Historic Day for Stream Access
Dear Friend,
Yesterday was an exciting day in New Mexico history. Our state Supreme Court reaffirmed the constitutional rights of New Mexicans to their public waters. This is a huge victory for people who care about our history, our culture, and our natural resources.
VIDEO: U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich Applauds New Mexico Supreme Court Decision To Uphold Public Stream Access, March 1, 2022.
The New Mexico Constitution expressly provides that rivers, streams, and lakes in New Mexico “belong to the public.” For 75 years, the New Mexico Supreme Court recognized the public’s right to recreate, fish, and use these waters, including waters that flow through private lands.
But in 2017, in the last days of the Susana Martinez administration, the State Game Commission passed a rule allowing landowners to prohibit public access to waters flowing on their lands if the waters are “non-navigable.” Not only was the rule contrary to the state constitution. It impacted the vast majority of New Mexico’s streams which – whether they flow all the time, intermittently, or just in response to rain events – were found to be not “navigable.”
As a long-time advocate for preserving New Mexico surface waters for recreational, wildlife, and environmental uses, I have joined sportsmen, fishermen, and families in our state to stand up against this rule. In 2020, I joined former U.S. Senator Tom Udall to file an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief before the New Mexico Supreme Court defending New Mexicans’ right under the state constitution to access public surface waters. With today’s decision, the New Mexico Supreme Court has once again affirmed the public’s right to access our public waters.
I want to thank everyone who made this decision possible to make sure that public waters stay in public hands.
Sincerely,
MARTIN HEINRICH
United States Senator
United States Senator
