Judge will not put on hold ruling that opened Utah stream access

Victory Ranch owners say the part of Provo River they own faces harm from anglers.

Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune
Brady Willison on Tuesday walks along a stretch of the Upper Provo that cuts through the 7,000-acre Victory Ranch, a luxury destination near Francis. Until a Nov. 4 court ruling invalidating Utah's restrictive stream access law, such streams were not available to anglers without property owners' permission. Willison ventured onto the property curious of how things might have changed since he last fished the area before it became private property years ago.

Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune
Brady Willison on Tuesday fishes a stretch of the Upper Provo that cuts through the 7,000-acre Victory Ranch, a luxury destination near Francis. Until a Nov. 4 court ruling invalidating Utah's restrictive stream access law, such streams were not available to anglers without property owners' permission. Stream access advocates successfully sued Victory Ranch, claiming that the landowners' practice of keeping non-guests off the river violates an easement the public has to stream beds. But without further guidance from the court, the scope of that easement is not clear, lawyers say. Victory Ranch insists the ruling should be stayed pending its appeal, which it expects to win.

Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune
Brady Willison on Tuesday fishes a stretch of the Upper Provo that cuts through the 7,000-acre Victory Ranch, a luxury destination near Francis. Until a Nov. 4 court ruling invalidating Utah's restrictive stream access law, such streams were not available to anglers without property owners' permission. Stream access advocates successfully sued Victory Ranch, claiming that the landowners' practice of keeping non-guests off the river violates an easement the public has to stream beds. But without further guidance from the court, the scope of that easement is not clear, lawyers say. Victory Ranch insists the ruling should be stayed pending its appeal, which it expects to win.

Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune
Brady Willison on Tuesday fishes on a braided channel on a stretch of the Upper Provo that cuts through the 7,000-acre Victory Ranch, a luxury destination near Francis. Until a Nov. 4 court ruling invalidating Utahís restrictive stream access law, such streams were not available to anglers without property ownersí permission. Stream access advocates successfully sued Victory Ranch, claiming that the landownersí practice of keeping non-guests off the river violates an easement the public has to stream beds. But without further guidance from the court, the scope of that easement is not clear, lawyers say. Victory Ranch insists the ruling should be stayed pending its appeal, which it expects to win.

Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune
Brady Willison on Tuesday walks along a braided channel on a stretch of the Upper Provo that cuts through the 7,000-acre Victory Ranch, a luxury destination near Francis. Until a Nov. 4 court ruling invalidating Utah's restrictive stream access law, such streams were not available to anglers without property owners' permission. Stream access advocates successfully sued Victory Ranch, claiming that the landowners' practice of keeping non-guests off the river violates an easement the public has to stream beds. But without further guidance from the court, the scope of that easement is not clear, lawyers say. Victory Ranch insists the ruling should be stayed pending its appeal, which it expects to win.

Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune
Brady Willison on Tuesday fishes on a braided channel on a stretch of the Upper Provo that cuts through the 7,000-acre Victory Ranch, a luxury destination near Francis. Until a Nov. 4 court ruling invalidating UtahÌs restrictive stream access law, such streams were not available to anglers without property ownersÌ permission. Stream access advocates successfully sued Victory Ranch, claiming that the landownersÌ practice of keeping non-guests off the river violates an easement the public has to stream beds. But without further guidance from the court, the scope of that easement is not clear, lawyers say. Victory Ranch insists the ruling should be stayed pending its appeal, which it expects to win.

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Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Brady Willison on Tuesday walks along a stretch of the Upper Provo that cuts through the 7,000-acre Victory Ranch, a luxury destination near Francis. Until a Nov. 4 court ruling invalidating Utah's restrictive stream access law, such streams were not available to anglers without property owners' permission. Willison ventured onto the property curious of how things might have changed since he last fished the area before it became private property years ago. Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Brady Willison on Tuesday fishes a stretch of the Upper Provo that cuts through the 7,000-acre Victory Ranch, a luxury destination near Francis. Until a Nov. 4 court ruling invalidating Utah's restrictive stream access law, such streams were not available to anglers without property owners' permission. Stream access advocates successfully sued Victory Ranch, claiming that the landowners' practice of keeping non-guests off the river violates an easement the public has to stream beds. But without further guidance from the court, the scope of that easement is not clear, lawyers say. Victory Ranch insists the ruling should be stayed pending its appeal, which it expects to win. Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Brady Willison on Tuesday fishes a stretch of the Upper Provo that cuts through the 7,000-acre Victory Ranch, a luxury destination near Francis. Until a Nov. 4 court ruling invalidating Utah's restrictive stream access law, such streams were not available to anglers without property owners' permission. Stream access advocates successfully sued Victory Ranch, claiming that the landowners' practice of keeping non-guests off the river violates an easement the public has to stream beds. But without further guidance from the court, the scope of that easement is not clear, lawyers say. Victory Ranch insists the ruling should be stayed pending its appeal, which it expects to win. Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Brady Willison on Tuesday fishes on a braided channel on a stretch of the Upper Provo that cuts through the 7,000-acre Victory Ranch, a luxury destination near Francis. Until a Nov. 4 court ruling invalidating Utahís restrictive stream access law, such streams were not available to anglers without property ownersí permission. Stream access advocates successfully sued Victory Ranch, claiming that the landownersí practice of keeping non-guests off the river violates an easement the public has to stream beds. But without further guidance from the court, the scope of that easement is not clear, lawyers say. Victory Ranch insists the ruling should be stayed pending its appeal, which it expects to win. Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Brady Willison on Tuesday walks along a braided channel on a stretch of the Upper Provo that cuts through the 7,000-acre Victory Ranch, a luxury destination near Francis. Until a Nov. 4 court ruling invalidating Utah's restrictive stream access law, such streams were not available to anglers without property owners' permission. Stream access advocates successfully sued Victory Ranch, claiming that the landowners' practice of keeping non-guests off the river violates an easement the public has to stream beds. But without further guidance from the court, the scope of that easement is not clear, lawyers say. Victory Ranch insists the ruling should be stayed pending its appeal, which it expects to win. Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Brady Willison on Tuesday fishes on a braided channel on a stretch of the Upper Provo that cuts through the 7,000-acre Victory Ranch, a luxury destination near Francis. Until a Nov. 4 court ruling invalidating UtahÌs restrictive stream access law, such streams were not available to anglers without property ownersÌ permission. Stream access advocates successfully sued Victory Ranch, claiming that the landownersÌ practice of keeping non-guests off the river violates an easement the public has to stream beds. But without further guidance from the court, the scope of that easement is not clear, lawyers say. Victory Ranch insists the ruling should be stayed pending its appeal, which it expects to win.

By Brian Maffly The Salt Lake Tribune

· December 6, 2015 2:29 pm

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

A 4th District judge has declined to stay his order invalidating Utah's 2012 Public Waters Access Act, which had restricted anglers and boaters from using streams that cross privately owned ground.

The state and a major property owner along the Upper Provo asked Judge Derek Pullan to put his Nov. 4 ruling on hold pending appeal. VR Acquisitions claimed it would likely prevail before the Utah Supreme Court and that Victory Ranch, its luxury destination resort, would in the meantime face irreparable harm from trespassing anglers seeking to catch trout on the 4-mile stretch of river it owns above Jondanelle Reservoir.

The ranch's lawyers pointed to three weaknesses in Pullan's ruling that they claimed would convince the higher court to overturn it.

"The court carefully considered and rejected each of these arguments after thorough analysis of the law and facts [at trial]," Pullan wrote in a ruling released Thursday. "VRA has failed to make a strong showing that these legal decisions were erroneous or that the court abused its discretion."

People who trespass on Victory Ranch property can be prosecuted and sued civilly for damages, so any harm the owners face cannot be irreparable, the judge reasoned.

The state argued that the public has a compelling interest in having properly enacted laws enforced, but Pullan found that a stay would cause more harm.

"This public interest bows to a more compelling one when the statute in question is determined to be unconstitutional in a court of law," the judge wrote. "In such instances, the people's primary interest is in seeing constitutional guarantees upheld."

Pullan is still fielding competing motions to amend his Nov. 4 decision.

Brian Maffly covers public lands for The Salt Lake Tribune. He can be reached at bmaffly@sltrib.com or 801-257-8713.