# Type 4 Stream Bridge Access--Trespass?



## brybrain (Jan 6, 2007)

There is a county road that leads to an old, barracaded bridge that spans a stream I fish. I have used this road and bridge to access this stream 17 years but in the spring '05 "no trespassing" signs sprang up all over the place. Shortly after that a "NO PARKING" sign was installed. On the back of the sign is an "MDOT" sticker. Another fisherman was there at the time and he told me he talked to a DNR officer and was told as long as he fished in the right of way area he was not trespassing. Then last year the owner cut trees so that they blocked the road for about a quarter mile from the bridge. First of all--if the road leads all the way to the old bridge, is that a legal access point? Secondly, if it is a county road (as stated by a sign that says "this county road is not maintained......" Why does it have an MDOT sign? I read on another thread here something to the efect that "No Parking" signs are only installed by the DOT to prevent parking in areas that would would be unsafe for passing traffic--this would certainly not be the case here. Thirdly--does the property owner have a right to barricade a county road? The stream in question has very sparse access so this closure effectively blocks public access to as much as 6 miles of planted trout stream. Is this a DNR issue? Any help will be appreciated.


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## malainse (Sep 2, 2002)

You need to contact the county road commission. I would ask about the road ? Is it still a county/public road to the old bridge or not. Need to know this before can address other issues ???

What is on the other side of the bridge ?


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## hitechman (Feb 25, 2002)

been addressed before--at least parts of it.

If the road has been abandoned by the county, the property owner(s) has/have *exclusive* rights to it. If it still a county road then I believe he can not block it.

The road right of way is for county/road use only. If you use it for water access (on foot) you are tresspassing. If the stream is navigable and a boat is put in at a legal access, you can fish/float that section of the river.

I'd suggest you contact the land owner and ask for permission--ya never know, he may just give it to you.

Steve


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## brybrain (Jan 6, 2007)

The road on the other side of the bridge has been abandoned for as long as I've been fishing there. This stream has been deemed navigable by the courts. I am very familiar with the stream access rules (or lack there of!) in Michigan from reading the mi.gov documents as well as reading previous posts to this forum. I think that if MDOT is placing a sign there that it must not be an abandoned road. Does anyone know if it is normal for the Michigan Department of Transportation to post a COUNTY road? I realize that this is going to come down to making some phone calls, but any help I can get may save hours on the phone with bureaucrats from agencies that may not have any jurisdiction over the situation. I also wonder if the DNR has an interest in maintaining access to planted streams.


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## hitechman (Feb 25, 2002)

may get/purchase their signs from MDOT???? Someone may have "relocated" a sign (illegally--it's been known to happen). 

I'd start my initial questioning with the county road commission on whether that right of way has been abandoned. If it has been abandoned then that sign won't make any difference as it is private property anyhow. If it has not been abandoned, then I would ask them about the sign. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes to get answers to those questions. I'd "stop in as opposed to calling them.

Steve


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## Michigan Hunter (Sep 24, 2001)

We had a somewhat similar thing happen to us deer hunting. We hunted a state property in the middle of a section and accessed it by going over a two track next to a farmers property. We knew it was access since a DNR officer used it to come back and check our licenses once and told us that. Opening deer season we arrived and found two telephone poles across the two track. Notified the DNR and they were removed in one day...............


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