I've spotted a teachable moment about the relationship between our rights as Wisconsin residents to access, use and enjoy water in Wisconsin as a public trust and the still somewhat-obscure Public Trust Doctrine in the Wisconsin Constitution which is supposed to protect those water rights.
But first, some background.
Respect for water rights in Wisconsin is the reason I began this blog; water is the blog's central theme - - from this posting a few days ago back to the very first of 17,613 items posted here on Feb. 2, 2007 - - because, as I said, the Wisconsin Constitution, through the Public Trust Doctrine in Section I of Article IX, guarantees that the waters of the state belong to everyone.
Furthermore, courts have ruled as recently as last week that when enforcing the Public Trust Doctrine, the state must put the public's interest in water rights first in line, but there are a lot of people in our state who do know all this.
This is more than honoring Wisconsin history that predates the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 or treaty rights which helped the Bad River Band of Ojibwe near Lake Superior save their wild rice estuaries and drinking water from ill-advised, politically-tainted iron ore mining, wetland filling and acid runoff.
Worse, there are politicians like Scott Walker - - in his case, since the first few hours of his first term - - and his legislative allies like GOP State Senator Tom Tiffany and GOP Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, and special interests including Big Ag and Big Dairy and the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce who do know all about it and have no political or ethical problems with throwing it out the window.
Now let me say that I know it's the weekend, and your time may be limited, but you can stop at the end of this paragraph if you promise to read this short interview with by emeritus UW professor of law Arlen Christenson, who knows more about the Public Trust Doctrine and why it's so crucial to everyday life in Wisconsin than all the private sector lobbyists their corporate sponsors put together:
You know, on that famous shore path.
When I saw the piece this morning, I thought, "Aha, the perfect place to bring the legalese of the Public Trust Doctrine and Article IX of the state constitution down to ground level - - shoreline level, if you will - - because having the Public Trust Doctrine in Wisconsin is why you can walk around all of Lake Geneva on a path without any property owner of mansion mansion running after you yelling 'get off my shoreline.'
But I was disappointed to see no mention of the Public Trust Doctrine in the Journal Sentinel piece, and then I was shocked to off to read that, in fact, the writer and his companion were forced off the shoreline path at - -
And rural residents living near manure-leaking big cattle feeding operations in Kewaunee County have their own Public Trust Doctrine fight on their hands because they are deprived of clean drinking water.
Regardless of geography in Wisconsin, it's the same issue, and it's why I have italicized and posted on my blog's home page these few lines of the most important State Supreme Court ruling on the issue:
But first, some background.
Respect for water rights in Wisconsin is the reason I began this blog; water is the blog's central theme - - from this posting a few days ago back to the very first of 17,613 items posted here on Feb. 2, 2007 - - because, as I said, the Wisconsin Constitution, through the Public Trust Doctrine in Section I of Article IX, guarantees that the waters of the state belong to everyone.
Furthermore, courts have ruled as recently as last week that when enforcing the Public Trust Doctrine, the state must put the public's interest in water rights first in line, but there are a lot of people in our state who do know all this.
This is more than honoring Wisconsin history that predates the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 or treaty rights which helped the Bad River Band of Ojibwe near Lake Superior save their wild rice estuaries and drinking water from ill-advised, politically-tainted iron ore mining, wetland filling and acid runoff.
Worse, there are politicians like Scott Walker - - in his case, since the first few hours of his first term - - and his legislative allies like GOP State Senator Tom Tiffany and GOP Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, and special interests including Big Ag and Big Dairy and the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce who do know all about it and have no political or ethical problems with throwing it out the window.
Now let me say that I know it's the weekend, and your time may be limited, but you can stop at the end of this paragraph if you promise to read this short interview with by emeritus UW professor of law Arlen Christenson, who knows more about the Public Trust Doctrine and why it's so crucial to everyday life in Wisconsin than all the private sector lobbyists their corporate sponsors put together:
“It holds that the state is the trustee of the waters of the state for the benefit of the people of the state,” Christenson said. “And so the trustee has a duty to care for, manage, improve and protect the water for the benefit of the citizens. It’s not as if the state owns the water, but the people are the beneficial owners of water, just as the beneficiaries of a trust.”
The Wisconsin Constitution states in article IX, section 1 that, “[T]he river Mississippi and the navigable waters leading into the Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and the carrying places between the same, shall be common highways and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of the state as to the citizens of the United States, without any tax, impost or duty therefor.”
Christenson would later go on to say, “The idea that as the doctrine evolved, it was read to protect a variety of rights of water including the right to recreate, to fish, to hunt game, to enjoy scenic beauty and to enjoy clean and healthy water.”Now to the teachable moment I spotted today in this Journal Sentinel feature story about a writer and hiking companion out to walk around all 23 miles of Lake Geneva.
You know, on that famous shore path.
When I saw the piece this morning, I thought, "Aha, the perfect place to bring the legalese of the Public Trust Doctrine and Article IX of the state constitution down to ground level - - shoreline level, if you will - - because having the Public Trust Doctrine in Wisconsin is why you can walk around all of Lake Geneva on a path without any property owner of mansion mansion running after you yelling 'get off my shoreline.'
But I was disappointed to see no mention of the Public Trust Doctrine in the Journal Sentinel piece, and then I was shocked to off to read that, in fact, the writer and his companion were forced off the shoreline path at - -
...a subdivision developed by former state Sen. William Trinke from Lake Geneva.
Trinke has been dead for years, but ...forbade hikers from using the lakeshore path, which is still blocked by a cyclone fence. That meant walkers have to take...a 16-minute detour.Assuming this is correct - - the fence is not legal, and I'm hoping that the good folks down Lake Geneva way pay a visit to the Walworth County DA next week, get that fence removed and join with people across the state who are all in their own way fighting for the Public Trust Doctrine - - in Sheboygan County fighting to stop the proposed giveaway of water-rich public park land along the Lake Michigan shoreline.
 |
| The golf course developer is barred by the Public Trust Doctrine from closing off the beach below the project to hikers, but doesn't the Public Trust Doctrine also raise obstacles to the groundwater pumping proposed to irrigate the course, wetlands to be filled and potential fertilizer runoff into a river on the site and also into Lake Michigan? |
Regardless of geography in Wisconsin, it's the same issue, and it's why I have italicized and posted on my blog's home page these few lines of the most important State Supreme Court ruling on the issue:
WHAT WATER, WETLAND PROTECTION IS ALL ABOUT
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