Really? How is your private property any different than their private property? There are literally millions of acres of land that are closed to hunting or fishing. A lot of it is public land that supposedly belongs to all of us taxpayers. In most cases, access was permitted in the past and is now denied, whether by private owners, acts of Congress, or Presidential Executive Orders.
Larry Brown said that the rich people who bought the land bordering streams ought to know about the law. Obviously, they do, and they are trying to change it. Not saying I agree or am happy about that. But that's the way it is in most of the country.
Keith - land under water may be subject to public access based the public trust doctrine, which goes all the way back to Roman law. In MA, many rivers and all inter-tidal areas are subject to a public right of "fishing, fowling and navigation." The application of the public trust doctrine varies by state and is too complicated for a post here, but the basic point is that the use of waterways traversing private property is often treated differently than crossing uplands that are privately owned.
Merry Christmas!
