Re Roger Leed;

Remember the open range? Therefore, vacant private forest or
range land is generally available for public use unless posted otherwise.


If you see a sign along a road in central or eastern Washington that says "Open Range," don't assume

that you have a right to enter abutting lands. Don't assume that private lands are "generally available

for public use"; they are not. One using them without permission is still a trespasser, regardless of

absence of criminal trespass. Trespasser status is important; if you fall in a hole on trespassed land, for example.

Re Rachel Lawson:

If a fisherman (or birder) is wading or floating in the actual stream, the landowner

cannot prevent him/her from passing through the private property.

I have trouble with this. The State may own navigable waters, but in many shoreline situations it does not own the bed of the body y of water. Not all navigable waters are owned by the state; don't figure that you have a right to wade or otherwise utilize waters of a private lake even though it may be navigable. . Obviously one walking on a private tide lands at low tide is trespassing; I don't see how walking (wading) on the same land at high tide ceases to be a trespass. Not all streams are navigable, even though the state or other public entity may own the water flowing in it..

Conclusions:

1. Don't assume that the law is simple in any situation.

2. Don't enter the private lands of another without permission.

Ed Level. Olympia, WA