Over the past few weeks, many of you have stopped by my business to talk about non-meandered waters. Some to share your concerns and others to ask what is the issue. Periodically, during the legislative interim, I will submit articles to keep you updated on these issues that impact our state.

Non-meandered waters refer to bodies of water that you can cross without walking around. During the 1800’s, South Dakota surveyed all the bodies of water across the state. The bodies of water that were classified as “non-meandered” were considered to be owned by the private land owner. In the 1990’s, flooding caused many of these bodies of water to grow. Some of these bodies of water connected with other waters like Lake Thompson or reached public access points.

Many of these waters, by definition, would no longer be considered non-meandered. The question becomes, who owns the rights to the water? Technically, all the lakes in South Dakota are considered public domain. In the case of these disputed bodies of water, the land is still privately owned. The issue is further complicated by the fact that Game, Fish and Parks has been stocking these waters with fish and building docks on public access points.

This issue of water and land rights culminated in the State Supreme Court opinion Duerre v. Hepler. The result of the Supreme Court ruling is the Game, Fish and Parks cannot facilitate access to non-meandered waters for recreational purposes. To comply with this ruling, the GFP has fenced public access points to these lakes and posted signs. The Supreme Court has instructed the legislature to determine whether and how the public may use non-meandered waters for recreational purposes.

Unfortunately, the timing of the Supreme Court decision doesn’t lend itself to a timely solution. The legislature will not convene for session until January 2018. This issue for landowners, sportsmen and small business owners will not be resolved during the interim. That will mean a negative impact on many South Dakota small businesses and communities that rely on the fishing industry.

After session, I received the Supreme Court decision on non-meandered waters. I had been unaware that this was an issue. Upon further research, I learned that this issue had been brought forward to the legislature on several occasions. A representative offered to bring a bill during this session, but the Governor and GFP told him to wait. I am deeply disappointed that this issue was not resolved during session. As a result, an entire South Dakota industry will suffer.

On April 18^th, the legislature’s Executive Board determined we will make non-meandered waters a summer study. The scope of the study will include the Supreme Court opinion, private property protections, public access, regulation and management of non-meandered waters. The study will also define recreational use and review past legislation on this subject. The first meeting will be held in Pierre on April 27^th. No public testimony will occur at this meeting. The public will have an opportunity to testify at future meetings. The committee will be considering meetings at different locations across the state to encourage more public feedback. I will keep people updated on these future meeting dates. Please email me with your thoughts at dan.ahlers@sdlegislature.gov.