Who owns water? The US landowners putting barbed wire across rivers

[rangerrebew]

Who owns water? The US landowners putting barbed wire across rivers
New Mexico
This Land is Your Land

New Mexico is a battleground in the fight over once public waterways, sparking fears it could set a national precedent
 

Cassidy Randall

Thu 15 Mar 2018 06.00 EDT
Last modified on Fri 16 Mar 2018 10.59 EDT
 

As Scott Carpenter and a few friends paddled down the Pecos river in New Mexico last May, taking advantage of spring run-off, the lead boater yelled out and made a swirling hand motion over his head in the universal signal to pull over to shore. The paddlers eddied out in time to avoid running straight through three strings of barbed wire obstructing the river.

Swinging in the wind, the sign hanging from the fence read “PRIVATE PROPERTY: No Trespassing”.

One member of their party waded into the swift water to lift the wire with a paddle for the others to float under. As they continued downstream, Carpenter, a recreational boater from Albuquerque, looked over his shoulder a see a figure standing outside the big ranch house up the hill. He offered a wave, but received nothing in return.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/15/privatized-rivers-us-public-lands-waterways

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Interesting article, thank you for posting.

[Taxcontrol]

Here out in the west we have a saying that most Easterners don't understand;

"Whiskey is for drinking, water if for fighting over."

[Sanguine]

In Texas, navigable waterways belong to Texans.  You can't put fence across them.