News & Events

BY HUNTER K. AVIS WITH RICHARD D. LINNELL SPECIAL TO OAKLAND LAKEFRONT As a state with a vast array of waterways, from shallow spring-fed creeks to the far dark corners of Lake Superior, Michigan has no shortage of riparian diversity. The general public has ample access, through the public trust doctrine, state parks, the Department of Natural Resources launch sites, … Read More

In the years since we have been fortunate enough to write this column for the magazine, requests to our office for methods to regulate motorboat usage on inland lakes have increased dramatically. In our personal experience, these regulatory requests rarely stem from the noise that motorboats make (fourstroke low emissions outboard motors and PWCs have reduced traditional lake noise sources), … Read More

Shoreline erosion, and how to control and mitigate that erosion, have become frequent questions from our clients. With fluctuating, often “high” lake levels, together with the increase in the sales and prevalence of watercraft with mechanical wake enhancement devices that increase wave action above the norm in small inland lakes, protecting and repairing riparian property in the vicinity of the … Read More

The Ordinary High-Water Mark (OHWM) is an important reference point for an inland lake property owner. The OHWM is not always clear or obvious, and in this article we will spend some time learning what the OHWM is, where to find it on inland lakes in Michigan and whether the OHWM is established “by law” or not. Michigan statutory law … Read More

Many of our reader questions this 2021 season have been on the topic of seasonal docks. As seasonal docks on Michigan’s inland lakes, when used for single family, non-commercial, residential purposes, they typically do not require state-level permitting and there is a fair amount of homeowner discretion (and questions) as to seasonal dock location and placement. One need only take … Read More