News Photo by Julie Riddle The snow-covered shore in this Alpena homeowner’s backyard is fair game for anyone’s use, according to the U.S. Supreme Court, which this week declined to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling that said lakefront homeowners do not have exclusive Great Lakes beach rights.

ALPENA — A lazy walk on the beach along the shore of Lake Huron may seem lightyears away when the beach is buried under a foot of snow, but the U.S. Supreme Court has weighed in on whether it’s legal to take a stroll in the sand.

Last week, the nation’s highest court declined to hear an appeal filed on behalf of a lakefront homeowner in Indiana who wanted to overrule a state law allowing the public to walk across privately owned land that is adjacent to one of the Great Lakes.

The Supreme Court, by its decision to not hear the case, sent a message: The shoreline is open to all.

Alpena homeowner Dale Fritz owns property on South State Avenue, adjacent to the waters of Thunder Bay. Summertime brings beach-wanderers to the rocky shoreline between the water and the small retaining wall at the edge of his property. Winter snows don’t allow for rock-pickers and driftwood-collectors, but Fritz sees snowmobilers and cross-country skiiers on the lake near his land regularly.

Passersby have never been a problem, Fritz said.

While the beach traffic can sometimes get a little heavy because of a nearby park, people have been respectful of his property, he said.

A neighbor had Adirondack chairs stolen some years back, Fritz heard, so he keeps personal items away from the shore as a precaution.

Occasionally, someone will climb onto the retaining wall and walk in his yard, but Fritz isn’t concerned that that will become a problem. A retiree who enjoys the peace of Alpena’s shoreline, Fritz doesn’t have a problem with visitors passing through his property, “as long as they aren’t doing something dangerous or being obnoxious.”

As far as Fritz is concerned, beach-walkers are welcome to scan for interesting rocks or collect driftwood on his property.

“But my wife is usually out there picking up the good driftwood, herself,” Fritz said good-naturedly.

Michigan’s Supreme Court gave beach-walking rights to the public in 2005, determining in a split decision that the shore up to the ordinary high-water mark may be traversed by anyone without the homeowner’s permission. That case began with a lawsuit by an Alcona County resident who had repeatedly been denied access to the lake by her neighbors. A local court decision in her favor was ratified by higher state courts, validating the public’s right to wander Great Lakes beaches.

The Michigan Supreme Court’s decision was based on the “public trust doctrine,” the principle that the government owns and must protect certain natural and cultural resources for public use. The lake bottom, including the space along the shore that is sometimes — but always — covered by water, belongs to the state, and, as such, to the citizens of that state, according to the ruling.

The handful of lawsuits around Michigan in recent years regarding the rights of beachfront property owners illustrates that the issue of who is allowed to be where is not entirely a settled matter. The 2005 Michigan Supreme Court decision only spoke to the issue of walking on the shore up to the “high-water mark,” itself a nebulous term, and did not address such activities as sunbathing, building campfires, or riding all-terrain vehicles.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693 or jriddle@thealpenanews.com.