Creek Access--Is this Legal??

[treft133]

I got to thinking the other day about accessing a couple of my tree stands on a property I can hunt. I have heard of people using boats or canoes to go down a small river to where they have access to hunt. My question is if an officially named creek by the State of Iowa (not a small creek that just runs through a farm) is low on water could a guy walk from a road where the creek crosses, through the creek (on private property) to your stands on property you can hunt? I first thought no, thats why I threw out this possibility. Then I thought about the contrary with using a canoe or boat when water is high enough. Just because the water is low enough that I can walk through it wouldn't that be the same thing? Not looking to stir up trouble or trespass, just simply trying to think outside the box. I looked throughly thru the IDNR website and couldn't find anything. Thanks for your help!

 

[Nug]

Illegal on foot I believe. You can float a meandering stream but not walk it. The landowner owns the land under the water.

 

[Iowa_Buckeye]

You are only allowed to touch the bottom if it is defined as a 'meandered' stream. Else you have to be floating it. There are only a few defined as 'meandered' by iowa.

 

[DE2IA]

Don't know the law for sure but I always try to turn it around.......how would you feel about it if it was your land people were walking through?

 

[JNRBRONC]

Do a search here for "meandering stream" as there are a couple of older threads dealing with this topic.

 

[treft133]

Thanks for the info. I didn't think it would be legal, thus why I asked the guys on IW as you guys are very knowledgeable. Yeah from the landowners perspective that makes sense. I have talked to the landowner about hunting permission before and she has some family members that shotgun hunt but no bowhunters, so she'd like to leave for them. Which I do understand, might have to ask again about walking through the creek only. Thanks again for the help and I'll check out the meandering threads.

 

[bwese]

treft,

I would, like you said just ask for permission to walk the creek to your stand during archery season to help up the chances she will give you permission to do that.

I have an adjacent landowner that won't let me hunt his land but does allow me to use his for access during archery and muzzy season here in NE