OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
GROVER SELLERS
ArrIORNE”GENERAL
Bonor6ble V. B. Coer
county At tommy
BUM0 county
JobMao city, Texas
Dmr Blrr
%a or 6bout
W45, A. D. Fwha
lMdM6rcyprea8
Fuch8 vent
land that be
Of thr, Pder-
fo0 It anem t,o w la whether or
lea RLver 1s a onlgable strepa
15, then, b6u f6r ere people al-
lowed to go on t&t bank of m6lu river, end still
be VlthlO the liar@ twlka. IQ other vor4s vould
tbbsn psople h6ve the right, lf the Fwiern6ler
R iver1 sr vr vlg 6btol6 g o up M a & un th eltr a =
00 rtffitavr*~
. led and fleh, mad be poteeted updbr
tbs law.”
Hooweble V. 8. Ooer, page 3
You ere aormat in ltetieg
that it ie tkece88apj t0
QefxmfDe Vhather or not the River 18 arr0Igabj.e at
Pedeme~ee
tb Place Of the alh%ad treepare. If It im not, the bed of
the river 1‘ QvrrSdby the OYOBFIof leod on eaah ride of the
river. Thdr RrQWrtY lfM* e%tOnd to tbe’ mId6l.e of the
Stat&,‘V, Orub‘t‘ke 117 Tef. 53 ?97 S.U. PLi?, -my
:?%i~‘ot~, l=’ Tex. pl3, 5b S.W. (36) 458.
ID. Twae a etream rrnf be aevIg&ble In lav vlthout
betag aevlgebb In feat. Lf a 8trmm he en everege vldth of
3b feet betv88llr It8 bMk8 from it8 mouth up to lrry given point,
euoh portion of t& etreem I8 aavl@ble IQ lev lo d’th apar- t
tfOl3 Qf it8 b8tl belOryl8 to the btate. Artfele 53OP, vepaoo.te
Anaotated Cl.*11 Stetutee, 34 Tax. Jur. 86.
Uhother or not the pub118 her a right to fleh from
the be&m of e etetutory navlgeble ltream depeabe w vbee the
orIgIeelL’graet vae’w. If tba orlgleal grant wee reed8 efter
Jammr~ 30, 1840 (2 O-1(8 IIve ln, Article 1, Veraoe’e
A¬ated ClVIl Statuter) the aomon lav rule lppllee. tlk&er
that lev riperlam owner8 own to the vetere edge or vlthlo e
foot or two of ft. City of Auetllr v. Hell, 93 Tex. 591, 57
B.Y. 563 St6te v. R. R..JOaee”O?avel Co., (Clv. App.) 175
s.u, (Pdj 739, aft”, 180 8.~. (Pa) 144. -
If the aIgIee1 graat vae We prior to Jeauary 00,
1840, the clvll lev agpllee an& thv rlgbte of the preeent
ovnare to the land greated met be QetermIaed eccoralmg to
thm rule8 of the civil lam. Miller v. bteerlah, 131 Tex.
348, 49 a&. (?a) 404, 85 A.L.R. 451. see &atoeIo Court of
Civil Appeal8 held ie Diaoane v. Keeraa, 192 S.Y. 603, tht
it we not a treepeee to fieh aad camp 011 the benke of e eevl-
gable etream effeated by the ebb. luQ flov of the tide, where
the la& a$joinsnR the ltream vae arigleelly granted la 1833,
vhIle tb8 civil Xev caotrolled. Of oouree, the Pedernelee
R iver 1 8no tlffeoted by the ebb aad fbn Of the tide. T&B
oe1y vey ve tea eaever your queetlon ee to vhetkr or sot the
- rule appllee to eevigable river8 aot lffecteU by t;he ebb
aad flou of the tide, vbere‘tbe ante adjoinlag the rfver
yore -de pior to Jenurrry PO, 1EJ0, I8 to Quote t0 PU vhat
th court* b6ve said on the qW*tlQh The PQlnt Ia* MvW
beea defloitely dealbed in %%a* and You @eee 8‘ to “lut
tb Suprem cowt vi11 evsatuell~ hold I8 e8 iW& 88 Oure*
IO Diversloo Leke Club v. HeStb, 126 Tax. lPg, 86
8.W. (ra) 441, th StlpmlB Caurt llafdr
%eceu*e of the ltete~e ovnereblp of the bed*
of ltetutorf nevlfgeble etreeme and of their benke
trp to the llae as above defined, the publicmey
U‘a thefr bad‘ urd their butk‘ up to such lfae
for fiehbg. BeJana thtlI&, ualeeet&e rule
of the clvll Zru ie lpplfeb, they beg, no right to
go without t& eomeat of the ri I&a lend.oliosr .
li&rln v. Sutherleail, 74 neat. 5 87 , ?41 p. 338,
43 AJd. %Wt hrahaa ha Water and Uatsr Righte,
vol. 1. pa 659, 661, 663~ 11 R.C.L. p. 1033.
%bith refereaoe to the olvll, lev, Fern&m
*By the aid1 l8v tha public ~u)dof tht3
Zi of e river v8e part of the law of eetloae,
just es thet of the rlww lteelf.9 IrcricehexPe
Watw aal Ueter Rlahte, vol. 1, p. 669. Otm
of thm lava of the PartIdea provldaea *Aad although
the banks of rivers are, 80 f8r as tbelr oukierebIp
1s conaernetl, the pomrty aT thoee vhoee leads
iaclude them, oevertheleee, everpeS# be8 e rfght
to use them, by mowlag hle veeeele to the trees,
by repalrlag his ehlpe er& hle ulle upon thes,
aad by l~&iag hte ukaraba6tliee there; ema flelew-
aam have tbc right to deposit their fish aad eel1
tbeu, srrd dry tbelr mete there, and to uee eel&
beaks for every other purpose IIke those vhQh
appertain to the oelllng ad the trade by vhIah
thuy live. * Ias State Pa&ties (CAX. 1931),
prt III, title XXVIII, lav,vT, p* 8n.
Wit3 civil law rule is, we thluk, mm% fevor-
able to public 0vnerebQ then ia lwa wp r Ia te to
OUTc0Pdttiotke, eata there Is 00 maaieeIty for it*
agpUaat;on, ta view of article 5303 bab ths aon-
etru&im vk&uh bee beea gf~em to thrrt el’t%Qk.
nnrS question uader coaeldera,tioe is ooa-
tro;2bd, as far as iaeloeed let@ Is coacerasdc b?
~tlcle 3.377 of the Pea81 Cede (a* •=~t3~ #&
ht. of ths 41et Leg., lmt Called swr PO 0
a9 1% U &¶ Cellad Sees. p. 41, 0. 96 (Vernoa*e
ke* P.C. wt. 1377)). vhiah prohIbIte huntleg or
fishing W th itraloeed land of aaotber without
hi* ao-nt muI dnflnes Ineloeed laad es lsad vbicb
IS i~loeed by fence or partly by fame aad pmrtly
b7 wtoc or stream. This statute pohlblte the
publie from wfn6 for fIeJalngthe beaks of e
*trw abow the line betveen publfa aed private
BwlrreW vhem t;)w banks era vIthIa iawlo~d
xwem%eee aa by It deflrurb.
“Whet hem beea rid about the rl#at af the
ooblic to u8e t&e beak6 a fltr uime
ior fishfag
b e, 0s a o uma no,mwa tlea lgplioation
l to the
burta of the MedIne river, 80 lvag ee then are
submerged by the water of Mvereton Lake. we
flad no euthorIt7 for holding t&et the publia bnre
as ea ILDl)ider&tto the right to flah la Dlverelon
lakearfghttoueethebenkaoftheWu,uba
It I8 our aplnion t&t ther have no such right.
Tbre are tw bdul of the lake, either luperflalel-
ly or ~ologiaall?, aompw~ble to the m of a
river. The water o? the lake wsely reechee len4
owked by plalatlff In errer at ea elevetloa vary-
Iqg vith the qtaentlty of veter held tm the rear-
oolr . It It be aaid that the land badming the
water of the la&e oonetltutee the banks of the
leke, tbea vkwre Is the top of tba banlte,cud tit
vmld wrk the outer beaMu?~ of the land that
the publfc 6ould we es banks for flrhiagf
~tbermore, the tree of plaIntIf% in errm’e fart
xaetl (t&e Is, the lead aajolisfng but wt belov
tbtt water of the lake) for ~fI8Mn6, vlthcwt Its
eoaeeat, ie pmbiblted by artisle 137’t ef the W-1
c&e ahova bieaaeed, es that rvrd la Inaleeed
pazlt4 by fsme aaH party by the water of tha leke.
“It I* wt ae4aeeury la tble aawe to decide,
urd w 60 8kt3t 8wide, whether the rfithte of thm
p r r b lia fltrwaee La thfo sta te
to ~88tht, b euko e
v-p *tb sya r e
bardem by grwts ea de~
ta @ eSW-
x
;* o ~M WIOW emwre%gnt3 a r e Inr o j
x wmo t flu-
ier*at fry -8 rights of the publie b8reIa dster-
olwd, (cphs greata vhI.oh DIVereI@n Lake todme
Hoaoreble V. 8. Ooer, m 5
w*e made by the etete crubeeqwat to UIbO.) dad
00 OP~~oP i@ intended to be e~eeeed ee to vhet
Use mY be mwfe la emw%ency, or la ot&r airam..
et*acee, of the bank8 of navlgeble etreemc by per-
eon8 en%e%ed In cseenerclel aevlptloo.*
In the recent Oe86 OS State v. R. E. Jenee *eve1
CO., (cl+. &P.) 175 8.u. (%a) 739, vbich vee &filmed by the
9upllem 0-t in HeWrele V. stw, 180 83. (9-a) 144, m
Auetia Couvt of Civil Appeele aaid:
“APPelknt8 point8 3 end 3 invOlvO th0
rlght8 &et8 end the City, ee ~p~ewnte-
Of tla8
tiwe of the public or Otherwlec, to en .eMmOt
or unltude upan the eeuth benk of the river
ebove the b0-q 111~. The State*e coatentloa
fo r luch earsmeat or e&rvitude ie pcdioeted upon
IAVE 6 end 7 OS Title 38 of the mrtlae (0~
ta‘full ln’th6 Qrubetelte-opluioa OS thie col#rt*
rri,8.U. 537, at pa%88 5p8, 5B), vhlch port&e
th 8t, llthougb the bonke of rlvere. bcloog to the
ovaer Ot the edjoinlng eetete, ‘aevertheleee,
every mea my mke iMe of them, to feetea his
vu8881 to the tree8 th& &rou t&re, 62 to refit
hllre8M1, Or to put hfe uile w rarahrodlee
. s0 rieh8~a MY put erd 88~0~0 th8ir
tleh fapl Me t&are, aad dry thblr rmte, or mlm
PM of the booka for all other likr, Purpoeee,
vhiah eppertela to the art or tsede, by vhlch
they live* (Zav 6); md that, although truer grov-
lo&gon the beta8 am the property of aad my be
out dova by the rip%rlur ovnere, *yet, ii at tha
tl.e@ they ere about to eut them dovn, they riad
any veewl Seeteaed, or about to be feetuned to
euch trees, they aua a0t 2neeedletely cut them dawp
othervime they vould irrter?ere with the rtiht
which every man has to uee the be&e of rlvere, *e
ie ebwc eeid, but if tbere 18 no V8886tl feetemd,
n~r about to be fastened to eueh tree8 W ew 0114,
tba my my be cut dova and cowerted t,o the
ovner’e law (hv 71. The Pertidee wre in forae
~a tdetieo in 18350 above. whether
Orubetelre ce8e,
-88 ~OV~~~MIIMW bWtl ia *Wj V*Y *dIfied O*
*&apt&* la thle State W fla It y-008-J to
cbne~d~, for reeeooa Stat88 belo*-
sotmeble V. B. Goer, pege 6
The foregolag la the beet emwr ve aen in you to
your iaquiryet thfe tlm, and ve trust that it vi f 1 be OS
leeieteace to rota.
Very tru27 pure
AlraanrQRUUULWTHUr
APPROVED
c)
OPINION
.:IsJ#