Terms Related to Public Access Following are some selected definitions that may be helpful in discussing trails and public access issues. State lands are classified by the DNR, Division of Lands. Borough land is classified by the Borough Assembly in accordance with Title 17 of the borough code of ordinances. An easement restricts the rights of the fee owner's use of his or her land, but ownership remains with the fee owner. Easements may be private or publicly held and apply to surface, subsurface or overhead areas.
Easements often provide solutions to access problems.
Common use of the word easement is non-specific, as there are many common law concepts that accompany it. Easements may be privately held, publicly held, exclusive, non-exclusive, or transferable, and some can be extinguished if the situation changes. Easements can be granted or reserved for a number of specific uses including public or private roads or trails, pedestrian access, access to a property or waterway, visual or scenic rights, airspace, conservation easements intended to protect natural conditions of a property, pipelines, and public utility easements to name just a few. Certain easements granted or reserved for one specific use can be explored for acquisition of concurrent public use easements for trails. In 1949, this law was repealed, but in 1951, was reinstated in a similar law for section line easements 100 feet wide, which was amended in 1953 to reduce the width again to 66 feet.