Keep access to water open
Across the West there is a raging storm. That storm is privatization. State legislatures and courts are turning over centuries of law to hand our public lands, waters and wildlife to powerful, moneyed interests. In the world of water, the issue here is whether a landowner can block anglers’, boaters’ and other recreationists’ access to a stream — more specifically, to streambeds where they flow through private land.
This is not an issue of private property rights, but rather an issue of illdefined rights both public and private. Landowners argue that allowing their fellow New Mexicans to access the streambeds creates a disincentive for landowners to improve or even maintain river and streamside habitats for fish and wildlife. The consequences of public access, they say, will be overuse, abuse, degradation, vandalism and contamination. In short, commoners cannot be trusted with such a precious resource.
Perhaps a more honest summation would be, “I paid a lot for this land and I don’t want to see strangers fishing in the public streams from my living room window.”
However, the New Mexico Constitution does grant public access to waterways running through privately owned land, a right the state Supreme Court confirmed way back in 1945. Despite that ruling and subsequent attorneys general legal opinions, some powerful elected officials and wealthy outof-staters continue to deny public access to publicly owned waters and the streambeds beneath them.
Like all good things, our constitution can be challenged. The Legislature tried to remove this right in 2015 by amending trespassing laws, directly benefitting a few wealthy campaign donors and leaving the rest of New Mexico behind “no trespassing” signs and razor wire. A state attorney general’s analysis has since affirmed that while an angler needs landowner permission to cross private property to reach a stream running through private land, he does not need permission to access that same stretch from public lands or waters.
This puts the next steps up to the state Game Commission. It can stand on the side of our state constitution and New Mexico citizens or side with special interests. The commission unfortunately has hinted it may choose the latter. It recently proposed a system for landowners to register posted property with the Game and Fish Department. It even considered providing “no trespassing” signs to shoo the public away from public streams. That questionable system was set to be codified at the commission’s Nov. 16 meeting, but the agenda instead gave notice that action is being postponed, pushing New Mexicans who enjoy our constitutional water access further into limbo.
No one seems to have data on how many stream miles are blocked. It is safe to say that the problem is statewide and growing as well-to-do nonresidents and urbanites purchase once-open properties and tack up “keep out” signs. Treks along the San Juan, Chama, Red, Pecos or Cimarron rivers in the north, or the lower Pecos, Peñasco, Ruidoso or Gila in the south quickly confirm that.
Despite such actions to the contrary, New Mexico’s law is one of open access, but high-powered, high-dollar special interests keep whittling away at our outdoor traditions. We believe the state Game Commission should work for the benefit of all New Mexico anglers, boaters and other recreationists, not just a chosen few. We urge the commissioners to protect all New Mexicans’ way of life, our heritage and our traditions: Adopt a rule that opens up public access to our most precious public resource — water — not one that closes it off.
John Crenshaw is a Santa Fe resident who serves as board president for the New Mexico Wildlife Federation.