PUBLIC TRUST

For the many Mississippians who’ve never heard of Public Trust Tidelands, we wanted to take a minute to tell you about a rather deep subject. In general, Public Trust Tidelands are submerged lands naturally subject to the ebb and flow of the tide landward to the natural mean high-water mark which generally serves as the boundary between Trust lands and private lands. Artificially filled Tidelands remain subject to the Trust, while excavated uplands do not become part of the Trust. The boundary between Trust lands and private lands is not a fixed or stationary line. Since the boundary line is the current natural mean high-water mark, natural forces such as accretion can increase the upland private estate while erosion can increase the Trust lands. Thus, via legislative directive, the Public Trust Submerged Land Maps were created to depict the boundary between Trust lands and private lands. While they are on file with the chancery clerk of each coast county, copies can also be found in the Secretary of State’s Jackson and Biloxi offices.

The Public Trust Tidelands Doctrine is founded on ancient legal thoughts from the Roman author Gaius later used in the Institutes and Digest of Justinian, which in the sixth century formed Roman civil law. The doctrine stated in part that by the law of nature, the sea and its shore belong to all mankind. This concept was adopted in English common law after institution of the Magna Carta. The sea and its shore were protected by the crown for the benefit of its subjects. After Independence, the American Colonies (and later the States) stood in the shoes of the king holding the sea and shore in trust for their citizens. On formation of the Union, the original States retained ownership of their Trust lands. Future States joined the Union on “equal footing” so similar trusts in the bed of the sea and its shore were created for each new state. Mississippi’s Tidelands Trust lands were provided to the state with statehood on December 10, 1817.