| 5-16-05
As the sun moves northward in the spring many Hoosiers gravitate to
streams and rivers for a great variety of recreational pleasures, and that
can and that can translate into trespass problems. I do not intend
to diminish the values of standing water in the overall outdoor recreation
scheme, but the real quality outdoor experience most often comes on moving
waters--more specifically rivers and streams.
My experiences on streams and rivers of Hoosierland have led me to believe
that the person who has his/her feet on the bottom enjoys the surroundings
more than one who has his fanny parked on a boat/canoe seat. Let’s face
it, wade-fishing a stream or river exerts a far greater physical tax on
the human body that blissfully floating a stream, but it can bring greater
rewards, piscatorially or otherwise. Unfortunately, wade-fishing streams
and rivers also can bring problems with riparian landowners.
As one reader of this column writes:
”I have been trying to find the law in Indiana about stream
fishing rules and wading. I want to know if I can wade and fish any
stream in Indiana or are there only certain streams that can been fished
with waders . . . Is this the case on all streams in Indiana or only on
certain ones. Can you shed some light on this situation?”
The above note arrived via e-mail at the time I was getting geared up to
wade some of my old favorite streams for fishing. During all of more than
half a century of float and wade-fishing streams the length and breadth
of Indiana, the most important criterion for measuring legal availability
of stream and river beds seemed to depend upon navigability of the waterway
in question.
There always were questions concerning who owned what in terms of streambeds,
and those questions still creep into the scenario when anglers are looking
for places to fish (and pursue other outdoor interests) on streams and
rivers.
In the late ‘80s Steve Lucas, director of the Indiana Natural Resources
Commission’s Division of Hearings, took on the task of determining navigability
of Indiana’s streams and rivers. Incidentally, navigability of streams
and rivers is largely dependent on whether streams and rivers in question
were navigable at the time the territory gained statehood in 1816. Navigability,
of course, is not that simple, but that is a good starting point.
Lucas enlisted the aid of conservation officers of all of our 92 counties,
and most of the Department of Natural Resources' divisions, especially
the Division of Water Resources, and Outdoor Recreation. The result
was a document completed in 1990 that addressed many aspects of ownership
as related to stream and riverbeds. That document, still changing from
time to time, will be found on the Natural Resources Commission’s web site:
http://www.in.gov/nrc/
When this web page opens, click on “Lake Michigan and Other Navigable
Waters.” Then click on “Navigable Waters Roster,” and “Roster by Waterway,”
an alphabetical listing of stream/river names, or “Roster By County,” a
listing of streams in the various counties. It is a remarkably useful
compendium of information on the availability of stream/river beds of the
state.
But even with this wealth of stream/river data, those who use the streams
and rivers for a myriad of outdoor recreation activities must be willing
(even eager) to recognize and respect private ownership.
HOOSIER NATIONAL FOREST--More than 100 people last week attended the
threeForest Service meetings designed to clarify the Hoosier National Forest’s
Proposed Forest Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Forest staff
discussed the five alternatives in the Proposed Plan and gave tips on how
best to provide comments that may affect the final alternative chosen for
implementation.
The question-answer sessions covered a range of topics including recreation,
wildlife and timber management, and future budgets and staffing.
”I was pleased with the turn out for the meetings,” said Judi Perez, the
Forest Planning Officer. “Our goal was to explain the rationale behind
the five alternatives and increase the public’s understanding of the trade
offs. From the feedback I got, I think we did that.”
Proposed Forest Plan documents and maps are available on the Forest’s
website, http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hoosier, and at several statewide public
and university libraries. Written comments can either be sent to the Forest
Service Bedford Office, 811 Constitution Avenue, Bedford, IN 47421, or
through the Forest’s website. The public comment period ends June 27, 2005.
Click
on thubnail image for enlarged view.
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The
lure and lore of Hoosier streams and rivers is apparent in this picture
of a wading angler sharing the joys of the outdoors with a husky smallmouth
bass . . . later released |
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The
male longear sunfish is one of the most beautiful fish found in Hoosier
streams and rivers . . . And though it seldom weighs half a pound, it is
a tasty fish. |
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