In July of 2008, the Utah Supreme Court returned to the citizens of Utah what was rightfully theirs, access to public waters. The Conatser case was brought before the court as the unlawful trespass of floating down the Weber River in a rubber raft. The court ruled for the Conatsers, indicating that the public possesses an easement to use state waters for recreational activities.

This ruling opened Utah waters for public use in a similar fashion as those in Montana.

Since the ruling, anglers, birdwatchers and floaters have had the opportunity to access waters that were previously closed. Church groups have had floats in such rivers; grandfathers have taken their grandchildren into waters once fished, but long closed. This ruling has increased fishing opportunity (an activity that channeled $708 million into Utah in 2006 and supports over 400,000 Utah fishing license purchases) and has made Utah a much more attractive fishing destination for out-of-state anglers.

However, all did not welcome this ruling: A small cabal of landowners argued that their private land and rights were taken from them. There have been few, if any, infractions of trespass law by the public making use of these waters, but there have been numerous accounts of landowners harassing the public utilizing this easement. This ruling does not give the public the right to cross private lands, just hike and float the streambed. But to an elite few, this ruling is unacceptable.

Rep. Ben Ferry, R-Corinne, is sponsoring House Bill 187 which will kill the Conatser ruling. This bill has been under wraps and was only released this week. There has been virtually no public comment on the bill, first drafted with the assistance of the state Division of Wildlife Resources, and vetted amongst private interests.

This bill is typical of the most venal reflexes of the Legislature: We can get away with taking away the rights of the public as long as we don't let them participate in the process.

HB187 seeks to define a select set of public waters available for recreational use. Of all of the rivers and streams of the state, this list includes only 17 segments and ignores major tributaries to these rivers. The rest of Utah's public waters would be closed to public recreation.

But wait, there's more!

A Recreation Access Board would also be established to review the public waters list and add or take away waters from the list. This board consists of seven members, only one of which promotes sport fishing, with the others representing government entities or farming/real estate interests.

Sorry kayakers and bird watchers, you don't count. One can only imagine the slew of 6-to-1 votes in favor of taking more rivers off the list and 6-to-1 votes against adding new waters.

But we are not done yet. One of the more dangerous practices some unscrupulous landowners like to do to inhibit floaters from using the river is to stretch a piece of barbed wire over a river. Rep. Ferry has this covered by making it a class B misdemeanor in this bill if a kayaker cuts such a wire to save his life.

This confusing and complex bill raises other concerns too numerous to delineate here. This bill should be withdrawn and the issues it purportedly addresses vetted in venues open to the public. As it currently reads, this bill seeks to nullify a unanimous Supreme Court decision based upon Utah law. This law strikes against the basic tenets of the outdoor life embraced by many Utah families and, if it comes to a vote, should be defeated.

John Weis is an avid angler and conservationist.