When Sally Anderson and Michael Wald bought their property, there was an existing public prescriptive easement on the property. This easement was created via Alaska Statute 09.45.052 and Alaska Statute 09.10.030. These statutes award the right of use to the public after 10 years of adverse, continuous use. The public in Haines has been using Viking Cove for 40 or more years. The right of use to the fractional piece of the property that the public has been using is vested in the public. This happened long before the Walds bought the property. The Walds never owned the right of use to the fractional portion of the property that the public has been using. That right is now vested in the public.

Friends of Viking Cove is only seeking, for the benefit of the public, the formalization of the public right of use.

I have been forced to ask the Superior Court in Juneau to affirm the public’s existing right of use. We are not seeking any new rights. We are seeking the protection of our current and existing rights.

The real issue here is the conversion of public rights of use to private. I am seeking to preserve the public’s existing right of use, and to prevent the conversion of the public right of use to private. The Walds are seeking to convert Viking Cove to their own private beach. I am asking the public to join me in preventing Viking Cove from becoming a private beach.

Fred Einspruch