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Show by flooding or other upset, will not result in the relocation of the property line. In 1959, the Bureau of Land Management ( BLM) challenged the state's claim to much of the shoreline of the lake, arguing that the declining lake level was resulting in the " reliction" of shore lands, and the relocation of the boundary between state and adjacent federal land, to BLM's advantage. In 1976, the U. S. Supreme Court determined that the state owns of all the lands, brines and other minerals within the bed and waters of the lake, and all shore lands located within the officially surveyed meander line. The Surveyed Meander Line The surveyed meander line is not, however, a constant elevation around the lake. The meander line was surveyed in segments between 1855 and 1966, during which time the water level of the lake fluctuated. Different segments of the line therefore lie at different elevations. The elevation of the meander line generally ranges between about 4202 and 4212 feet above mean sea level. In some locations the meander line runs across topographical features of higher elevation substantially inland of the shoreline. Regardless of its location relative to the water's edge and lake level, the officially surveyed meander is the adjudicated, fixed and limiting boundary between sovereign land and upland owners. ( See Figure 1.) The surveyed meander line is not usually identifiable on the ground without the aid of surveying or global positioning system equipment. To avoid trespass situations, DFFSL requires applicants to provide surveyed legal descriptions for leases and easements on GSL. Upland owners likewise should have the meander line located by survey whenever they need to know the location of the boundary between sovereign land and adjoining land. The Public Trust over Sovereign Lands Under A. D. 6th Century Roman law, and perhaps earlier, the air, sea and running waters were common to all citizens and the separate property of none. All rivers and ports were public and the right of fishing was common to all. Any person was at liberty to use the seashore to the highest tide, to build a retreat on it, or to dry nets on it, so long as they did not interfere with the use of the sea or beach by others. Although the banks of a river could be privately owned, all persons had the right to bring vessels to the banks, to fasten them by ropes and to place any of their cargo there. The influence of Roman civil law carries forward through English common law to today's Public Trust Doctrine, which recognizes the special public interest in rivers, lakes, tidelands and waters. The Public Trust Doctrine " is founded upon the necessity of preserving to the public the use of navigable waters free from private interruption and encroachment" ( Illinois Central R. R. Co. V. Illinois, 1892). Sovereign lands are held in trust by the state for the benefit of the public. The " trust" is a real trust in the legal sense of the word. There is a clear and definite trust corpus ( the lands, waters and living resources therein), clear beneficiaries ( the public), elected and appointed state officials with fiduciary responsibilities in managing the trust corpus and a clear purpose for the trust. The Public Trust Doctrine establishes the right of the public to use and enjoy these trust waters, lands and resources for a wide 11 |