Landowners, river enthusiasts clash
Source: Casper Star Tribune
June 28, 2007
JACKSON (AP) -- Annie Band has had it with the recreational rafters who make their way past her house along Fish Creek -- and sometimes through her yard to get to Fish Creek.
"It's a constant stream of drinking, screaming, partying people," said Band who, with her husband, Jon Hunt, owns land alongside where Fish Creek Road crosses the waterway. "It's not acceptable."
More than a week ago, Band and other property owners posted matching signs where the bridge crosses the creek: "Private property. No trespassing, parking or creek access. Violators will be prosecuted."
But Band's reaction might not be legal, said Eric Leaper, the executive director of the National Organization for Rivers.
Leaper says that flies in the face of long-established case law that's been settled by both the Wyoming and U.S. supreme courts.
"This desire to keep the obnoxious public away is understandable, but not lawful," Leaper said. "There have been court cases that have confirmed where one public route crosses another, you have a right to go between the two. There should be a path going down to the river. The county government should be enforcing the public right, not interfering with it."
Band disagrees. She says it's a matter of property rights.
"That's our land, right up to the bridge," she said. "It's a private property issue."
Sheriff Bob Zimmer said both sides need to respect each other. "In my opinion, landowners need to be a little bit understanding," he said.
And Teton County Attorney Steve Weichman said he would defend the public's right to use -- and access -- public waterways.
"I'm siding with the public -- the working-class guy who wants to get on a truck tire and float the creek because he can't afford a round of golf at Teton Pines," Weichman said.
Weichman said he worries that overuse will wreck the creek and harm species that depend on the stream bed. But, he said, the law does guarantee the public access.
"There's a public trust in this water," Weichman said. "Floating is just great. So when it comes to recreationalists versus landowner, the recreationalists win, and I vote for them every time."
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