• New Mexico is a prior appropriation state, and from the time the territory was settled has never recognized riparian rights.
  

• All the waters of the state are public waters, and are subject to appropriation by the public for beneficial use until such time as they are appropriated for a specific public or private use.
  
• Beneficial use clearly includes recreational use, and primary among recreational uses is the right of fishing.
  
• The waters flowing in a stream cannot be appropriated for private use, only the right to take a given quantity of water, for a specified purpose.
  
• Any and all navigation tests are immaterial in determining the public's right to use any of the waters of the state, as all waters are declared by the constitution to be public waters until they are appropriated for a specific private or public use.
  
• No government agency can be charged with appropriating to the public property that already belongs to the public.
  
• The public's right of beneficial use specifically includes use of the riverbanks (above the waterline) of public waters flowing through private properties; use of the riverbed (below the waterline) necessarily follows, and must be reasonably assumed.
  
• Public property cannot be converted to private property by the simple act of enclosure or by posting notices.
  
• New Mexico's constitution prohibits the extension of special rights and privileges to any person or corporation.
  

*Outdoor Industry Association, 2012 Outdoor Recreation Economy Report

Respectfully,