of the grant, there is a residual public interest which may be 

 asserted. 



Unlike the legal principles surrounding dedication of property, 

 the public trust remains a fuzzy subject area. Maryland's highest court 

 approved legislation reasserting state title in "lands under the 

 navigable waters of the state below the mean high tide, which are affected 

 by the regular rise and fall of the tide." When riparian owners claimed a 

 right to remove sand and gravel, their claim was disapproved because of the 

 preexisting state right defined in the statute [7]. 



The state cannot destroy the public trust merely by selling the land. 

 The doctrine protects against short sighted stewardship of the public 

 resource. In most situations when private rights are granted, the public 

 trust can be reasserted after the passage of time or changes in the law or 

 conditions of use. 



In the Just v. Marinette County case, the Wisconsin Supreme Court was 

 asked to review a 1966 Shoreland Protection Act ordinance that had been 

 adopted by the county. The Just's owned lakefront lots and began filling 

 the shorefront swamp contrary to the ordinance which required a special 

 permit for fill [8]. 



The court carried the public trust notion beyond traditional 

 navigability. It was linked to an explanation of the heavyweight purposes 

 served by the shoreland protection program. The court emphasized the 

 special relationship between lands adjacent to and near navigable waters: 



What makes this case different from most condemnation or policy 

 power zoning cases is the inter>"elationship of the wetlands, 

 the swamps and the natural environment of shorelands to the 

 purity of the water and to such natural resources as 

 navigation, fishing, and scenic beauty. Swamps and 

 wetlands were once considered wasteland, undesirable, and 

 not picturesque. But as the people became more 

 sophisticated, an appreciation was acquired that swamps and 

 wetlands serve a vital role in nature and are essential 

 to the purity of the water in our lakes and streams. 

 Swamps and wetlands are a necessary part of the ecological 

 creation and now, even to the uninitiated, possess their 

 own beauty in nature. 



The court went on to cite cases supporting its conclusion that "the 

 active public trust duty of the state of Wisconsin in respect to navigable 

 waters requires the state not only to promote navigation but also to 

 protect and preserve those waters for fishing recreation and scenic 

 beauty. 



77 



