Utah Anglers Wade In On State Capitol Steps

February 20, 2009 By: Marshall Cutchin

Hundreds of anglers showed up yesterday to protest Utah’s proposed HB187 legislation that would rewrite a judicial decision in favor of free access. “‘All waters in this state are owned by the people and we have a right to use those waters,’ Glade Gunther, of Utah Water Guardians, told the crowd, many of whom carried fly rods and fishing nets. ‘The Supreme Court ruling last summer made it clear that the easement on state water was not effective unless it extended with it the ability to use that easement. The court determined that it was lawful to touch the stream bed in order to recreate.'” Tom Wharton in The Salt Lake Tribune.