Photo by Steve Murray 



ubmerged 



anas 



A matter of ownership 



By Sarah Friday 



More than once, Pete Rivenbark has 

 had to cool the fires in New Hanover 

 County. 



One time a fellow thought some 

 swimmers were trying to steal clams 

 from his shellfish beds. Another time, 

 homeowners around a creek wanted to 

 claim the waterway and bottomland as 

 their own. 



But in most cases, Rivenbark is the 

 mediator between fishermen and resi- 

 dents who claim to own submerged 

 lands. 



It's not always an easy job, says 



Rivenbark, an assistant supervisor for 

 the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries. 



More than 2.2 million acres of sub- 

 merged land lie like fertile farmland in 

 the waters between the Outer Banks 

 and the mainland shore. 



And much of it is involved in the 

 biggest and longest land dispute in 

 North Carolina. 



The state has sought to ease the ten- 

 sion. But centuries of tradition, confus- 

 ing laws and misinformed citizens blur 

 the picture. 



People who own and rent bottom- 



land stand firm on one side. On the 

 other side is the state, fighting for the 

 public's right to keep the bottomland. 



For 200 years. North Carolina easily 

 upheld the principle of public trust, 

 which gives individuals the right to use 

 state waters and submerged lands. 



But by the 1960s, more people were 

 moving to the coast, placing greater 

 demands on the water and the lands 

 beneath it. Disputed lease and owner- 

 ship claims became frequent, and the 



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