High and Dry: New Mexican Anglers Lose Walk-and-Wade Access Through Private Lands

UNTIL 2015, NEW MEXICAN sportsmen and women could freely walk their favorite trout streams without fear of prosecution, as long as they remained in the stream. But then the legislature amended the Stream Access Law of 1978 to deny public access wherever a stream crosses private property. Sen. Richard Martinez of Espanola, the bill’s author, claimed that he received complaints from property owners about trespassing anglers leaving trash and camping illegally. These complaints prompted the ...