re: HR 391 (Water Access Rights) Passes 5-3 in committee

I've often wondered if this statute, enacted in 1985, was actually a "taking" back then of a large portion of the water bottoms which existed then, including those water bottoms created as a result of erosion or loss of actual dry land/marsh:

La. R.S. 56:3 Ownership of wild birds, quadrupeds, fish, aquatic life, water bottoms, oysters, and shellfish

A. The ownership and title to all wild birds, and wild quadrupeds, fish, other aquatic life, the beds and bottoms of rivers, streams, bayous, lagoons, lakes, bays, sounds, and inlets bordering on or connecting with the Gulf of Mexico within the territory or jurisdiction of the state, including all oysters and other shellfish and parts thereof grown thereon, either naturally or cultivated, and all oysters in the shells after they are caught or taken therefrom, are and remain the property of the state, and shall be under the exclusive control of the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission except as provided in R.S. 56:4.

B. Wild birds, quadrupeds, fish, other aquatic life, and the beds and bottoms of rivers, streams, bayous, lagoons, lakes, bays, sounds, and inlets bordering on or connecting with the Gulf of Mexico, within the territorial jurisdiction of the state, including all oysters and other shellfish and parts thereof grown thereon, either naturally or cultivated, and all oysters in the shells after they are caught or taken therefrom, shall not be taken, sold, or had in possession except as otherwise permitted in this Title; and the title of the state to all such wild birds, quadrupeds, fish, and other aquatic life, even though taken in accordance with the provisions of this Title, and the beds and bottoms of rivers, streams, bayous, lagoons, lakes, bays, sounds, and inlets always remains in the state for the purpose of regulating and controlling the use and disposition thereof.

For example, it's real easy to "connect" Hopedale Lagoon and the surrounding bayous, unnamed lagoons, and bays to the Gulf of Mexico through Spanish Bayou.