Rock-Koshkonong Lake District v. State Department of Natural Resources

*51DAVID T. PROSSER, J.

¶ 1. This case, involving a dispute about the water levels on Lake Koshkonong, presents fundamental questions about the authority of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (the DNR), and the criteria it uses in regulating the level of water in navigable waters that are affected by dams.

¶ 2. Wisconsin Stat. § 31.02(1)1 authorizes the DNR to regulate the level and flow of water in the navigable waters of Wisconsin. The DNR may order benchmarks designating "the maximum level of water that may be impounded and the lowest level of water that may be maintained by any…