DNR draws a line in the sand in debate over beach access

State Department of Natural Resources officials say homeowners who own lakeshore property in the Town of Grafton and City of Port Washington must remove any posts they planted in the water that have ropes attached to them that prevent beach strollers from crossing their property.

“Department personnel have visited the site and marked the ordinary high-water mark. We have not issued citations but are working through our stepped enforcement process. We continue to remind those navigating to keep their feet wet while (walking on the beach),” DNR spokesman Jonna Mayberry said.

The DNR’s pronouncement comes after weeks, if not months, of sparring between lakeshore landowners south of Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve and strollers along the beach.

Homeowners had complained that the beach walkers were trespassing, littering and, after the landowners protested, even harassing them, mostly on social media.

In response, the landowners laid out a rope line from the base of the bluff across the beach and into the water, barring the way.

In June, Ozaukee County officials installed new signs warning hikers to stay off private property following complaints from the neighbors of the nature preserve. An alert also was posted on the county website along with the boundaries of the park clearly delineated.

After one of the signs was destroyed, the county erected a more solid, permanent sign.

After receiving a complaint from a beach walker, DNR officials chose to visit the site on July 29 and determined that the post in the water holding one end of the rope constituted a “structure,” for which the homeowner would need a permit, DNR Waterway Field Supervisor Travis Schroeder said.

The ordinary high-water mark is the line on the shore of a body of water established by the movement of the water until it reaches a physical change on the shore or leaves a clear line in the sand or on the bank, essentially separating the aquatic bed from dry land.

Below the mark toward the water is open to the public; above the mark is private, he said.

Schroeder acknowledged that the mark is constantly changing.

“Basically, just keep your feet wet,” was Schroeder’s advice to walkers.

Schroeder said the “stepped enforcement process” begins with contacting the landowner, notifying them of the violation and urging them to comply voluntarily.

If they refuse, the next step would be to file a notice of noncompliance, then a notice of violation.

The final step would be to cite the homeowner or file a lawsuit.

“We’re a long ways” from taking legal action, Schroeder said.

Compliance in this case would be to remove the post from the water, he said.

Schroeder said a blue flag was posted at the site of the violation but when a photographer visited the site two weeks ago, no flag was there.

Schroeder said the homeowner he spoke with was not argumentative when he spoke with him.

“He was very frustrated that people were trespassing on his property and we fully appreciate that,” Schroeder said.

The landowner could not be reached for comment.

Where the public is allowed to walk on the lakeshore has long been a point of controversy in the state.

A circuit court case is in process in Milwaukee County where a Shorewood man has been cited for trespassing on a Lake Michigan beach.

The man has publicly stated that he intends to make it a test case and pursue it to the state Supreme Court.

But the controversy has worsened locally as Lion’s Den has gained in popularity, drawing visitors from as far away as Chicago and Madison.

And it is likely to gain steam with the development of Clay Bluffs Cedar Gorge Nature Preserve just north of Lion’s Den.

Another landowner, Mark Harris, said he talked on the phone with someone from the DNR “months ago” but has not heard from anyone since.

“We were going to schedule a time to get together. We’re trying to get a better understanding of what it is we’re allowed to do,” he said.

Harris said publicity about the issue seems to have calmed things down.

“Seems like once people got past the social media rants about how awful we are, everyone seemed to calm down,” he said.