. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Photo by Doug Yoder The commission strives for fair judg- ments. As with ownership claims, the courts protect private property rights, but history weighs heavily on the side of the public trust. The state has not had the authority to sell submerged lands since the early 18th century. But for one reason or another, some land has been sold. The last piece was on Figure Eight Island in 1960. Now thousands of residents claim to own acres of bottomland. No one knows exactly who owns what. Under pressure, the 19
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Photo by Doug Yoder The commission strives for fair judg- ments. As with ownership claims, the courts protect private property rights, but history weighs heavily on the side of the public trust. The state has not had the authority to sell submerged lands since the early 18th century. But for one reason or another, some land has been sold. The last piece was on Figure Eight Island in 1960. Now thousands of residents claim to own acres of bottomland. No one knows exactly who owns what. Under pressure, the 1965 Gen- eral Assembly asked people to map and register private claims to sub- merged lands before 1970. Failure to file meant the claim was void. By 1970, 3,000 people said they owned more than 10,000 acres of bottom- land. But there was a catch. Claimants had to prove direct owner- ship from the original deed or title. That meant digging through records and tracing the deeds back to a grant from King Charles in 1663, for some. For others, it meant a 1920s grant from the Board of Education. And some claimed ownership by "adverse possession," saying they used an un- claimed plot for more than 21 years. Today, the Attorney General's office is still examining the claims to see if they are Shellfishermen use leased bottomland to raise oysters (above); Walter Clark (below). Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original UNC Sea Grant College Program. [Raleigh, N. C. : UNC Sea Grant College Program]
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography
