Herr v. United States Forest Services

David and Pamela Herr (plaintiffs) bought lakefront property on Crooked Lake in 2010; motorboats had been used on the lake since the 1940s, even after most surrounding land became part of the federally protected Sylvania Wilderness in 1987. In 1995, the U.S. Forest Service (defendant) banned motorboats on the lake, subject to valid existing rights, and prior owners had already won an injunction against enforcing that ban; but after the Herrs bought their property in 2010, the Forest Service told them in 2013 it planned to fully enforce the motorboat restriction, treating the Herrs as lacking any pre-existing rights since they hadn't owned the property when the regulation was enacted. The trial court agreed and upheld the Forest Service's decision, and the Herrs appealed.