in Texas on a lake there, my understanding was the high water mark was private from there on up.
That said she gave us permission to fish there once she saw we had licenses.

[Steve Valentine]

Here's a link that discussing this issue. I had no idea I was trespassing when I was walking the banks of the Ohio. I had always thought that up to the high water mark was owned by the state and that I could walk the banks with no problems.


Ohio Rivers and Private Property