DECREE
The joint motion for entry of a final decree is granted.
IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED AS FOLLOWS:
1. The Report of the Special Master is hereby approved, and the
motion for entry of judgment by consent of plaintiff and defendant
is granted.
2. This judgment determines the lateral marine boundary line
between New Hampshire and Maine from the inner Portsmouth Harbor to
the breakwater at the end of the inner Gosport Harbor in the Isles
of Shoals.
3. The Order of the King in Council of April 9, 1740, in
pertinent part, provided:
"And as to the Northern Boundary between the said Provinces, the
Court Resolve and Determine, That the Dividing Line shall pass up
thru the Mouth of Piscataqua
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Harbour and up the Middle of the River into the River of
Newichwannock (part of which is now called Salmon Falls) and thru
the Middle of the same to the furthest Head thereof and from thence
North two Degrees Westerly until One Hundred and Twenty Miles be
finished from the Mouth of Piscataqua Harbour aforesaid or until it
meets with His Majesty's other Governments And That the Dividing
Line shall part the Isles of Shoals and run thru the Middle of the
Harbour between the Islands to the Sea on the Southerly Side; and
that the Southwesterly part of the said Islands shall lye in and be
accounted part of the Province of New Hampshire And that the North
Easterly part thereof shall lye in, and be accounted part of the
Province of the Massachussets Bay and be held and enjoyed by the
said Provinces respectively in the same manner as they now do and
have heretofore held and enjoyed the same. . . ."
4. The terms "Middle of the River" and "Middle of the Harbour,"
as used in the above-quoted Order, mean the middle of the main
channel of navigation of the Piscataqua River and the middle of the
main channel of navigation of Gosport Harbor.
5. The middle of the main channel of navigation of the
Piscataqua River, commencing in the vicinity of Fort Point, New
Hampshire, and Fishing Island, Maine, proceeding southward, is as
indicated by the range lights located in the vicinity of Pepperrell
Cove, Kittery Point, Maine, and it follows the range line as marked
on the Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart 211, 8th Edition, Dec. 1,
1973.
6. The main channel of navigation of the Piscataqua River
terminates at a point whose position is latitude 43�02'42.5" North
and longitude 70�42'06" West. Said point has a computed bearing of
194�44'47.47" true and a computed distance of 1,554.45 metres
(1,700 yards) from the Whaleback Lighthouse, No.19, USGC-158, whose
position is latitude
Page 434 U. S. 3
43�03'31.213" North and longitude 70�41'48.515" West (reference
National Geodetic Survey).
7. The middle of the main channel of navigation of Gosport
Harbor passes through a point indicated by the bottom of the BW
"IS" Bell Buoy symbol as shown on Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart
211, 8th Edition, Dec. 1, 1973. The position of this point is
latitude 42�58'51.6" North and longitude 70�37'17.5" West as scaled
from the above-described chart.
8. The main channel of navigation of Gosport Harbor terminates
at a point whose position is latitude 42�58'55" North and longitude
70�37'39.5" West. Said point has a computed bearing of
394�08'52.81" true and a computed distance of 1,674.39 metres
(1,831 yards) from the Isles of Shoals Lighthouse, No. 20,
USCG-158, whose position is latitude 42�58'01.710" North and
longitude 70�37'25.590" West (reference National Geodetic
Survey).
9. The lateral marine boundary between New Hampshire and Maine
connecting the channel termination points described in
paragraphs(6) and (8) above has been determined on the basis of the
"special circumstances" exception to Article 12 of the Convention
on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone (15 U.S. Treaties
1608) and of the location of the Isles of Shoals which were divided
between the two States in their colonial grants and charters.
10. The lateral marine boundary line between New Hampshire and
Maine connecting the channel termination points described above is
the arc of a great circle (appears as a straight line on a Mercator
projection) whose computed length is 9,257.89 metres (10,124.53
yards).
11. The lateral marine boundary line between New Hampshire and
Maine from the Piscataqua River channel termination point proceeds
toward Gosport Harbor channel termination point on a computed
bearing of 139�20'27.22" true.
12. The lateral marine boundary line between New Hampshire and
Maine from the Gosport Harbor channel termination
Page 434 U. S. 4
point proceeds toward Piscataqua River channel termination point
on a computed bearing of 319�17'25.43" true.
13. All positions in the preceding paragraphs are referred to
the North American Datum of 1927.
14. The boundary line delimited hereinabove is depicted by a
heavy black line with the words "Maine" and "New Hampshire" above
and below that line on the Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart 211, 8th
Edition, Dec. 1, 1973, filed with the Motion for Entry of Judgment
by Consent.
15. The State of Maine, its officers, agents, representatives
and citizens, are perpetually enjoined from disputing the
sovereignty, jurisdiction and dominion of New Hampshire over the
area adjudged to her by this decree; and the State of New
Hampshire, its officers, agents, representatives and citizens, are
perpetually enjoined from disputing the sovereignty, jurisdiction
and dominion of Maine over the area adjudged to her by this
decree.
16. The costs of this action shall be equally divided between
the two States, and this case is retained on the docket for further
orders, in fulfillment of the provisions of this decree.
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