Public Land, Private Water: Utah's Stream Access Fight

In this episode of the Backcountry Hunters & Anglers Podcast, host Hal Herring speaks with investigative journalist Andrew Becker about the complex and increasingly contentious issue of stream access in Utah. Centered around Becker's deep-dive reporting for The Drake, the conversation explores how a state that is roughly 75% public land can still have most of its fishable water flowing through private property.

Becker traces the issue back to Western settlement, including the belief that water is a shared public resource. From the Equal Footing Doctrine and questions of navigability to Utah's modern walk-in access program, the episode unpacks how legal history, culture, water scarcity, and population growth collide. Unlike Montana's high-water mark standard, Utah's approach is fragmented and heavily shaped by private ownership of streambeds — a critical distinction in a state where most water runs through deeded land claimed under early homestead laws.

The discussion also wrestles with harder questions: What does sustainable access look like in the second-driest state in the country? How do stocking programs, public funding, and private landownership intersect? And how do conservation ethics balance with expanding recreation pressure amid climate change and rapid development?

Ultimately, the episode frames Utah as a microcosm of the broader Western struggle over public trust, private property, and the future of access — where law, history, culture, and conservation all meet at the water's edge.