Demystifying Land Boundaries Adjacent to Tidal or Navigable Water

<p>Preface xvii<br /><br />Acknowledgements xxvii<br /><br />Table of Authorities xxix<br /><br />1 The Basics of Land Title 1<br /><br />1.1&nbsp;Introduction 1<br /><br />1.2&nbsp;United States Acquisition of the Public Domain 3<br /><br />1.3&nbsp;Recognition of Title Granted by Prior Sovereigns 4<br /><br />1.4&nbsp;The Public Domain and the United States Survey of the Public Lands 9<br /><br />1.5&nbsp;Authority to Dispose of Public Lands 15<br /><br />1.6&nbsp;Public Land Dispositions In General 16<br /><br />1.7&nbsp;Swamp and Overflowed Land Grant to the States 17<br /><br />1.8&nbsp;State Sovereign Lands 23<br /><br />1.9&nbsp;Grants of State Lands 25<br /><br />1.10&nbsp;Limitations on State Disposal of Lands Adjacent to Tidal and Navigable Waters 26<br /><br />1.11&nbsp;Adverse Possession 35<br /><br />1.12&nbsp;Agreed Boundaries 38<br /><br />1.13&nbsp;Estoppel 39<br /><br />1.14&nbsp;Adverse Possession, Estoppel and Like Doctrines Inapplicability to Sovereign Lands or Land Held in <br />Trust 39<br /><br />1.15&nbsp;Exception: When Estoppel May Be Applicable to the Sovereign 42<br /><br />1.16&nbsp;Chains of Title 44<br /><br />2&nbsp;What is the Choice–of–Law 46<br /><br />2.1&nbsp;Introduction 46<br /><br />2.2&nbsp;Interstate Political Boundary 49<br /><br />2.3&nbsp;Interstate Boundaries Private Titles and Boundaries 51<br /><br />2.4&nbsp;Land Title and Boundary Disputes In General 53<br /><br />2.5&nbsp;Land Title and Boundary Disputes When the United States Is Not a Disputing Landowner 54<br /><br />2.6&nbsp;Land Title and Boundary Disputes When the United States Is a Disputing Landowner 56<br /><br />2.7&nbsp;Later Cases 62<br /><br />2.8&nbsp;Effects of These Choice–of–Law Cases in Other Situations 64<br /><br />3&nbsp;Basic Legal Principles Defining Property Boundary Movement 68<br /><br />3.1&nbsp;Introduction 68<br /><br />3.2&nbsp;Variable Nature of Title and Boundary Disputes 70<br /><br />3.3&nbsp;Importance of the Location of the Property Boundary Along Tidal or Navigable Waterways 71<br /><br />3.4&nbsp;Ordinary High–Water Mark Property Boundary In General 73<br /><br />3.5&nbsp;Purpose of the Ordinary High–Water Mark To Separate Arable from Nonarable Lands 75<br /><br />3.6&nbsp;Definition of the Ordinary High–Water Mark 78<br /><br />3.7&nbsp;Illustration of the Components of the Dynamic Ordinary High–Water Mark 78<br /><br />3.8&nbsp;Surveying Techniques to Locate the Ordinary High–Water Mark Meander Lines 81<br /><br />3.9&nbsp;Exceptions to Rule When a Meander Line Can Be treated as a Property Boundary 87<br /><br />3.10&nbsp;Basic Legal Terms Describing the Process of Property Boundary Movement 90<br /><br />3.11&nbsp;Legal Terms Describing the Process of Change in Physical Location 92<br /><br />3.12&nbsp;Property Boundary Consequences of a Change in Geographic Location of the Boundary Watercourse 94<br /><br />3.13&nbsp;Presumptions and Burden of Proof in Title and Boundary Litigation 99</p>
<p>4&nbsp;Property Boundary Determination Along the Open Ocean Coast 101</p>
<p>4.1&nbsp;Introduction 101<br /><br />4.2&nbsp;Early Case Discussion of the Physical Indicia of the Location of the Ordinary High–Water Mark 104<br /><br />4.3&nbsp;Introduction of Tidal Measurements to Physically Locate the Ordinary High–Water Mark 105<br /><br />4.4&nbsp;Use of Indicia Other Than Tidal Measurements Vegetation or Erosion Lines 107<br /><br />4.5&nbsp;Refinement of the Use of Tidal Measurements as the Physical Indicia of the Ordinary High–Water Mark <br />108<br /><br />4.6&nbsp;Explanation of the Tides, Technical Terms and Expressions 110<br /><br />4.7&nbsp;The Neap Tides Confusion 114<br /><br />4.8&nbsp;Foundation of Tidal Datums 115<br /><br />4.9&nbsp;Tidal Datums 117<br /><br />4.10&nbsp;Mean High–Water Line Adopted as the Physical Location of the Ordinary High–Water The Borax <br />Cases 119<br /><br />4.11&nbsp;The California Aberration Dispelled The Kent Estate Case 122<br /><br />4.12&nbsp;The Location of the Ordinary Low–Water Mark 122<br /><br />4.13&nbsp;The Open Coast Mean High–Water Line Fluctuation of the Landform 126<br /><br />4.14&nbsp;Property Boundary Effect of the Geographic Movement of the Open Coast Shoreline 129<br /><br />4.15&nbsp;Effect of Presumptions on Coastal Property Boundaries 134<br /><br />4.16&nbsp;Examples of types of Proof in Open Coast Property Title and Boundary Litigation 135<br /><br />4.17&nbsp;Effect of the Burden of Proof on the Outcome of Coastal Title and Property Boundary Litigation 138</p>
<p>5&nbsp;Property Boundary Determination in Estuarine Areas 141</p>
<p>5.1&nbsp;Introduction 141<br /><br />5.2&nbsp;Difficulty and Confusion in Title and Boundary Determination in Tidal Marshes 147<br /><br />5.3&nbsp;Title Derivation of Tidal Marshlands 148<br /><br />5.4&nbsp;Means to Remedy Uncertainties of Title to Tidal Marshlands 158<br /><br />5.5&nbsp;Mean High–Water Line The Physical Location of the Ordinary High–Water Mark Property Boundary in <br />Tidal Marshes 168<br /><br />5.6&nbsp;Legal Character of Tidal Marshlands Determined at the Time of the Swamp Lands Act Grant; <br />Customary Property Boundary Principles Determine Effect of Change in Physical Location of Ordinary High–<br />Water Mark 170<br /><br />5.7&nbsp;The Tidal Marsh Regime and Changes to That Regime 170<br /><br />5.8&nbsp;Property Boundary Effect and Changes in the Tide Marsh Regime 172<br /><br />5.9&nbsp;Proof of the Legal Character of Tidal Marshes and the Physical Location of the Historic Ordinary High–<br />Water Mark 177<br /><br />6&nbsp;Property Boundary Determination Along and in Tidal River Regimes 189</p>
<p>6.1&nbsp;Introduction 189<br /><br />6.2&nbsp;The Delta Regime and Delta Meadows 195<br /><br />6.3&nbsp;The Impact of Human Activities on the Data 198<br /><br />6.4&nbsp; The Impact of Human Activities on Delta Meadows 200<br /><br />6.5&nbsp;Title to Delta Marshlands 201<br /><br />6.6&nbsp;Tidality of the Adjacent Watercourse Consequences and Proof 204<br /><br />6.7&nbsp;The Impact of Property Boundary Movement Principles 208<br /><br />6.8&nbsp;Proof of the Physical Location of the Historic Ordinary High–Water Mark Use of USGS Maps 209<br /><br />6.9&nbsp;Proof of the Physical Location of the Historic Ordinary High–Water Mark Use of Physical <br />Measurements 210<br /><br />6.10&nbsp;Concluding Thoughts and Suggestions 230<br /><br />7&nbsp;Property Boundary Determination Along and in Navigable, Nontidal rivers and Streams Regimes 232</p>
<p>7.1&nbsp;Introduction 232<br /><br />7.2&nbsp;The Matter of Navigability 235<br /><br />7.3&nbsp;Property Boundary Consequences of River Movement In General 246<br /><br />7.4&nbsp;Rules to Avoid Uncertainty in Deciding the Property Boundary Consequences of River Movement 246<br /><br />7.5&nbsp;Property Boundary Consequences of River Movement Accretion as Compared with Avulsion 252<br /><br />7.6&nbsp;Impact of the Burden of Proof on the Property Boundary Consequences of River Movement 263<br /><br />7.7&nbsp;The True Meaning of Gradual and Imperceptible 264<br /><br />7.8&nbsp;Significance of the Cause of River s Change in Geographic Location on the Property Boundary 268<br /><br />7.9&nbsp;Reemergence 271<br /><br />7.10&nbsp;Physical Indicia of the Ordinary High–Water Mark in a Riverine Environment 272<br /><br />7.11&nbsp;Physical Indicia of the Ordinary Low–Water Mark in a Riverine Environment 277<br /><br />7.12&nbsp;Proof in a Riverine Environment Case Studies 278</p>
<p>8&nbsp;Property Boundary Determination Along Navigable Lakes 282</p>
<p>8.1&nbsp;Introduction 282<br /><br />8.2&nbsp;Character of Title to the Beds of Navigable Lakes 285<br /><br />8.3&nbsp;Resolution of the Quality and Character of State Title to the Beds of Navigable Lakes 287<br /><br />8.4&nbsp;Navigability of Lakes 291<br /><br />8.5&nbsp;What is a Lake? 293<br /><br />8.6&nbsp;Location of the Ordinary High–Water Mark Property Boundary of Littoral Lands 295<br /><br />8.7&nbsp;Vegetation/Erosion Line Test 301<br /><br />8.8&nbsp;Physical Indicia of Ordinary Low–Water Mark Property Boundary of Littoral Lands 307<br /><br />8.9&nbsp;Property Boundary Consequences of Littoral Shoreline Changes In General 311<br /><br />8.10&nbsp;The Mono Lake Recession Case Application of the So–Called Federal Common Law Rule 311<br /><br />8.11&nbsp;Proof in Lake Boundary and Title Cases 321<br /><br />Glossary 326<br /><br />Appendix A 338<br /><br />Appendix B 350<br /><br />Index 373</p>