Occasionally greed loses. Even in Utah, the state leading the way to privatizing federal/public lands. This week, Utah Judge Derek Pullan struck down the states 5 year old “stream access”law (quotations denote sarcasm).
Never-ending hard work from the Utah Stream Access Coalition, and some common sense helped overturn dark-ages legislation. Good job fellas!
READ MORE:
Utah anglers reel in a win as judge tosses ‘stream access’ law – Deseret News
Judge Rules in favor of Stream Access – KPCW News – AUDIO
While researching this news, I ran across the PERC website. Worth a read to understand the ways of the enemy. I’ll include a couple of quotes from their “Stream Access Across the West” Page:
“…vibrant fisheries in Utah may be sacrificed in the name of public access.”
“Montana has led the way in the erosions of private property rights…”
According to these guys, no one would be a good steward of a stream that the public could use. Why would you? The only reason to improve habitat is to improve property values!
Remember that there are plenty of folks around with views similar to this group. Remember it when you vote.
Foreign Mine on the Smith River. Nope.
Speaking of battles, don’t forget to make your opinion known to Gov. Bullock and the Montana DEQ on the proposed copper mine at the headwaters of our local favorite, the Smith River. Go to SaveourSmith.com to learn how.
2 Comments.
Great news. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the info, John. “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.” After I moved from Missoula to Minnesota 10 years ago, I really missed Montana’s Stream Access law. I missed it even more when I recently learned about some truly fantastic trout waters just east of the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming, only about an hour from where I graduated from High School. I guess there’s a reason I never knew about it: private water. I recently “sucked it up” and paid to try a bit of it, and even mused a bit on stream access conflict in my head: http://fading-angler.blogspot.com/2015/10/trip-report-piney-creek.html
And I’m only starting to understand the longstanding farming vs. trout habitat conflict in Southeastern Minnesota’s trout hotspot: The Driftless Region. Many small creeks and lots of plowed hillsides. The State has done a lot in terms of easements, so there’s a decent amount of access, but a full stream fish-kill is still not uncommon.