DENVER—Who owns a river? The question is coming to Colorado lawmakers this session.
A bill to allow rafting companies to take their guests on rivers that cross through private property whether landowners like it or not is expected to come before the Legislature.
Rep. Kathleen Curry of Gunnison says her bill would settle the question of whether rafters, kayakers and anglers have a right to use Colorado’s waterways when they go through private land.
She says private landowners should not be able to block river access. The bill was inspired last year when a Texas developer bought land in Gunnison County and then notified two rafting companies they could no longer use the Taylor River through his land.
Curry’s bill could bring lawmakers to settle a long-standing dispute between waterfront landowners and commercial rafting companies.
Colorado law isn’t clear on whether landowners can block river use. A 1979 Colorado Supreme Court decision said that rafters who touch a private bank or riverbed are trespassing. Some lawyers say that case affects even those who merely float through.
A group of private landowners called Creekside Coalition are expected to fight Curry’s measure. But the Colorado River Outfitters Association says jobs are at stake and that river rights need to be settled.
“We’re not trying to take away the landowner’s rights, but rafting is a $142 million business in Colorado, and it employs hundreds of people. We’re just trying to protect jobs and people’s livelihoods,” Association president Bob Hamel told The (Grand Junction) Daily Sentinel.
Curry, who recently announced she would leave the Democratic party and serve as an independent, said rafting companies have a valid claim on the state’s waters.
“They’ve had permits for 20 years to run the stretch. They employ a lot of people, and one guy comes in and shuts it down,” Curry said.
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