Must the DNR regulate activities above the ordinary high water level of a public water? Pelican Group of Lakes Impr. Distr. v. Minnesota Dep't of Natural Resources, 589 N.W.2d 507 (Minn. App. 1999). The Cormorant Lakes Watershed District and Cormorant Township filed an application with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to build an outlet structure on Cormorant Lake at the ordinary high water level. The DNR declined to exercise permitting authority under the protected waters statute. Appellants, a lake improvement district and a property owners' association, sought a writ of mandamus to compel the DNR to conduct permit proceedings. The court granted deference to the DNR's interpretation of its governing statute. The DNR, according to its Director of Waters, "[a]s a matter of policy, focuses its protection efforts on activities occurring below the ordinary high water levels of public waters." Thus, the Court found no basis to order the DNR to require a permit for the project.
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