detecting in the water in front of private homes

Do we have the right to do this in any lake that has public access as long as we are in the water. I found that the a State Park by me that the park and water out to 100' from the boundaries in the water is banned. Not all state parks are banned.

Rick

From personal experience here in Pa. State parks their rules and regs really fluctuate so much so that one county Mountie will tell you get out of water or be arrested and another will stop and talk and ask you what did you find...as far as your question homeowners actually own water rights in front of their home at private lakes. Imagine the aforementioned differs from State to State.

Rick, N. MI Wrote:
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> Not all state parks are banned.
>


Rick, I can't comment on your specific state, or your specific property boundry question of private homes that front a state/public lake. Ie.: how far the home's property line extends, blah blah. But if the public can simply walk down the beach on a stroll , and if that would not be out of the ordinary, then I don't see why md'ing would be any different.

As far as "not all state parks are banned", you are right . This is a popular misconception that gets repeated over and over and over. That "all state and federal land is a no-no". There are forms of fed . where it's not disallowed. And there are many of the 50 states where their state park rules are silent on the subject (ie.: don't mention md'ing ).

I think where the confusion comes in, is that some compendium attempts were made, decades ago, where "no" got passed down to someone asking park bureaucrats. And the "no" might be accompanied by verbiage about disturbing plant and wildlife. Or cultural heritage, etc... Yet not specifically saying "no md'ing". Thus as you can see, those persons who went to try to assemble those nifty lists, just became victim's of "no one cared till you asked" routine. Yet the "no" that made it on to their lists, just seems to become gospel law in md'rs minds. Simply because someone else fetched it, or they read it on the net, or whatever.

Rick,

If you google "metal detecting in mi state parks" you will find a VERY THOROUGH listing of what is allowed in Michigan State Parks by the DNR. It varies from park to park. In some it's prohibited, some partially open to detecting, others completely open to detecting.
You will have clear guidelines, including maps outlining where it's allowed. You can print the individual maps of specific parks you hunt. If a park official should mistakenly try to prohibit you from detecting in an allowed area, you can provide him/her with the copy of the map showing that it is indeed allowed in that area.

As to detecting shorelines in front of private property. Along Lake Michigan, I believe the general public is allowed activities up to the high water level. Beyond that is considered private. On inland lakes, I'm not sure if the same guidelines apply?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2018 04:32PM by EMField.

In Michigan the home owner owns the water to the center of the lake. You are allowed to walk by the house in the water, fish, & anchor a boat for a short time. So I would need permission to detect in the water in front of the house.

Rick

In most if not all lakes in Michigan the property owner owns to the center of the lake (try slicing that pie where the cottage and homes are on 100' lots and lakes are never exactly round).
I have only been approached one time by a landowner to let me know about the law of which I was already aware and gave permission for me to detect as I worked my way on down the lake. Come to find out there was an issue of someone anchoring a boat/shanty off shore for an extended period of time the during winter months at a prime spot for whitefish which is illegal and got the shore owners up in arms.

I never do any detecting on a beach or in water but learned something from this thread that I never knew. I always thought that no one could own water (river or lake or ocean that is).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2018 12:10AM by SkiWhiz.

It gets involved Ski....in Pa. navigable waters are an exception....imagine from State to State big differences...…..

SkiWhiz Wrote:
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> I never do any detecting on a beach or in water bu
> t learned something from this thread that I never
> knew. I always thought that no one could own water
> (river or lake or ocean that is).

It's very site specific and indeed complicated and navigable sites add additional complexity. Out here you can walk , navigate , fish , just about anything up to the high water mark if one side is public or if both banks are private as long as they are different owners , unless they have a mutual trespass agreement. If that is the case the owners can prohibit all activity with the exception of navigation , unless of course the owners are members of one of the tribes where you cannot even navigate without permission and if you do, you would be better off being a pastor in Turkey.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2018 07:27PM by shoveler.