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2005 General Session
Wyoming boaters have a legal right-of-way to float their boats on the state's navigable waters, as long as they access the streams and rivers (both entry and exit points) through public access points or with the permission of private landowners. But current law restricts anglers and recreational boaters from dropping an anchor or even touching the stream bottom with a piece of fishing tackle whenever the river is flowing across private land, punishable as a misdemeanor.
HB 88 would have clarified that sportsmen and women are permitted to drop an anchor or to touch the river bottom with fishing tackle while floating on Wyoming's navigable waterways.
Supporters of HB 88 noted that Wyoming's current trespass laws place a uniquely high burden on sportsmen and recreationalists, and characterized the restrictions on boaters as completely unreasonable. They pointed out that anglers sometimes need to anchor their boats to land fish, fish a reach of stream, or to perform basic safety functions. They also noted that the changes proposed in HB 88 represent an extremely modest accommodation of river users compared to other western states, where river corridors are legally accessible to recreationalists up to the high-water mark.
Opponents argued against any relaxation of private property rights.
The House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee narrowly defeated HB 88, 4-5. The votes listed below are the committee votes.
A YES vote means the legislator wanted to clarify that dropping an anchor or bouncing fishing tackle off the bottom of a stream would not constitute trespassing.
A NO vote means the legislator wanted to keep the trespass violation for anchoring or touching the stream bottom with a fishing tackle.
| House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife, and Cultural Resources Committee | Bill Date |
|
| H 50 | Pat Childers (R - Cody - chairman) | No |
| H 14 | Kermit Brown (R - Laramie) | No |
| H 20 | Kathy Davison (R - Kemmerer) | No |
| H 23 | Keith Gingery (R - Jackson) | Yes |
| H 29 | Jerry Iekel (R - Sheridan) | No |
| H 11 | Wayne Reese (D - Cheyenne) | Yes |
| H 46 | Jim Slater (R - Laramie) | No |
| H 60 | Bill Thompson (D - Green River) | Yes |
| H 43 | Dan Zwonitzer (R - Cheyenne) | Yes |