It's not finders keepers for most Great Lakes shipwrecks. Here's why
Although Great Lakes states consider shipwrecks on the lakes' bottomlands part of the public trust and therefore under state authority, there are some notable exceptions — at least two Great Lakes shipwrecks are privately owned. One has inspired its own whiskey : the James R. Bentley, a three-masted schooner that sank north of Rogers City in 1878. Paul Ehorn, of Elgin, Illinois, was declared the owner of the Bentley in 2000 after a court battle with the State of Michigan. He owns the ship and everything on board, including a cache of old rye seeds that Michigan State University plant geneticists are trying to re-create so a northern Michigan distillery can bring the "Bentley rye" back into whiskey production. Like other states, Michigan claims ownership of shipwrecks in its Great Lakes waters. It has a strict process for raising shipwreck pieces and other artifacts from the bottomlands. Conservation officers investigate cases of shipwreck items taken from the lake floor or beaches, or put up for sale. More: Why Great Lakes shipwreck hunters say they're in the 'fourth quarter' State historic preservation laws dating back to 1908 have protected shipwrecks, said Wayne Lusardi, Michigan's maritime archaeologist. The laws have since clarified
