Akamina

Great, thanks for the info and suggestions!

Here’s a question about river access from bridges in Alberta. My understanding is that the public can access rivers at bridges and wade the rivers below the high-water mark. However, most such bridges that I’ve come across in southern Alberta have barbed wire strategically placed that are seemingly designed to block that access, or at least to intimidate Albertans from exercising their citizenship rights on these rivers. Now, there may be reasons more linked to cattle grazing involved, but that’s not the impression I get. The undeclared message seems to be more "Keep Out!" and "No Trespassing!" even where landowners may not necessarily have the right to make such claims. Are there any clear-cut guidelines or good practice recommendations available about how we can best access that water while, of course, retaining good relations with landholders? Is it the case that even where there is a public bridge and a public road, we must ask local permission to access the river? If so, what is the most productive way to request such access?

Remember the positive changes when voting comes around next year. Who will work with an admittedly imperfect conservation-regeneration approach, and who will attempt to reverse it to the days of dust, mud, and noise?

Having gone through Roger Fogg's and Dave Hughes' fine books on the subject, I'm now working my way through an excellent book, Robert L. Smith's "The North Country Fly: Yorkshire's Soft Hackle Tradition." I got my signed copy from Coch-Y-Bonddu Books by way of Abebooks.com. Recommended.