Judge’s Ruling May Hold Water

For 89 years, Lake Coeur d’Alene shoreline owners have quarreled with state officials, sunbathers and neighbors over ownership of the beaches and submerged land at water’s edge.

No one knew, or was willing to decide, how high the water had been when Idaho became a state more than a century ago. Everything below that elusive level belonged to the state. Everything above that point was up for grabs.

Occasionally, a court case offered promise to establish, once and for all, how much of the waterfront belonged to the state and how much was private. But each fell short. A 1988 district court jury decision, for example, provided the magic number in a suit involving Washington Water Power, but it was thrown out on appeal as part of an out-of-court settlement.

Last week, Judge Craig Kosonen finally set the benchmark and deserves credit for doing so - though it’s one that favors property owners over other interests. In a case involving a tiny island in the middle of Kidd Island Bay, Kosonen ruled that the lake level at statehood was 2,121 feet above sea level, not the 2,128 recognized by Idaho officials.

The state may appeal that ruling, but evidence is fairly clear that construction of the WWP dam at Post Falls in the early 1900s artificially raised the lake level several feet. That means Marvin and Sharon Erickson, plaintiffs in the historic lawsuit, can continue picnicking on their manmade island and disgruntled Kidd Island Bay residents probably can block a controversial dredging project.

The decision, however, may not have a major effect on the shoreline.

A 1974 law that gave the state authority over land up to 2,128 feet means shoreline owners still must apply for permits to build docks and to add fill material. Also, swimmers still have the right to recreate on Idaho water - even if it clearly covers private property.

Yet, the ruling did confirm that a Sanders Beach homeowner had a right to have a beachcomber arrested for trespassing in 1992 for refusing to move off his property. The case was dropped by the city of Coeur d’Alene because no one knew at the time where the high-water mark was.

It’d be unfortunate if Kosonen’s decision prompts Sanders Beach owners to begin erecting chain-link fences and no-trespassing signs, as some have tried to do in the past. There are better ways to spend a North Idaho summer than to be ensconced in a self-made “Stalag 13” enclosure protecting your beachfront from a hostile public.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = D.F. Oliveria/For the editorial board