A dispute between anglers and a landowner over a natural water channel connecting Pine Creek and the New Fork River near Pinedale may reflect a growing trend of conflict between landowners and floaters in Wyoming.
“It’s symbolic of greater issues,” legendary Wyoming fly fisherman and outdoor businessman Jack Dennis told Cowboy State Daily.
The River Broke Through
Dennis, a Jackson native, now spends the majority of his time in Pinedale and has been floating and fishing on the New Fork River since the early 1960s.
Pine Creek flows downstream from the area in question into the New Fork River, which then into the Green River.
“The (New Fork) river broke through and went into Pine Creek about 20-some years ago,” he told me.
The breakthrough occurred along two natural channels about 400 yards apart, a few miles southeast of Pinedale.
Both channels pass through private property. In Wyoming, it is legal to float through private property on any navigable waterway.
However, getting out of a watercraft and wading with one’s feet on the streambed is considered trespassing.
Dennis said one of the channels is thick with willows. He and some friends attempted it years ago, but it was too much work, so they never tried again.
He said the other channel is wider and easier to navigate, and floaters use it frequently.
Dennis said that the property through which the channel runs has changed hands several times over the decades, with the most recent owner purchasing it a few years ago.
Some locals now claim that the latest owner, River Ranch LLC, based in Florida, has attempted to block the channel with rocks and soil.
Many local anglers and fishing guides have taken issue with this, according to Dennis.
It may also raise contentious issues about what constitutes a “navigable” waterway, as well as landowners’ rights to control boat traffic, build fences across channels, and so on.
The central question is whether Pine Creek, which flows through private property, is a legitimate navigable waterway, especially since it receives water from the New Fork River via the channel, according to Dennis.
He has long been involved in access and conservation policy discussions.
He explained that even changes in popular watercraft can complicate matters.
“Kayakers and small boat users have taken it to mean that literally anything you can put those boats into is a ‘navigable waterway,'” declared him.
Corps Of Engineers Looking Into It
The Army Corps of Engineers has primary jurisdiction over the waterways in question.
On June 2, the Corps’ Wyoming Regulatory Office received a report on channel work, according to Nathan Morey, the agency’s South Dakota-Wyoming section chief, who told Cowboy State Daily via email.
“We are currently gathering information to determine if the work is subject to the Corps’ regulatory authorities under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act,” Ms. Morey wrote. “The Corps of Engineers is responsible for issuing permits for activities that place fill material (e.g., soil, rock, etc.) into waters of the United States such as Pine Creek and its abutting wetlands.”
During a phone interview early Friday, Morey stated that the Corps’ primary concern is any potential “discharge of fill material” into the channel as a result of the work being done there.
“We’re focused on the discharge of fill and its effects,” Morey told me.
In such cases, whether fill is blocking a navigable waterway may be considered as a possible effect, he said.
Fences and Waterways
Dennis stated that when he first began floating in the area, the Maytag family owned the land where the channels are, and he had permission from them to cross it.
He stated that the land was later owned by two oil companies in succession before being sold to the current owners.
He stated that a wire fence was once installed across the channel.
According to Dennis’ understanding of access laws, landowners are allowed to build fences across channels to contain livestock.
The wire fence across the channel was designed to be removable to allow a boat to pass and then reinstalled.
“The respectful floaters always made sure to put the fence back up when they passed through,” Dennis told me.
He stated that, to his knowledge, the fence no longer exists.
Dennis said he is unsure what will happen as a result of the ongoing dispute over the channel connecting Pine Creek to the New Fork River.
It hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm for the area, though.
“I’ve fished all over the world,” he explained. “And still, to this day, the New Fork River in Wyoming is my favorite.”
