What good is a public lake no one can access? That’s the question surrounding an ongoing controversy over Adams County’s Thornburg Lake.

For supervisors, the issue is two-fold: whether or not to maintain a public access road into the lake and whether or not to keep the lake open to the public.

For the public, the issue could determine whether or not the popular fishing spot remains open to the public.

Life on the lake

Local resident Lamar Felter said he was recently harassed by a security guard when visiting the nearly 50-acre lake, in the northwest corner of Adams County.

&uot;I’ve been going to that lake for 51 years fishing at the lake,&uot; he said. &uot;A lot of people are being harassed down there.&uot;

The security guard was hired by Big River Farms, which leases a portion of the land bordering the lake.

Bill Reeves, manager of Big River Farms, said he has had an ongoing problem with property damage at the site and that problem &uot;forced (me) to have a security guard down there.&uot;

He complained about this problem to the Adams County Supervisors this month.

Reeves said he has had problems with litter and people tearing down fences around the lake.

People have also damaged the land with four-wheeled utility vehicles and have been killing animals and leaving them at the site, he said.

On the other hand, Natchez resident Harry Weatherly said he has been fishing at the lake all his life. He said he understands why the owners are upset about the litter, but he still hates to lose access to the lake. &uot;It’s really peaceful down there,&uot; he said.

Landowner: Road should be private

At least one landowner, Vidal Davis, whose property borders the lake, does not think the road should remain open to lake visitors.

&uot;I think absolutely the road should be private,&uot; he said. &uot;There’s no public land. It’s all privately owned.&uot;

And landowners are tired of the trash and property damage.

The problem is anytime something is unsupervised a problem with litter and misuse often develops, he said.

And &uot;when you limit access to people they get upset about it,&uot; he said.

Land at the lake is owned by the Boelte Corp., which operates Big River Farms and owns 4,665 acres in the area for farming, oil and gas resources.

Davis owns 400 acres of land in the area and Samuel Abbott own 358 acres.

Basically, the Thornburg Lake Road serves three sets of people: Davis, other landowners and Reeves, Davis said.

He does not visit the lake often, but he said the problems with vandalism and litter have been going on for years.

And lately poor weather conditions have shrunk the lake into a mudhole so there aren’t even any fish for the fisherman, Davis said.

Lower tides have also exposed trash all over the banks of the lake.

Davis added that he has not talked to other landowners about what they think should be done about the road.

Dilemma for supervisors

Supervisors face a difficult dilemma. Technically, the lake is public, but all the land around it, including the lakebed itself, is privately owned.

The lakewater is public because it is an oxbow lake formed by the Mississippi River, said Adams County Attorney Marion Smith.

But there’s only one way to access the lake — Thornburg Lake Road, a 1.802 mile strip of gravel that begins at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Road and Quitman and Anna’s Bottom roads and dead-ends at the lake.

The question is whether the road is a right-of-way open to the public or not, Smith said.

&uot;In the past (the Board of Supervisors) said it was a public road,&uot; Smith said.

This is true even though the dead-end road is surrounded by private land inhibiting access to the lake. And the fact that the county made the mistake of putting in a concrete boat ramp at the site several years ago, also does not change the issue. &uot;When you step off the gravel road, you’re on private property,&uot;&160;Davis said.

Supervisors have received so many complaints on the issue they discussed it during their meeting last week. Supervisors voted 3-1 to declare the road public pending a state-mandated public hearing.

Under recent legislation, all counties most hold hearings by July to determine which roads are public and which are private.

The county is not legally permitted to spend public dollars on private land or roads, and if the Thornburg Lake Road were declared private, the county would no longer maintain it or mandate it be kept open for public access.

In order to claim any road as public, the board must make a decision on the public need for each road and discuss how long each road has been maintained by the county.

&uot;We have grated and graveled the (Thornburg Lake) road over the years,&uot;&160;said Russell Dorris, Adams County Road manager. &uot;All I know is the board said it was public at the meeting, and we will continue to grate it and gravel it until we hear further.&uot;

But he could not say whether he thinks the public has a right to the road.

Supervisors Thomas &uot;Boo&uot; Campbell, Lynwood Easterling and Darryl&160;Grennell voted to declare the road public pending the hearing. Board President Virginia Salmon voted against it. &uot;I don’t understand the public need for that road going through farmland,&uot; Salmon said.

Supervisor Sammy Cauthen did not attend the meeting.