do people actually own rivers/streams?

legal question - do people actually own rivers/streams? or only the land leading up to the waters edge?

Or is this different by state? most curious on ME, NH and especially VT!

It depends. In NH, typically land owners on both sides of a non-navigable stream (which means a boat can't make its way upstream form the ocean i.e. Saco River) own to the thread, or center of the river. This usually doesn't preclude public use of the waterway, but it doesn't mean you can set up camp on someone's beach. Usually the beds of navigable streams, such as the Connecticut, are held in public trust.

It depends on the state and the exact nature of the water body.

It also depends on the particular property's deed. It is entirely possible to own up to the near shore, up to the middle ("thread"), up to the opposite bank, or to own land on both banks plus the whole width of the stream.

"Ownership" isn't the same as unlimited control. Good summary here: http://www.uvm.edu/crs/resources/citizens/water.pdf

But if you were hoping to hike past a "no trespassing" sign by staying inside a streambed, think again (though it would work in a "navigable" waterway in some states).

Just because you own the land a stream passes over doesn't mean you own the water, a key issue in arid states

If you own to the middle, that may mean to the deepest point not halfway across, note arguments over Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

If the stream changes course, whether it does so suddenly or gradually may affect whether your boundary changes

The NH-VT boundary is defined as the water mark on the VT side at a certain time, where reservoirs have been built since the boundary is somewhere under the reservoir not still on the shore

roadtripper said:

legal question - do people actually own rivers/streams? or only the land leading up to the waters edge?

Or is this different by state? most curious on ME, NH and especially VT!

Click to expand...

This thread and Phil (who posts periodically) may be a good resource for some of this information:

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthre...ck-Explorer-Win-Trespass-Suit&highlight=canoe