An agreement announced Monday by state Attorney General Jeff Landry for allowing the public to access Lake Martin has not been completed yet, according to St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars.

ST. MARTINVILLE — When Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry sent out a press release Monday saying that the state had resolved issues regarding public access to Lake Martin, many photographers, kayakers and naturalists breathed a collective sigh of relief.

But a day later, there are still questions as to what exactly the agreement between members of the Chauffe-Hebert family and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for access to the state boat launch entails, and what sort of access the evolving deal will grant for recreational users of the lake.

An interim agreement

The deal announced Monday, far from being a signed and sealed arrangement to reopen the public servitude that previously allowed recreational use of Lake Martin, is not even written yet. St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars said he has not seen any actual documents yet.

“I understand there are some things in writing, but it has largely been verbal,” Cedars said.

The announcement from Landry came two weeks after his office filed suit on behalf of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to allow access to the state boat landing on the lake. Landowners had closed access to the site in the spring over liability concerns from recreational users and tourists passing through their property to reach the lake.

But according to the current understanding, allowing access to the boat launch will only help those people who are planning to go boating on the lake. It will not open the area to the photographers, bank fishermen and other recreational users of the lake.

Cedars said he is hoping to begin conversations to help define exactly what the agreement to guarantee a long-term solution for lake access will look like — and to insure that any agreement is in accordance with state law.

“Not one penny will be spent on private land,” Cedars said. “Until I get in writing that everything will be done on public domain, it will not be final.”

Herding legal cats

One of the issues that has complicated the negotiations over access has been the structure of the land ownership. Most of the property near the boat launch is under the control of the Hebert-Chauffe family through a trust. Although most of the family has been amenable to a working solution, one portion of the family, controlling roughly one-eighth of one-half of one-eleventh of the land, has been vocal in having a list of demands met, including maintaining control of one portion of the property free of any servitude or access guaranteed to the state.

Complicating matters further is that the family members who control that sliver of the predominant interest are closely tied with Bryan Champagne, the business owner who, through a decision in the Third Circuit Court of Appeal earlier this year, has been allowed to maintain a commercial business on the shore of the lake.

The issues with Champagne’s business were the center of a years-long struggle between the parish and Champagne over the zoning of the land on which his business operates. The Louisiana Supreme Court refused to hear the case after the Third Circuit sided with Champagne against the parish.

Treading carefully

Family member Mary Lynn Chauffe said that although she is optimistic that some progress is being made, she is also concerned that any agreement, once finalized, needs to protect the integrity of the lake and its ecosystem.

“It’s a start,” she said. “It’s an interim agreement, but we need to make sure we do not make decisions that set negative precedents that, in the far-ranging future, could be very detrimental to the long-range health of the lake.

Chauffe said her wish, as well as some other family members, would be that the parish would be granted control of the land adjacent to the lake for use as a recreational area. But, obviously, that is not the unanimous wish of the landowners.

“This is a partial solution only,” Chuffe said. “It’s the beginning of the process to find the best way out of decades of confusion in the swamp, a swamp with lots of quicksand.”

As far as a timeline for any solution, that is still up in the air.

The details are being worked out,” Cedars said. “We need to know what the fats are regarding reopening the launch as well as what the long-term agreement for maintenance will be. We want a document in writing so we know what the ongoing agreement entails.”

For years, the St. Martin Parish Government was involved in civil actions against business owner Bryan Champagne for his operation on the shores of Lake Martin. That fight came to a head this spring, when a court found in Champagne’s favor, and that decision was upheld at the appellate level.

March 1 — Landowners controlling the servitude that allowed access to the public boat launch at Lake Martin blocked access to the lake.

August 21 — Third Circuit Court of Appeals denies St. Martin Parish Government appeal of lower court ruling.

Sept. 15 — Parish files writ for hearing with Louisiana Supreme Court.

Nov. 11 — Supreme Court refuses to hear the case

Nov. 15 — Attorney General Jeff Landry files suit on behalf of state Wildlife and Fisheries Department to gain access to boat launch at the lake.

Nov. 30 — Landry announces that an agreement has been reached to reopen the lake.