Representatives of the NYS DEC Bureau of Fisheries gave a presentation at the most recent Federation meeting about their Trout Stream Access Verification Plan. They need our help to ensure that our storied trout streams here in Sullivan County have sufficient public access.

Historically, landowners were more permissive of the public fishing and accessing stream banks from their properties. That’s changed significantly over the course of my lifetime, especially in the last couple of decades. It was rare in my youth to see property posted. Now it is common.

More than 950,000 trout are stocked statewide each year. The DEC policy in the past has been to stock sections of streams that were not posted, on the assumption that lack of posters meant the public was allowed access. Realizing that is not always the case, the new Access Verification Plan was adopted, and the rules have changed.

The access points must now be posted with DEC-provided signs that state that access is granted by courtesy of the landowner so that it is clear to the public that they are okay to reach the stream in a given area to fish.

The problem is that quite a bit of the streams are no longer accessible. The DEC policy does not allow sections to be stocked unless there is a public access point at least every mile along the shore. As a result, we are losing the number of fish that will be stocked in our area.

The DEC policy is a good one. Stocked trout should only be put in areas where the public has the right to enjoy the resource, and not put in areas where there is no access. So, what can we do to help increase the miles of shoreline that are open to the public?

The DEC has been sending out letters to all landowners with property adjacent to streams. There will be a series of four letters sent in order to engage the landowners. Please respond and encourage others to as well.

While I would like to hope that everyone would be willing to grant access, there are certainly barriers. Landowners don’t want to be exposed to liability for injuries. They don’t want the public throwing garbage all over. Those are probably the two biggest ones.

How can we overcome those barriers and help gain additional access? First, we can educate landowners about the Recreational Use Statute (General Obligations Law Section 9-103), which generally protects landowners from liability for injuries while fishing unless there was willful or malicious failure by the landowner to warn or guard against a dangerous condition. 

Second, maybe some of the clubs and organizations can come up with litter pluck schedules for the access points as part of the county-wide cleanups that we all do, or something similar.

The DEC staff mentioned that they need our help to engage the landowners. Sometimes personal contact goes a long way, versus a form letter that is sent in the mail. Maybe you have a friend with land along a stream, and you can encourage them the reach out and talk to the DEC.

Allowing access can be done in several ways. It can be restricted to a single path. Landowners don’t need to open up their whole property if they don’t want to.

If we all work together, we can increase the fishing opportunities for everyone. I want to encourage folks reading this article to reach out to the DEC Bureau of Fisheries to get more information and become part of the solution. There’s a ton of information on their website about the Trout Stream Management Plan and the Trout Stream Access Verification Plan.

Let’s all enjoy the outdoors!

John S. Van Etten is the current president of the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, Inc.