Utah stream access supporters rally for compromise bill

Recreationalists who enjoy Utah’s waters gathered on the steps of the Utah State Capitol Tuesday calling for compromise in a long-fought battle over stream access rights. Rep. Dixon Pitcher, R-Ogden, sponsor of HB37, "The Public Waters Access Act," told crowd members their presence made a difference. He implored them to climb the steps, enter the building and explain their support for the bill personally to their representative. HB37 is based on a standard for public access to streams and rivers that Idaho has been successfully using for nearly four decades. The threshold is whether a stream is large enough to float a log six feet in length and six inches in diameter. Smaller streams remain off limits for public access. The stream access debate has been going on for decades. But it picked up steam when the Utah Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that the public owns the water in rivers and streams, and had a right to use the waters on stream beds where public access was possible. A bill passed in 2010 undermined the court decision and, according to the Utah Stream Access Coalition (USAC), prevented the public from utilizing 2,700 miles of rivers and streams...more