With the Holidays over and a successful fundraising campaign behind us, it's time to focus our efforts on the coming year. Where do we stand with the two stream access lawsuits? What is the plan for the legislative session, and will this be the year that our legislators re-visit Stream Access? What can you do to help?

LEGAL UPDATE

On December 22, counsel for USAC, Victory Ranch, the State of Utah, and the Utah Alliance for the Protection of Property Rights met in Judge Pullan's courtroom for another round of oral arguments in the Provo (Right-to-use) Case. Judge Pullan was thoughtful, and asked very pointed, direct questions regarding the single remaining issue of fact identified in his prior decision: Did HB141 substantially impair the public's interest in the waters that remained publicly accessible following the passage of HB141? On Wednesday, Judge Pullan denied Victory Ranch and the State's motions for summary judgement. A trial will be scheduled in the coming months.

Meanwhile, our legal team is busy preparing briefs for the upcoming trial on the Weber (Navigability) case before Judge Kelly, February 6-11, 2015. The trial will take place in Courtroom W37 of the Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City. The purpose of this case is to show that the Weber River was used as a highway of commerce prior to and at the time of statehood based on historical evidence, and therefore its beds are the property of the State held in trust for the public. You are welcome to attend.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

The 2015 Utah Legislative session runs from January 26 through March 12. In the past, the Legislature said it will not take up the stream access issue until they have heard from the Courts on USAC's two lawsuits. It is our hope that we will be able to provide them with a ruling by the end of the session. Rep. Dixon Pitcher is sponsoring legislation (HB108) that is slightly different than last year's bill. It's simple, and it does exactly what the Utah Supreme Court left for the Legislature to do after its decision in Conatser v. Johnson: it defines the easement.

Once again, we are asking you, our members, to reach out to your legislators and ask them to support stream access and HB108. Some of you have new legislators who are unfamiliar with the issues. Other legislators simply need a reminder that stream access is an issue that remains important to you and your family, their constituents. All we're asking you to do at this point is to re-start the conversation.

Take 2 minutes, right now, to look up your legislators and tell them that as a constituent, Stream Access is important to you, and that they should Support HB108.

To look up your legislators click here: http://le.utah.gov/GIS/findDistrict.jsp

Thank you for your engagement and continued support. Let's make 2015 the year that we restore and secure access to Utah's rivers and streams for generations to come.