Virginia Code

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THE LAW AT ISSUE

Section 28.2-1200 of the Virginia Code grants common, public use to all ungranted beds of bays, rivers, creeks, and shores. It reads as follows:

All the beds of the bays, rivers, creeks and the shores of the sea within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth, not conveyed by special grant or compact according to law, shall remain the property of the Commonwealth and may be used as a common by all the people of the Commonwealth for the purpose of fishing, fowling, hunting, and taking and catching oysters and other shellfish. No grant shall be issued by the Librarian of Virginia to pass any estate or interest of the Commonwealth in any natural oyster bed, rock, or shoal, whether or not it ebbs bare.

Thus, all inland bodies of freshwater as well as their shores, banks, and beds, are open for public fishing and trapping except in cases where a landowner holds a special, legally recognized grant or compact.

PROBLEMS

The law does fails to address other forms of recreational use, such as kayaking and canoeing, and it allows the major exception of special grants. Many private property owners in Virginia hold grants issued by British kings in the 17th century, and Virginia law still recognizes these grants as valid.

  • No mention of uses other than fishing and trapping
  • Allows old kings’ grants to take precedence over current public interest

SOURCES

  1. Virginia Code § 28.2-1200. Available at: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+28.2-1200.

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