The Starke County Park Board discussed regulations of the unauthorized mooring of vessels within the riparian right-of-way at the Bass Lake Beach at a recent meeting.
Riparian rights are vested property rights that arise out of ownership of land bounded or traversed by navigable water. In conversations with DNR, the park board was informed that they have riparian rights up to 300 feet from the shoreline of the beach shoreline.
Boat mooring is when you secure your vessel to a fixed structure such as a buoy or a wharf. Mooring buoys are available for sale so a person can basically park a boat anywhere on the open water. When the State owned the Beach, the mooring of boats was prohibited. Since the county has taken over, people have been taking advantage of mooring their boats wherever and making it difficult for other vessels to pass. Property owners shared concerns because they have to pay hundreds of dollars a year in order to dock their boats while they see others on the lake parking their watercrafts for free.
The Starke County Park Board will now begin drawing up a resolution to restrict mooring within the county’s riparian right-of-way which should be presented at the next meeting.
