In the 1998 case, the Sierra Club successfully challenged a private landowner on the Moose River in Hamilton County to establish the right of paddlers to cross private tracts.

WSJ: Judge: NY paddlers can use stream on private land

"While this case was about one stream, the wider implication is we had a property owner trying to turn back the law to the view of the public right of navigation that existed before the Moose River decision, " Caffrey said.

WSJ: Judge: NY paddlers can use stream on private land

South of Duluth, volunteers in the town of Moose Lake, population 2, 500, where the swollen Moosehead Lake and Moosehead River had flooded about 120 homes, were grilling hamburgers, brats and chicken on Saturday for flood victims at a local church.

WSJ: Flood Cleanup Continues in Duluth