Mont. Code Ann. » TITLE 70. PROPERTY · CHAPTER 16. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS INCIDENTAL TO OWNERSHIP IN REAL PROPERTY · Part 2. Adjoining Landowners and Boundaries -- Fences
Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 70-16-201 (2026)

Owner Of Land Bounded By Water

✓ current as of May 2026
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  1. MCA Contents
  2. TITLE 70
  3. CHAPTER 16
  4. Part 2
  5. 70-16-201 Owner of land bounded by water

TITLE 70. PROPERTY

CHAPTER 16. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS INCIDENTAL TO OWNERSHIP IN REAL PROPERTY

Part 2. Adjoining Landowners and Boundaries -- Fences

Owner Of Land Bounded By Water

70-16-201. Owner of land bounded by water. Except where the grant under which the land is held indicates a different intent, the owner of the land, when it borders upon a navigable lake or stream, takes to the edge of the lake or stream at low-water mark; when it borders upon any other water, the owner takes to the middle of the lake or stream.

History: En. Sec. 1291, Civ. C. 1895; re-en. Sec. 4529, Rev. C. 1907; re-en. Sec. 6771, R.C.M. 1921; Cal. Civ. C. Sec. 830; Based on Field Civ. C. Sec. 267; re-en. Sec. 6771, R.C.M. 1935; R.C.M. 1947, 67-712.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1984–2025 · leading case: Ash v. Merlette, 2017 MT 305 (Mont. 2017).
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Ash v. Merlette, 2017 MT 305 (Mont. 2017). · cites it 28× “Section 70-16-201, MCA. 7 Thus, unless the source instrument of conveyance clearly and unequivocally provides otherwise, conveyances of land bordering on *491 non-navigable waters convey title to the underlying land to the midline of the water body, while conveyances of land…”
Andersen v. Monforton, 2005 MT 310 (Mont. 2005). · cites it 20× “Section 70-16-201, MCA. As we noted from previous case law, the use of metes and bounds in the description does not indicate an intent contrary to the statutory presumption of low-water line.”
Galt v. State Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, 731 P.2d 912 (Mont. 1987). · cites it 11× “Section 70-16-201, MCA, states: Owner of land bounded by water.”
Montana Coalition for Stream Access, Inc. v. Curran, 682 P.2d 163 (Mont. 1984). · cites it 6× “While section 70-16-201, MCA, provides for private ownership of the adjacent lands to the low water mark, the "angling statute," section 87-2-305, MCA, recognizes a public right to access for fishing purposes to the high water mark.”
Ethen Revocable Trust Agreement Dated October 17, 1996 v. River Resource Outfitters, LLC, 2011 MT 143 (Mont. 2011). · cites it 5× “at ¶ 21; § 70-16-201, MCA. ¶35 The Mellen-Cummins Deed describes the boundary between Ethens’ property and Neighbors’ properties as the west bank of Flint Creek.”
Murphy Prop. v. Painted Rocks, 2025 MT 43 (Mont. 2025). · cites it 2× “2d 912, 915 (1987); see § 70-16-201, MCA (landowner whose property borders a navigable lake or stream “takes to the edge of the lake or stream at low-water mark”).”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.