re: Catahoula Lake could become off limits to duck hunters

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Does this make it to scotus or does the state throw in the towel and pay up?

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The lock on Black River south of Jonesville would've made Catahoula Lake a permanent lake w/o the Diversion Canal.

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The most important change at Catahoula Lake was a set of locks and dams in the Black River completed in 1972, which would have permanently inundated the lake.

For the seasonal drawdown, an 18-mile canal was constructed to allow the lake to drain below the locks, and a water control structure was added to allow control of water in the lake. Management of this structure has been according to a strict prescription for annual fluctuations in water levels developed by the agencies concerned and is presently accomplished as a cooperative endeavor by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the Army Corps of Engineers.

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Accordingly, we hold that the evidence in this case fully supports the district court's finding that Catahoula Lake is, in fact, a navigable water of the United States, and it follows that as a matter of law, admiralty jurisdiction attaches. The judgment of the district court is

AFFIRMED.

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...the Little River, which is formed by the meeting of the Dudgdemona River and Bayou Castor, flows in a southerly direction into the lowlands that become Catahoula Lake at high water. From Catahoula Lake the water is discharged through several tributaries and distributaries until the tributaries finally rejoin into one channel at Archie, Louisiana. In May 1972, engineers of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed a diversion canal over one of the distributaries that acts as a permanent dam structure, foreclosing navigation except during flood stages. In 1973, the Corps constructed a weir across the span of the Little River at Archie. Thus, the water level of the lake is maintained from the outflow of the lake up to the weir itself at thirty-six feet above sea level. The water level of the lake is controlled by movable gates in the permanent dam across the diversion canal. As a result, when the water level of the Little River is higher than thirty-six feet above sea level, vessels may pass over the weir.

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