Ohio Supreme Court to hear arguments on Lake Erie shoreline case tomorrow

Court case is more than a boundary dispute; decision could impact 200 years of public access to Lake Erie shore and protection of coastal resources The battle over ownership of Ohio’s Lake Erie shore will reach a legal watermark tomorrow as each side in this hotly contested dispute attempts to sway Ohio’s seven Supreme Court […]

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Lake Erie Shoreline Appeal Reaches Supreme Court of Ohio, OELC Prepares Briefs

There are a few updates on the Lake Erie Shoreline case, now pending before the Supreme Court of Ohio. The case, State ex rel. Merrill v. Ohio Department of Natural Resources, concerns the extent of the “public trust doctrine” as it pertains to the Lake Erie shoreline. Parties to the case include the Ohio Environmental […]

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OELC Top 10 of 2009 … No. 5 Lake Erie Shoreline Decision eviscerates the centuries old “public trust doctrine” and the authority of AG

No. 5 – Lake Erie Boundary Dispute decision – “a trifecta of injustice” for Ohio’s natural resources, its people, and its Top Cop. In the December 2007 Lake County Common Pleas decision in State ex. rel. Robert Merrill v. State of Ohio, the court  redefined the boundary separating public and private property along the Lake […]

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VICTORY for Ohioans in Lake Erie Public Trust Case

Supreme Court Reaffirms 1878 Decision Holding That State’s Trust Over Lake Erie Extends to the ‘Natural Shoreline’ After a half decade legal fight — a fight where:  Lakeshore property owners sued the state of Ohio and ODNR; where Ohio Environmental Council (OEC) and National Wildlife Federation (NWF) had to intervene to protect the rights of […]

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Supreme Court Accepts OEC Appeal in Lake Erie Case

The Supreme Court of Ohio has accepted OEC’s appeal in the Lake Erie shoreline case, Merrill v. Ohio. The case is an important one because its resolution will determine the meaning of the “Public Trust Doctrine,” and whether Ohio citizens have access to the Lake Erie shoreline. The OEC, and fellow intervenor the National Wildlife […]

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Sportsmen and Conservation Groups File Brief with Ohio Supreme Court, Urge Reversal of Decision by Eleventh District Court of Appeals

PRESS RELEASE: (Columbus, OH)—A group of sportsmen and conservation organizations is asking the Ohio Supreme Court to overrule a controversial decision by a lower court which threatens to hobble the authority of the Ohio Attorney General to protect Ohio’s natural resources. On January 22nd, the groups—Ohio Bass Federation; Izaak Walton League of America, Ohio Division; […]

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OELC Decries “Activist Court,” Prepares Appeal to Supreme Court of Ohio in Lake Erie Case

The Eleventh District Court of Appeals in Merrill v. State of Ohio found that the public may walk upon the shoreline only so long as they stay in the water and that landowners can build all the way to our Lake and construct fences along our coast. The District Court’s decision upheld the trial court’s […]

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