Who owns the water - Restricting and blocking access to rivers

[packman]

Could have sworn this was settled in early colonial days that no one could impede movement on waterways -

In New Mexico:

Water use rights and access vary by region across the country, though the water itself has always been a public resource for people to fish, paddle, wade and float in. Private landowners have long taken unsanctioned steps to keep the public out of waterways, as in the recent case of an Arizona man convicted of shooting at kayakers boating down a river that runs through his land.


But in the last hours of 2015, efforts to bar public access received official sanction, when New Mexico’s state government quickly and quietly passed a bill that implies private ownership of public waters that run through private land. It was a response to a statement from New Mexico’s then attorney general, Gary King, that the public can wade and fish in streams running through private property, as long as they remain in the stream, which is in line with common doctrine in many states. Landowners and outfitters protested.

The rule remained mostly dormant until late December, when in a special meeting with only 10 days’ notice – just a third of the 30-day standard – the state began a process to allow landowners to certify streambeds as private property.


https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/15/privatized-rivers-us-public-lands-waterways

[RandomAccess]

1. Not good news at all

[Hermit-The-Prog]

2. I thought it was settled, too

Apparently not; here's another, similar case:

https://www.denverpost.com/2018/02/03/akansas-river-ownership-roger-hill-mark-warsewa/
Who owns the bottom of the river? Lawsuit pitting fisherman against landowner on the Arkansas River could answer the question