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Maintaining public access is a key part of maintaining public lands, writes Mark Squillace for Writers on the Range.

Eighty-year-old Roger Hill used to go fishing on the Arkansas River in Colorado. But he sometimes had to duck baseball-size rocks thrown at him by landowners who insisted he was trespassing. When he got back…

History buffs might be interested to know that these public rights in navigable waterways date back at least to the time of the Roman Empire.

Angler Roger Hill is suing a landowner over a right to wade in the Arkansas River, arguing that historic commerce on the river proves navigability, which requires public access.

For nearly 40 years, riverside property owners and recreational river users in Colorado have relied on a tenuous agreement when it comes to floating rivers and streams through private property. The de...