“Colorado’s magnificent rivers and streams are a public trust to be enjoyed by all. Our message to state officials: let our people float and fish.” - Colorado Chapter Co-Chair, Don Holmstrom Colorado’s rivers and streams are at the heart of its wild, public lands. Whether you’re casting a line for trout, floating down a river in a drift boat, or simply enjoying the solitude of the backcountry, water access is fundamental to the outdoor experience. Yet, Colorado remains one of the most ...

Chris Dombrowski is a professional fishing guide of over two decades on the rivers of Montana, an acclaimed poet and the author of Body of Water: A Sage, A Seeker, and the World’s Most Alluring Fish, which is about, among many other things, the pursuit of bonefish in the Bahamas. Chris’ latest book is The River You Touch: Making a Life on Moving Water, which manages to be a deeply honest memoir, a celebration of the joys and terrors of family, and a love letter to the landscape and rivers of ...

News for Immediate ReleaseSept. 2, 2022Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org   Decision confirms the public’s right to walk or wade streambeds that cross privately owned lands SANTA FE, N.M. – The New Mexico Supreme Court has ruled again in support of public access to public waters in a Thursday decision that confirms the public’s right to walk or wade streambeds crossing privately owned lands. The opinion ruling by the court follows its unanimous decision in ...

News for Immediate ReleaseMarch 1, 2022Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org Court rules unanimously that ‘non-navigable regulation’ is unconstitutional, voids existing closure certifications SANTA FE, N.M. – Today the New Mexico Supreme Court issued a ruling strongly in support of public access to the state’s waters when it unanimously struck down a regulation allowing landowners to close access to streams running through their properties. The New Mexico ...

The state constitution says all waters in New Mexico belong to the public. In 1945, the state Supreme Court ruled that all waters should be open to the public for recreational use, provided the public does not trespass across private land to reach them. Yet for decades, landowners have closed portions of the Pecos, Rio Chama and other streams with the support of NMDGF. We believe this question of whether landowners and NMDGF can prohibit access to a public resource is a major issue for New ...