MANCHAC — A longstanding public boat access in Tangipahoa Parish has become the center of a legal dispute after local boaters received notices ordering them to vacate a local canal and the surrounding land within 30 days.

For decades, recreational anglers have relied on the Manchac canal to reach open water. The recent notice claims boaters passing through or docking in the waterway are trespassing on private property.

State Rep. Kim Coates of Ponchatoula said she has been hearing from concerned residents who rely on the canal for their livelihoods and recreation.

"It's always been believed that it was public access, and that access affects their lives," Coates said.

According to Coates, the state seized land in the late 1950s to build I-55 and dug the canal using public tax dollars. Nearly 80 years later, a private firm called Jones Island Realty claims to own the canal. Coates says that if public access is cut off, life will change for those depending on the canal to fish and make money.

"Not only were state funds used to dig the canals, but it's also been used as a public canal for decades," Coates said. "There's previous litigation that says it's public."

Coates showed WBRZ historic maps dating back to the 1920s, though the documents have yet to fully resolve the property line dispute.

Richard McCoy with Jones Island Realty said he didn't have an issue with people using the canal. However, when McCoy noticed high-speed boats passing through, creating wakes and potentially eroding the land, he decided to send out the vacate notices. 

Coates expects the ownership and access dispute to ultimately be settled in court.