It may take years to sort out the legal status of various public access points on Lake Wissota, and the public may lose rights to some access points in the process.

In fact, that may have already happened in at least one case that is heading to Chippewa County Court on Friday.

A pair of landowners on Lake Wissota are arguing that one supposed access point isn’t an access point at all, since the town of LaFayette gave up ownership decades ago. They want the court to affirm their ownership of the land. That has the DNR and at least one townsperson concerned.

William A. Boyd and Ann G. Chamberlain as the trustee of the Ann G. Chamberlain Living Trust have petitioned the Chippewa County Court to have a platted access vacated from the official plat. The point lies along 79th Avenue in the town of LaFayette, in the Pine Harbor region. According to the petition, it includes approximately 187 feet of shoreline.

Boyd and Chamberlain, with the town of LaFayette as a co-petitioner, have found records that show the town in 1958 granted a quit claim deed returning ownership of the property to the ones who originally donated it for an access point, declaring that the property was not viable as an access point. Boyd and Chamberlain are the legal heirs to ownership of that property, according to the court petition.

However, a DNR official says there may be legal issues with the town’s 1958 action.

The first problem the DNR has identified is whether the town ever accepted the land as a public access point.

According to the petition, the town approved the plat of land known as “Pine Harbor First Addition” with the southeast corner labeled as “Public Landing,” in 1935. A map of that property is included in the petition, although there is not a copy of any action the town board took.

The second issue the DNR is arguing is the validity of the 1958 action.

“The question is whether or not the quit claim done in 1958 was legal,” said Bruce Neeb, DNR government outreach supervisor.

Current law states that in order to abandon a public access point, a municipality must get DNR approval and replace the abandoned access point with one of equal or superior access.

However, it is unclear exactly what statutes were in effect on Jan. 20, 1958, when the quit claim deed was approved.

“Our attorney has found there’s case law apparently on both sides,” Neeb said.

The petition to the court states that the statute governing vacating access points wasn’t passed until 1959.

The DNR planned to send a letter to the judge on Thursday, Neeb said.

“What we’re asking is the judge to take a look at the case law,” he said.

However, if it is found the original quit claim deed was legal, the DNR will allow the abandonment to take place.

The DNR is arguing to save this piece of land because it feels lake access is important to all lake users, Neeb said.

“If you drive along the shoreline of a lake like Wissota, you say, ‘How can I get on it; how can I go fishing?’” Neeb said.

He said access points are important to anyone who wants to use the lake but doesn’t own lakefront property.

Jolene Berg agrees.

“It’s just a place where people can get to the water,” she said.

Berg lives about a third of a mile from Lake Wissota. She has been watching lake access issues closely since her son was made to leave a platted access point a few years ago. She said she was upset when she learned an access point was going to be abandoned.

“There’s a lot of people concerned about losing these access points,” she said.

Neeb said his biggest concern in this case is with the quality of the access. Last year the town had Chippewa Valley Technical College student Chad Martin create a map of all the access points on the lake.

Martin’s report showed the access point in question is overgrown, but the area near the lake is free of obstructions and boater friendly. He indicated the site may have been used by the public in the past, but not recently.

“(Martin) found the Boyd site is very viable,” Neeb said. “It could be developed as a valuable access point.”

Neeb said it is one of the most accessible points over about six miles of shoreline.

He is concerned that as this and other points are abandoned, people will lose their access to the lake.

“Once an access is abandoned and developed, it’s not going to come back,” he said.

The motion hearing on the case will be brought before Judge C.A. Richards, who is standing in for Judge Thomas Sazama, at 10:45 a.m. on Friday in the Chippewa County Branch II courtroom.

To see the lake access map created by CVTC student    Chad Martin, go to www.lafayettetownship.org/ other%20links.html.

Bruce Neeb of the DNR said the access point in this case is point number 10.