Wisconsin Shipwrecks: Finders Keepers?
The state owns the more than 700 shipwrecks in
Wisconsin's territorial waters, under the custody, control, and
supervision of the Wisconsin Historical Society. The law, with its hefty
consequences, preserves the diving rights for all users and prevents
shipwrecks from being looted and damaged.
by Carlyle H. Whipple & Laura Naus
Whipple
hen we hear of sunken ships, our
first mental images are usually of Spanish galleons and treasure divers
like Mel Fisher searching for years to find a site that will yield
millions of dollars worth of gold and jewels. Another image is that of
the Columbus-American Discovery Group, which in 1989 located, dove on,
and recovered part of the cargo being transported in 1857 from Colon,
Panama, to New York City aboard the side-wheel steamer S.S. Central
America. She sunk in a storm 100 miles off the Carolina coast in waters
at least a mile and a half deep. The official cargo consignment in 1857
dollars consisted of $1,595,497.13 in gold bars, dust, and nuggets. The
1989 value exceeded $1 billion.1 A third
image, and closer to home, is the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald that sunk in
Lake Superior on Nov. 10, 1975, coming to rest 550 feet below the
surface. Today, undersea technology permits the location and recovery of
almost anything lost on the sea floor, providing cost is no object.
Search and recovery expeditions can cost up to $50,000 a day depending
upon water depth and the type of equipment used.
Wisconsin, while lacking the high-profile treasure
shipwrecks of the oceans, has more than 700 shipwrecks within its
territorial waters. Beneath the waters of Lakes Michigan and Superior,
the Mississippi River, and the state's inland lakes and rivers can be
found an underwater museum of our state's prehistory and history. From
fur trade goods lost from overturned Voyageur canoes to the remains of
schooners and steamers, the exploration of Wisconsin's waters provides
many unique views into the state's past. It is no coincidence that our
state flag shows a sailor and anchor standing next to a farmer and his
plow: Wisconsin's lakes and rivers were an integral part of the lives of
native Americans, and they allowed European exploration, expansion, and
settlement of this state.
Wisconsin Owns the Shipwrecks Lying Under its Territorial
Waters
There are two converging lines of authority for the fact that the
State of Wisconsin owns all of the 700 shipwrecks and their related
artifacts that lie submerged under its territorial waters. The first
line flows from the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the Public Trust
Doctrine, and the second from the Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987. More
than 200 years of judicial precedent establishes the rule that these 700
shipwrecks belong to the state under the custody, control, and
supervision of the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS).2
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
At the conclusion of the American Revolution, Great Britain ceded to
the United States all lands north of the Ohio River, south of the
centerline of each of the Great Lakes, and east of the Mississippi
River, known then as the Northwest Territory. Congress enacted the
Northwest Ordinance of 1787 (NWO) to administer the lands preparatory to
statehood. Title to submerged lands was given to the states that would
be formed in the Northwest Territory as each was admitted to the
Union.3
"The sovereignty and
jurisdiction of (Wisconsin) extend(s) to all places within the
boundaries declared in Article II of the Constitution, subject only to
such rights of jurisdiction as have been or shall be acquired by the
United States over these places."4 Article
2, Section 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution was accepted by Congress upon
the state's admission to the Union and is in conformity with the
original territorial grant of Articles IV and V of the NWO.
Upon its admission to the Union
in 1848, Wisconsin became the owner of all submerged lands within its
boundaries, including the bottoms of rivers, inland lakes, and Lakes
Michigan and Superior. "Submerged lands" are the bottoms of all
navigable waters lying below the ordinary high water mark.5 The ordinary high water mark for each of the
Great Lakes was last established by the International Great Lakes Datum
Commission in 1955 at 601.5 feet above sea level for Lake Superior and
579.8 feet above sea level for Lake Michigan. The Great Lakes are
factually and legally inland seas and subject to federal admiralty law
and jurisdiction.6
Public Trust Doctrine
The Public Trust Doctrine (PTD) establishes that
the title to the bottom lands of the Great Lakes is held by each
bordering state in an active public trust.7 The PTD has been expanded to include the bottom
lands of the Mississippi River and its principal tributaries8 and all of the state's navigable waters.9 The PTD had its genesis in the English common law
whereby "both the title and dominion of the sea, and of rivers and arms
of the sea, where the tide ebbs and flows, and all of the lands below
the high-water mark, within the jurisdiction of the crown of England are
in the king."10 It is equally well settled
that a grant from the sovereign of coastal lands does not transfer title
to the contiguous submerged lands except when "either the language of
the grant or long usage clearly indicates that such was the
intention."11
Upon the acquisition of
territory by the United States from England, dominion over its submerged
lands passed to the United States for the benefit of its citizens in
trust.12 All states admitted into the Union
subsequent to the American Revolution were on an equal footing with the
original 13 states receiving title to the submerged lands within their
respective boundaries. This federal grant specifically included
Wisconsin.13 These coastal lands are
"governed by the laws of the respective states, subject to the rights
granted to the United States by its Constitution."14
Legislative and judicial acts
have established that all natural lake beds within Wisconsin are held in
an active trust for the benefit of the public, and all navigable waters
are public waters for all to use.15 A trust
is active when the trustee has affirmative duties to perform (that is,
the State of Wisconsin has the duty to protect submerged cultural
resources) with respect to administering the property for the benefit of
the designated beneficiary (that is, the general public).16 The state has a duty to actively protect and
preserve its navigable waters for fishing, recreation, and scenic beauty
for the general public, and to further this duty, the Legislature may
delegate this authority.17 This duty
originated in the NWO.18 The scope of
Wisconsin's PTD is that it be administered by the state to promote the
general welfare19, including recreational
purposes and uses20, and includes pleasure
boating, sailing, fishing, swimming, hunting, skating, and enjoyment of
scenic breadth.21 To this listing one
obviously can add scuba and sport diving, since the scope of public uses
of Wisconsin lakes and their bottom lands is open-ended.22
Through the Submerged Lands Act
of 195323, Congress reconfirmed the PTD for
Wisconsin and its submerged lands in Lakes Michigan and Superior. It
proclaimed that the state owns the bottom lands within its territorial
waters and that the state bottom lands are not to be managed in a
proprietary fashion, but rather held in trust for the benefit of all
citizens of the respective states. The pre-1989 Wisconsin Field
Archaeology Act24 titled archaeological
artifacts in the state but did not specifically enumerate shipwrecks or
their cargoes as a subject matter within the scope of the Act. However,
the Act was interpreted to include state ownership of shipwrecks if such
wrecks were "clearly of archaeological or historical interest and were
found under navigable waters other than streams within the state's
boundaries."25 With the 1989 amendment to
the Act, the definition of submerged cultural resources was amended
specifically to include shipwrecks and their cargoes, with their title
being in the state, and to be administered by the WHS26 as cultural resources for the benefit of the
general public.
The Abandoned Shipwreck Act
The second of the converging lines of precedent for Wisconsin owning
specifically classified shipwrecks within its territorial waters is the
Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987 (ASA).27
Congress determined that the states have the responsibility for managing
living and nonliving resources in their waters and submerged lands,
including certain abandoned shipwrecks that have been deserted and to
which the owner has relinquished ownership rights with no
retention.28 The ASA recognized the
cultural value of abandoned shipwrecks. Because of the recreational and
educational opportunities offered to sport divers and other interested
groups, reasonable access to such sites should not be denied by the
states.29 The ASA defines a "shipwreck" as
a vessel or wreck, its cargo, and other contents.30 A goal of the ASA is for states to provide
reasonable access by the public to wrecks for sport diving, recreational
and educational opportunities, natural resources and habitat protection,
and historic preservation of shipwreck sites.31 It was enacted to resolve the issue of "salvage"
and "finds" under federal admiralty law relative to shipwrecks lying in
joint state-federal waters.
Article III, Section 2 of the
U.S. Constitution reserves "all cases of admiralty and maritime
jurisdiction" for resolution in the federal courts. As admiralty law
evolved in the United States, claims to the title of abandoned
shipwrecks were asserted in the United States district courts under the
law of finds and as salvage claims/awards against the owners of sunken
vessels. Conflicting decisions arose within the various federal circuit
courts with respect to the title to abandoned shipwrecks and salvage
awards relative to a state's authority to own and manage abandoned
property on state submerged lands. This confusion over ownership and
management resulted in Congress enacting the ASA. The ASA specifically
removed the abandoned shipwreck title issue from the admiralty law of
"finds" and "salvage."32
To effect the objectives of the
ASA, Congress first asserted title to all abandoned shipwrecks that were
either: 1) embedded in submerged lands (as defined in the Submerged
Lands Act of 1953)33 of a state, or 2) on
submerged state lands and either included or eligible for inclusion in
the National Register of Historic Places.34
The sole exception to the ASA are all vessels on public lands of the
United States (that is, the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore) or on
Indian tribal lands.35 The Submerged Lands
Act of 1953 includes the submerged lands of the Great Lakes.36 Congress then transferred its title to the
states in which the vessels are located.37
Finally, the admiralty laws of salvage and finds, as it applied to such
wrecks, was abrogated.38 An admiralty law
exception to the ASA are sunken warships, which continue to remain the
property of their respective governments or their successor governments
unless title to them is affirmatively released.39
The term "abandoned" under the
ASA conforms with its meaning under admiralty law40, which is that the vessel and/or its cargo are
abandoned when title to the vessel and/or cargo has been affirmatively
renounced by the owner or when circumstances give rise to an inference
of abandonment.41 "Embedded" is to be
"firmly affixed in the submerged lands ... such that the use of tools of
excavation is required in order to remove the bottom sediments to gain
access to the shipwreck."42 Where at least
three-quarters of the vessel is clearly visible above the surface of the
sea floor, the vessel is not embedded.43
The Sixth Circuit has interpreted the ASA to mean "substantially buried"
when the state claimed the vessel was "embedded in state lands."44
The ASA is
constitutional.45 The S.S. Brother Jonathan
sunk in California's jurisdictional waters in 1865 carrying $2 million
in gold and a U.S. Army payroll estimated at $250,000 (all in 1865
dollars). The state made no efforts to salvage it. Deep Sea Research
Inc. located the ship in 1991 and filed an action in admiralty in the
United States district court, seeking rights to the wreck and its cargo.
At trial, it was stipulated that the wreck was located on the state's
submerged lands, but the issues of its being embedded therein, eligible
for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, and whether it
was abandoned were contested. The court found that the state had failed
to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that all of the
necessary titling events had occurred.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed,
reasoning that the ASA requires the state to present evidence that the
ASA applies, that is, that the wreck was: 1) abandoned, and 2) either
embedded in the state's submerged lands or eligible for listing in the
National Register. Further, the state must establish abandonment by
clear and convincing evidence.46 Once it
has been established that the shipwreck belongs to a state and the state
has possession of the object (the rem), the Eleventh Amendment then bars
in rem suits in admiralty (federal court) against the state. But where
the state does not have possession of the object (res), there is no
Eleventh Amendment bar to filing suit in admiralty against the
state.47
The ASA abrogated the admiralty
rules of salvage and finds as they apply to shipwrecks subject to the
Act. This is a nonsequitur as to the laws of salvage because they "apply
when the original owner retains an ownership interest in the ship (that
is, not abandoned).49Where the owner had
abandoned the ship, the courts applied the law of finds, vesting title
in the finder of a non-Great Lakes shipwreck prior to the ASA.50 An exception to the law of finds (finders
keepers - losers weepers)51 is where the
abandoned property is embedded in the sea bottom. It then belongs to the
owner of the sea bottom.52
The Captain Lawrence was wrecked
in 1933 off Poverty Island, Mich., just a few miles north of Rock Island
in Door County, Wis. Fairport International Inc. brought an in rem
action in 1994 in federal court to perfect title in the vessel located
on the rocky bottom in 40 to 60 feet of water on Lake Michigan. The
available technology of the 1930s permitted salvaging the wreck. The
Sixth Circuit opined that Michigan could prove abandonment by inference,
using the clear preponderance of the evidence standard. This analysis
can include express abandonment, depth of wreck, technology available
for salvage operations, length of time, steps taken by owner toward
recovery, insurance settlement terms, tax return or business records
disposition, wreck location, and failure to pursue salvage efforts.
There is a rebuttable presumption in admiralty against abandonment.
Where the owner comes forward to assert ownership in a shipwreck,
abandonment must be shown by express acts.53 An inference of abandonment is permitted, but
only when no owner appears.54
Protecting Shipwrecks
Wisconsin has "reserved unto itself the exclusive
right and privilege of field archaeology on state sites ... in order to
protect and preserve archaeological and scientific information, matter
and objects."55 Field
archaeology is the study of the traces of human culture by means of
surveying, digging, sampling, excavating, or removing objects56 at an archaeological site.57 Submerged cultural resources are archaeological
sites or historic property that are located beneath the surface of a
lake or stream.58 The declared policy of
Wisconsin is to encourage a comprehensive program of historic
preservation to promote the use and conservation of its cultural
heritage for education, inspiration, pleasure, and enrichment of the
public.59
It is illegal to remove, deface,
injure, or destroy any archaeological object from a shipwreck site
without state permission60; such violations
are punishable by a fine of from $1,000 to $5,000.61 Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wardens
have the power to obtain search warrants and to arrest in order to
enforce these laws.62Property such as
vehicles, boats, trailers, diving equipment, and electronic search gear
of persons used in illegal wreck diving or damage and/or artifact damage
and/or removal can be seized and confiscated at the court's
order.63 Additionally, any removal of an
archaeological object for commercial gain shall forfeit twice the value
of that object.64 All of these Wisconsin
statutes pertaining to submerged cultural resources should be considered
as a package because statutes relating to the same subject matter are to
be construed together and harmonized.65
When a state agency has a particular competence or expertise on an
issue, as in the case of the WHS, the courts will sustain its legal
conclusions if they are reasonable.66
Alleged violations of the state laws can be prosecuted by the district
attorney or the attorney general.
Shipwrecks in joint
federal-state jurisdictional waters (Lakes Michigan and Superior and the
Mississippi River) also are protected by federal statutes. Where
violations occur on federal waters, the U.S. Attorney also can
prosecute.67 It is a federal offense to
remove by force, steal, or destroy any property belonging to a wrecked
vessel lost on the Great Lakes, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000
and/or up to 10 years imprisonment.68
Public Access to Shipwrecks
The WHS is the principal state agency for administering historic
preservation activities and programs69
relative to their preservation, management, and public use.70It works in tandem with the DNR to manage
Wisconsin's submerged cultural resources.71
Wisconsin's field archaeology law is not intended to burden persons who
wish to use public state property for recreational and other lawful
purposes.72 The WHS Underwater Archaeology
Program has worked actively to identify the state's shipwrecks through
field research; publication of books and reports; public lectures;
buoying wrecks for easy public locating; and publishing wreck site cards
for field use, showing wreck location, site plans, and vessel histories.
This program works to ensure that the public has recreational use of
these sites, while at the same time protecting these sites from looting
and vandalism.73
Conclusion
|
Carlyle (Hank) H. Whipple, U.W. 1963,
maintains Whipple Law Offices Ltd. in Madison. He has been an expert
witness in more than 50 boating accident cases and is a frequent
contributor to the Wisconsin Lawyer and numerous maritime publications.
Laura Naus Whipple, Marquette 1996. |
|
Wisconsin's shipwrecks are submerged
cultural resources that belong to all of us. There is no "finders
keepers" for shipwrecks in Wisconsin's waters. Legally they are titled
in the state through a unique dual legal evolution. One route commences
with the British-American Treaty of Paris of 1783 ending the
Revolutionary War, whereby title to the Great Lakes and their sea floors
was transferred to the United States. Congress in turn transferred title
through the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 to what would become the future
states formed from that ceded territory, and enacted the Submerged Lands
Act in 1953. For more than a century, the courts have affirmed that
state title to the lake beds was held in an active public trust by the
respective Great Lakes states, including Wisconsin.
The second titling route was the
Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987. Here Congress declared the United
States to be the owner of all coastal abandoned shipwrecks, including
those of the Great Lakes, and then retitled them in the respective
littoral states for their care, management, and preservation. The Act
was unnecessary for Wisconsin and the Great Lakes states, but it
represents a second protectional avenue for those states.
Some irresponsible voices of the
sport diving and wreck diving community falsely claim that the laws
designed to preserve shipwrecks for all to enjoy will end their diving
on shipwrecks.74 The law's goal is to
preserve the rights for all users and to prevent the shipwrecks from
being looted and damaged by the malicious few. The public, and the
diving community in particular, must recognize the difference between
those who dive on historic ships for knowledge and pleasure and those
who dive on them for monetary gain. The press too quickly bestows the
title of "underwater archaeologist" on any diver who raises artifacts
from the deep. There is a long and honorable tradition of salvage at
sea, but it must not be confused with archaeology. Shipwrecks are time
capsules of history reflecting daily life as of the day of their
sinking. "Wisconsin encourages visitors to enjoy these resources, and to
take only pictures and leave only bubbles so that other visitors may
also have an enjoyable, educational, and unique diving
experience."75
Endnotes
1 Gary Kinder,
Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea (1998) is the fascinating
story of the S.S. Central America salvage operation and its complicated
legal battle plan and execution in federal court.
2 Wis. Stats.
§§ 44.30 and 44.47(5m)(b). (All references are to the
1997-98 Wisconsin Statutes).
3 Ordinance of the
Northwest Territory (1787), Article V.
4 Wis. Stat.
§ 1.01.
5 C. Beck Co.
v. City of Milwaukee, 139 Wis. 340, 351, 120 N.W. 293 (1909).
6 The
Propeller Genesee Chief, 53 U.S. 443 (1851), superseded by
statute. Executive Jet Aviation Inc. v. City of Cleveland,
409 U.S. 249 (1972).
7 Illinois
Cent. R.R. Co. v. State of Illinois, 146 U.S. 387, 435, 437, 452-53
(1892), aff'd 154 U.S. 225 (1894); Angelo v. Railroad Comm'n,
194 Wis. 543, 217 N.W. 570 (1928); Munro v. Meilke, 200 Wis.
107, 227 N.W. 394 (1929); Colson v. Salzman, 272 Wis. 397, 75
N.W.2d 421 (1956); State v. Trudeau, 139 Wis. 2d 91, 402 N.W.2d
337 (1987); State v. Town of Linn, 205 Wis. 2d 426, 556 N.W.2d
394, rev. denied, 201 Wis. 2d 287, 560 N.W.2d 275 (1996);
Sterlingworth Condominium Ass'n Inc. v. State Dep't of Natural
Resources, 205 Wis. 2d 710, 556 N.W.2d 201, 791 (Ct. App. 1996);
Pollard v. Hagan, 44 U.S. 212, 230 (1845); Doemel v.
Janty, 180 Wis. 225, 193 N.W. 393 (1923).
8 Barney v.
Keokuk, 94 U.S. 324, 333 (1876).
9 McLennan v.
Prentice, 85 Wis. 427, 444-45, 55 N.W. 764 (1893).
10 Shively
v. Bowlby, 152 U.S. 1, 11 (1894).
11 Id.
at 14.
12 Id.
at 57.
13 Id.
at 26.
14 Id.
at 58.
15 Wis. Stats.
§§ 30.10(1) and 281.31(1); Whipple, Carlyle H., 57 Marq. L.
Rev. 26, 27 (1973); see also Halsey,John R., Beneath the
Inland Seas: Michigan's Underwater Archaeological Heritage at 29
(1990).
16 Kinzer v.
Bidwell,55 Wis. 2d 749, 755, 201 N.W.2d 9 (1972).
17 Just v.
Marinette County, 56 Wis. 2d 7, 18, 201 N.W.2d 761
(1972).
18State v.
Bleck, 114 Wis. 2d 454, 465, 338 N.W.2d 492 (1983); Illinois
Steel Co. v. Bilot, 109 Wis. 418, 426, 84 N.W. 855 (1901);
Borsellino v. Wis. Dep't of Natural Resources, 232 Wis. 2d 430,
443, 606 N.W.2d 255 (Ct. App. 1999).
19 State v.
Public Serv. Comm'n, 275 Wis. 112, 119, 81 N.W.2d 71, 74 (1957);
State v. Town of Linn, 205 Wis. 2d 426, 556 N.W.2d 394, 402
(Ct. App. 1996).
20 Muench v.
Public Serv. Comm'n, 261 Wis. 492, 511-12, 53 N.W.2d 514, 522
(1952), opinion adhered to on re hearing, 55 N.W. 40 (Wis.
1952).
21 State v.
Public Serv. Comm'n, 275 Wis. 112, 117, 81 N.W. 2d 71 (1957).
22 Colson v.
Salzman, 272 Wis. 397, 75 N.W.2d 421, 423 (1956); Hixon v.
Public Serv. Comm'n, 32 Wis. 2d 608, 146 N.W.2d 577, 582
(1966).
23 43 U.S.C.
§§ 1301 - 1315 (1995) (all references are to the 1997 United
States Code).
24 Wis. Stat.
§ 27.012 (1969).
25 70 Wis. Op.
Att'y Gen. 18, 21, 23 (1970).
26 Wis. Stat. § 44.47(1)(i) - (5m)
and (5), respectively.
27 43 U.S.C.
§§ 2101 - 2106. The National Park Service of the U.S.
Department of Interior is the administering federal agency with respect
to the ASA.
28 43 U.S.C. §
2101.
29 43 U.S.C.
§ 2103(1), (2).
30 43 U.S.C.
§ 2102(d).
31 43 U.S.C.
§ 2103(a).
32 43 U.S.C.
§ 2106(a).
33 43 U.S.C.
§ 1301(a)(1).
34 16 U.S.C.
§ 470(a). To be eligible for listing in the National Register of
Historic Places, the criteria are established by the Secretary of the
Interior and found in 36 C.F.R. Part 63 and 20 National Register
Bulletin, U.S. Department of the Interior.
35 43 U.S.C.
§ 2105(d).
36 43 U.S.C. §
130 (a)(1). Zych v. Unidentified, Wrecked and Abandoned Vessel,
Believed to be the Seabird, 19 F.3d 1136, n.1 (7th Cir. 1994),
cert. denied, 513 U.S. 961 (1994).
37 43 U.S.C.
§ 2105(c).
38 43 U.S.C.
§ 2106(a).
39 Sea Hunt
Inc. v. The Unidentified Shipwrecked Vessel or Vessels, 221 F.3d
634 (4th Cir. 2000).
40
California v. Deep Sea Research Inc., 523 U.S. 491
(1998).
41
California, 102 F.3d 379 (9th Cir. 1996); aff'd in part,
vacated in part, 523 U.S. 491 (1998); 63 A.L.R.2d 1369 (19__).
42 43 U.S.C.
§ 2102(a).
43 Deep Sea
Research Inc. v. Brother Jonathan, 89 F.3d 680 (11th Cir. 1996),
aff'd in part, 523 U.S. 491, 149 (1999).
44 Fairport
Int'l Exploration Inc. v. Shipwrecked Vessel Known as the Captain
Lawrence, 913 F. Supp. 552, 556 (D.C. Mich 1990), 177 F.3d 491 (6th
Cir. 1999).
45
California, 523 U.S. 491 (1998); Fairport, 177 F.3d at
500 (6th Cir. 1999); Zych, 19 F.3d at 1140, 1143 (7th Cir.
1994).
46
Fairport, 177 F.3d at 499 (6th Cir. 1999).
47 Madruga
v. Superior Court of State of Cal. in and for San Diego County, 346
U.S. 556, 560 (1954); Hans v. Louisiana, 134 U.S. 1 (1890);
Florida Dep't of State v. Treasure Salvors Inc., 458 U.S. 670
(1982).
48 43 U.S.C.
§ 2106(a).
49
Columbus-America Discovery Group v. Atlantic Mut. Ins., 974
F.2d 450, 459 (4 CA 1992), cert. denied, U.S. 113 S. Ct.
1625.
50
Fairport, 177 F.3d at 498.
51
Columbus, 974 F.2d 450 (4th Cir. 1992).
52 Klein v.
Unidentified Wrecked and Abandoned Sailing Vessel, 758 F. 2d 1511,
1514 (11th Cir. 1985).
53
Columbus,974 F.2d 450 (4th Cir. 1992).
54 Sea
Hunt, 221 F.3d at 641.
55 Wis. Stat.
§ 44.47.
56 Wis. Stat.
§ 44.47 (1)(d).
57 Wis. Stat.
§ 44.47 (1)(b).
58 Wis. Stat.
§ 44.47 (1)(i).
59 Wis. Stat.
§ 44.30.
60 Wis. Stat.
§ 44.47 (2).
61 Wis. Stat.
§ 44.47 (7)(a)(2).
62 Wis. Stat.
§ 29.921(2).
63 Wis. Stat.
§ 29.931(2).
64 Wis. Stat.
§ 44.47(7)(a)(3).
65 Cornell
Univ. v. Rusk County, 166 Wis. 2d 811, 819, 481 N.W.2d 485, 489
(Ct. App. 1992); Sterlingworth Condominium Ass'n Inc. v. State Dep't
of Natural Resources, 205 Wis. 2d 710, 556 N.W.2d 791, 796 (Ct.
App. 1996).
66 Nelson
Bros. Furniture Corp. v. Wisconsin Dep't of Revenue,
67 18 U.S.C.
§ 1658(a).
68 18 U.S.C.
§ 1658(a).
69 Wis. Stats.
§§ 44.02(21) and 44.34(4).
70 Wis. Stat.
§ 44.5(m)(e).
71 Wis. Stat.
§ 44.5(m)(a).
72 Wis. Stat.
§ 44.47.
73 Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Law Enforcement,
PUB-LE-314-98 at 3, 1997, Boating Program Report,
74 Peter E.
Hess, "Arrested for Shipwreck Diving!," 5 Advanced Diver
Magazine at 40 (2000).
75 Steve
Harrington, Diver's Guide to Wisconsin, (quoting David J.
Cooper, State Underwater Archaeologist of the Wisconsin Historical
Society).
Wisconsin Lawyer