NYCkayaker US Federal judge declares boating illegal in all US navigable waters

[Nancy Brous]

some of you may have seen this on paddlewise.
strange and interesting, i thought it worth posting here as well.

Subject: [Paddlewise] US Federal judge declares boating illegal in all
US navigable waters

Excerpt:

In a rather bizarre ruling that has marine industry officials worried,
Judge Robert G. James of the United States District Court, Western
Division of Louisiana, has said that it is criminal trespass for the
American boating public to boat, fish, or hunt on the Mississippi River
and other navigable waters in the US.

In the case of Normal Parm v. Sheriff Mark Shumate, James ruled that
federal law grants exclusive and private control over the waters of the
river, outside the main shipping channel, to riparian landowners. The
shallows of the navigable waters are no longer open to the public. That,
in effect, makes boating illegal across most of the country.


http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20060814154923ibinews.html
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