OPINION/COMMENTARY

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP’S MOTION TO INTERVENE MUST BE DENIED

Kathy Stupak-Thrall owns property on the northern edge of Crooked Lake in Gogebic County, Michigan. Under Michigan law, she has the legal right to use the entire surface of Crooked Lake so long as her use does not unreasonably interfere with the rights of other lakefront property owners. One of those owners is the U.S. Forest Service, which owns a majority of the remaining property that surrounds the wide and meandering lake. In 1987, Congress adopted the Michigan Wilderness Act in which it designated the Forest Service land, part of the Ottawa National Forest, as federal wilderness in accordance with the Wilderness Act of 1964. Both the 1964 statute and the 1987 statute protect “valid existing rights,” like those of Stupak-Thrall. Nonetheless, shortly after enactment of the Michigan Wilderness Act, the Forest Service adopted rules barring the landowners from using Crooked Lake. Ms. Stupak-Thrall’s first lawsuit, regarding her right to use sailboats, ended in a 7-7 ruling by the Sixth Circuit. Then, in March 1996, Ms. Stupak-Thrall sued the Forest Service when it sought to prevent her from using motorboats on Crooked Lake. In December 1997, the District Court held that the Forest Service could not restrict her use of her property, that is, the surface of Crooked Lake. The Forest Service immediately appealed to the Sixth Circuit; however, on April 27, 2005, the Forest Service filed a motion to dismiss its appeal....

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