Legalities of Hunting on Navigable Waters

If there is a flood on a major river, and backwaters are spreading beyond the original river's banks, can a hunter legally navigate and hunt over the newly flooded area? Are the backwaters now a legal part of the river and open to public access?

Talk about Pandora's box! Water laws around the country are incredibly complicated, and they vary from one state to the next. What is legal and allowed in one state may be prohibited in the next. A long history of court cases has rendered a confusing range of decisions about who has rights to water usage and navigation.

For instance, in some states, when a navigable river is flooding, the floodwaters are recognized as an integral part of the river, and boaters may navigate on it. However, the land beneath the floodwaters is still privately owned. Though they may have the right to float over it in a boat, hunters who drop an anchor or wade or touch the bottom in any way are trespassing, and they're liable to being cited.

An attorney for a state wildlife agency, who declined to allow his name to be used, said, "These situations are all very nebulous in terms of interpretation and jurisdiction. They have to do with which streams are classified as navigable, who owns the land beneath the streambed, and how particular states apply the Public Trust Doctrine [looking after the interest of the public in matters relating to use of lands and waters].

"The best advice in any situation relating to these matters is for a hunter to contact the appropriate state wildlife agency and ask them what he can and cannot do relative to hunting on navigable waters. But be forewarned. You'll probably get a less-than-straightforward answer. Water laws are a can of worms. Sometimes the only way to settle these issues is to try them in court and let a jury decide."