Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

Ind. Code § 14-26-2-5

Public rights

Applied in 5 court decisions — leading case Bowyer v. Indiana Department of Natural Resources (2008)

Most recently applied in Randall Pavlock v. Eric Holcomb (May 2022)

As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.19.

How often courts cite this section

200120102020202210
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

Sec. 5. (a) As used in this section, "natural scenic beauty" means the natural condition as left by nature without manmade additions or alterations.

(b) As used in this section, "recreational purpose" means the following:

(1) Fishing.

(2) Boating.

(3) Swimming.

(4) The storage of water to maintain water levels.

(5) Any other purpose for which lakes are ordinarily used and adapted.

(c) The:

(1) natural resources and the natural scenic beauty of Indiana are a public right; and

(2) public of Indiana has a vested right in the following:

(A) The preservation, protection, and enjoyment of all the public freshwater lakes of Indiana in their present state.

(B) The use of the public freshwater lakes for recreational purposes.

(d) The state:

(1) has full power and control of all of the public freshwater lakes in Indiana both meandered and unmeandered; and

(2) holds and controls all public freshwater lakes in trust for the use of all of the citizens of Indiana for recreational purposes.

(e) A person owning land bordering a public freshwater lake does not have the exclusive right to the use of the waters of the lake or any part of the lake.

Official source: Indiana General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Indiana statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.