Rivers Unlimited

Save the Lake Erie Shoreline from Privatization!!!!

Lake Erie, its shoreline and coastal waters belong to the people of Ohio. Public access to the lake is now being threatened by legislation that would give away thousands of acres of valuable Lake Erie shoreline to private property owners, severely restricting our right to fish, swim, wade and walk near the shore.

Last December, the Ohio House passed this bill and now it's headed full steam to the Ohio Senate. Ohio PIRG, along with a coalition of other environmental, conservation and sportsmen's groups, continue to work hard to convince your state senators to defeat this bill, but we need your help. E-mails coming from Ohioans all across the state will encourage Senators to listen to the public just as much as they have listened to the developers and other special interests.

Please take a moment to contact your senator today and include a message about why you want the Lake Erie shore preserved for public use. Then, ask your friends and family to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.

To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser: http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=426&id4=ES


BACKGROUND

Some property owners along the Lake Erie shore want to gain a legal foothold to fence off vast stretches of now-public beach for themselves. If they get their way, the public can look forward to a shoreline cluttered with sprawling million-dollar estates, private clubs and even oil drilling derricks - and fences and "keep out" signs to restrict public access to the Lake Erie shore.

By lowering the "watermark" set for the protection and regulation of Lake Erie as proposed in House Bill 218, the State of Ohio will transfer thousands of acres along our coast to private landowners. This is an outrageous giveaway of public resources.

The public has a right to continue to enjoy the Lake Erie and its coastal waters. The state legislature shouldn't give away the public shoreline and its waters - resources that were given to Ohio at statehood in 1803.

According to federal law and Ohio's grant of statehood, any land lakeward of the high water mark is titled to the state and held in trust for the public. Further, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that the General Assembly cannot abandon its responsibility to hold these lands in trust for the people of Ohio.

The Lake Erie shore and its coastal waters belongs to all 11 million citizens of Ohio. Ask your state senator to keep it that way and reject House Bill 218. Then, ask your family and friends to help by forwarding this e-mail to them.

To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser: http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=426&id4=ES
posted by Mike at 10:30 AM