Our old friend Donny Beaver is at it again. Hold your nose and read this excerpt from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Norfolk Southern Corp. has ordered Mr. Beaver, operator of the exclusive Spring Ridge Club, to immediately remove barbed wire and “no trespassing” signs from railroad property along the stream. If he fails to do so within 10 days, Norfolk Southern will perform the task and might bill him for the work, according to Norfolk Southern attorney Randal S. Noe, who made the demands in an Aug. 3 letter to Mr. Beaver.
Mr. Noe said yesterday that he doesn’t know when the barbed wire and signs were erected, but the railroad only recently was made aware of them. The “no trespassing” signs bear the names of the Spring Ridge Club and Legacy Conservation Group, two of several corporations Mr. Beaver has or had an interest in. The barbed wire is strung among dense brush downstream of Spruce Creek.
Seems Donny strung barbed wire and posted “No Trespassing” signs along the Little Juniata — but not on his own property. This comes on the heels of illegal posting of the Little Juniata in an attempt to keep the public from floating though the “private” water.
Donny, you’re an ass our hero. Really.
Think it Won’t Happen Out West?
Apparently, Donny’s not content to illegally post property in the East; he’s teamed up with Gorusch Outfitters in Vail, and together they’ve formed a new company aimed at doing out here what he’s already done back east. This from the Gorusch Outfitters Web site:
This past fall John teamed up with Donny Beaver, founder of the Spring Ridge Club in central Pennsylvania. Together the two are working to secure a future for world class fly fishing in the valley through the newly formed Alpine River Club.
Ahh, the Alpine River Club. Expect pretty much the same model as the Spring Ridge Club, where Donny wraps himself in the swaddling cloth of “conservationist” when all he’s really trying to do is make a few bucks off folks who’d rather not deal with the riff raff.
In fact, the word “conserve” appears numerous times throughout the Web site, the idea clearly being that once you find a scam message that works, you stick with it. What’s interesting is whether there is enough backlash against high-profile members of these clubs to deter their joining.
Lefty Kreh, the Becks, and others are high-profile members of the Spring Ridge Club, and while there hasn’t been any general organization, I did notice a few people suggest that buying TFO rods was suddenly a no-no given Lefty’s involvement.
In any case, given the numerous abuses we’ve seen back East, I’d suggest Colorado anglers keep a close eye on their trout streams, lest one wander off in the Donny’s back pocket.
See you anywhere Donny isn’t, Tom Chandler.
[tags]fly fishing, donny beaver, spring ridge club, little juniata[/tags]
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
This isn’t a surprise, and, correct me if I’m wrong, but out West isn’t it pretty much the case that a landowner owns the bank AND the stream bottom? That throws out the historical navigable/commercial use argument that was used to defeat Mr Beaver back East. For a sport that needs new blood for the future, this move toward ultra-expensive, “exclusive” water just reinforces the elitist stereotype that already hangs around the neck of fly fishing.
Down here in Louisiana, we have sort of a different twist on the same problem. People are putting up dams, weirs, etc in the marsh, claiming private property over water that is clearly navigable today; the typical claim made to justify this is that at one time there was no water there – we’ve had so much coastal erosion, little duck ponds are now big bays and small bayous are now as wide as the Mississippi in places. I certainly respect property rights, but how can someone claim open water that looks like any other section of marsh? They can’t claim that they owned the bottom, because the bottom didn’t exist originally.
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I don’t think that’s correct. Out here, if a river’s considered navigable (one test is have logs ever been floated down it), then anglers can traverse the river below the high water mark.
Montana’s stream access law is even better for fishermen, and I find myself assuming that Colorado’s laws are probably similar to California’s. If it’s navigable, you get to the high water mark.
Still, original access is often difficult, especially when the likes of Donny Beaver feel no remorse in illegally posting/fencing off water.
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For the most part, freedom of navigation works like this, but there are a few quirks at the state level:
If the waterway was ever used for commerce traffic of any type, it is covered by the Freedom of Navigation Act. Essentially, it is a public roadway, and can be used to the traditional high water mark.
The differences in state law mostly apply to waterways NOT covered by the Freedom of Navigation Act, ie. waterways that have never been used for commercial traffic of any kind. In these cases, some states say a landowner does NOT own the stream bed, some say that if he owns both banks then he does, and others say he he cannot prevent boat traffic but ANY touching of the stream bed below the traditional high water mark or boating above the traditional high water mark during flood conditions is trespassing.
The issue out West that allows a lot of privatization of flowing streams is that there are gazillions of miles of streams that have never been used commercially. This becomes especially true in high mountain streams, headwaters, etc. And in CO, as many other western states, if the landowner owns both banks of such a stream, he/she CAN deny all terrestrial access (wading, for example). However, they cannot impede the flow of the water or the game moving in the water.
Where Donny Beaver has…apparently repeatedly…gotten himself in trouble is by posting and fencing and advertising private property rights on waters that ARE covered by the Freedom of Navigation Act and even fencing and posting property he does not own…as in this railroad case.
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Thanks…that clears it up, a little. I don’t know where I read that stream ownership laws were different out West, but I do remember reading something on it. Sounds like whatever I read oversimplified the situation; it certainly is a topic that will keep attorneys gainfully employed for some time.
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If there’s a more arcane subject than western water law, I’d love to hear about it. Quantum physics maybe…
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Maybe Windows compatibility for non-Microsoft software products?
Perhaps the US intel community’s rules/regs covering interrogation of detainees and prisoners.
Other than that, riparian rights law is about as arcane as it gets. Many cases are settled more based upon the best judgment of a judge or jury than upon legal precedent and statutes. Say “riparian rights” in a room full of attorneys and watch them scatter! LOL
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Hey, quit picking on us quantum physicists! You’re gonna give us a bad name, or something. Our stuff is completely straightforward, relying as it does on only the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, some simple Einstein-Minkowsky relativistic mechanics, and basic stochastics.
Water access laws, that’s truly arcane and inexplicable. Probably comparable to Hindu mythology or something…
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You guys deserve it. I mean, am I here, or am I somewhere else? Nobody seems able to say, and when they do, uncertainty says I’m suddenly somewhere else.
I’m just going to eat a slaw dog and forget the whole thing.
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When I first saw the link for this blog I was thinking illegal posting of blogs, themselves; like using someone else’s blog names. (http://sanddollaradventures.wordpress.com/2008/10/07/short-trip-for-october-8-2008-lake-natoma-very-relaxing-if-you-avoid-the-gun-tower/)
Remember, Tom Chandler-imitation is the most sincere form of flattery!
But on the actual subject at hand, I have been doing a lot of research on navigable waterways: it seems the root of the issue is the broad authority of the Public Trust Doctrine that provides public rights but issues few specific limitations: i.e. is fishing by boat O.K.?; hiking below the high water mark?; ATV (four-wheeler) use?…
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I’m the only one in this world. Can please someone join me in this life? Or maybe death…
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