Fly Fishers and Lawmakers Spar Over Utah Bill

In the Salt Lake Tribune, Brett Prettyman quotes Brigham Young (“There is to be no private ownership of streams of water”) and chastises lawmakers for the passage of HB41: “The passing of HB141 — and some other works of genius on the Hill — will end up costing Utah revenue from tourism, fishing license sales and maybe even the state’s biggest convention.”
Meanwhile bill sponsor Rep. Kay McIff, R-Richfield, blames a “preoccupation with recreation” and the romanticization of fly fishing for the misinterpretation of water laws that were meant to protect “beneficial use.”