ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Supreme Court is detailing its reasoning for a decision earlier this year that answered a long simmering question over whether the public has a right to access rivers and streams flowing through private property.
The court released its written opinion Thursday. It follows a decision from the bench in March that invalidated regulations by the state Game Commission permitting property owners to close public access to waters on their land.
Stream access has been an issue across the West for years. Several other states already have recognized that public use of water is distinct from ownership of a stream or river bed.