Bay Tidelands Doctrine

Humboldt Bay Tidelands and the Public Trust Doctrine

Wildland Water Quality
December 11, 2009

Table of Contents

Setting 1
Historical Setting 4
Legal Setting 5
Impairments & Beneficial Uses 6
Extent of Severity 9
Causes of Impairment 10
Reasons for the Impairment 10
Solutions 12
Summary 12
References Cited 13

List of Figures and Tables

Figure 1: Historical extent of land entrusted to the public around Humboldt Bay 2
Figure 2: Six watersheds feed Humboldt Bay Source Krisweb 3
Figure 4: Historical Wiyot Tribal Lands Source: Center for Indian Community Development 4
Table 1: Beneficial Uses and Impact of Tideland Loss 9

Setting
Humboldt Bay is the second largest estuary in California
Across most of the world Common Law states that navigable waters are owned by the public at large. Tidelands fall under the category of navigable waters and are therefore protected up to the high high tide line. The protection of public lands has historically fallen on the government and is referred to as the Public Trust Doctrine (PTD). The history of this common law comes from many historical sources including, the Institutes of Justinian in Rome, the Magna Carta in England, and the Siete Partides in Spain (State Lands Commission 2001). The public’s ownership of navigable waters and their protection for the benefit of the public have also been set forth in past court cases and documents issues by numerous state and federal agencies including the State Lands Commission and the Army Corps of Engineers. The responsibility of both the state and local municipalities has been established in past court cases e.g. the Nature Conservancy’s suit regarding Mono Lake diversions. Martin v. Waddell 1842 brought the common law regarding navigable waters to North America. The protection of tidelands was entrusted to the original 13 colonies. The Equal Footing Doctrine that resulted from Pollard’s Lesee v. Hagan 1845 gave all states the responsibility to protect the public’s interest in navigable waters i.e. tidelands. Consequently the California State Legislature was entrusted with protecting the tidelands of California at its inception in 1850. The California State Legislature’s sale of the tidelands from 1858 to 1872 runs contrary to the Public Trust Doctrine. The legislature’s recognition that selling the tidelands was an egregious violation of the PTD can be inferred from the amendments to the state constitution in 1879 and 1910 that expressly protected the public’s right to access and fish the waterways (Article 1 section 25, Article X section 4). None the less abuse of the PTD has resulted in a mass