Gov. Bill Ritter said he plans to continue working behind the scenes to prevent a torrent of citizen initiatives addressing rafting through private land from making the November ballot.
He may get his way if a tangle on the Taylor River — where two rafting outfitters want to float a stretch that runs through a private developer’s property — can be resolved through ongoing, private mediation.
A bill that could have once and for all given either river recreationists or property owners dominion over waterways died this session, leaving 20 proposed initiatives aimed at the same complex topic.
“There’s still a need for the rafting community, the outfitting community and the landowners to find a way to sit down at the table and agree how to manage that resource,” Ritter said in post-legislative session remarks. “My hope at the end of the day is that this does not go to the ballot. Our rivers are a great natural resource for the state, but landowners have . . . a significant stake in this conversation.”
The rafting companies and the Jackson-Shaw development company began mediation in late April at Ritter’s request. Their next meeting with a judicial arbiter is May 26.
The Taylor dispute is the ticking clock underscoring debate on the greater issues of access to Colorado waterways, said Bob Hamel, chairman of the Colorado River Outfitters Association.
A satisfactory resolution of that dispute could buy rafting advocates time to pursue options other than a ballot initiative, Hamel said. He declined to say whether rafting advocates had collected signatures — or how many. Both the outfitters group and the Creekside Coalition, the landowners’ group behind the 16 other initiatives, have until Aug. 2 to collect 76,047 signatures.
“We’re where we need to be. We have time,” Hamel said. “Obviously, we wanted a legislative decision. The ballot wasn’t the first choice, but it was an option. We’re willing to listen.”
The Creekside Coalition has said it will pull all of its 16 initiatives if the rafters choose not to put the question to voters in November, according to group spokesman Eric Anderson.
The group has consistently lobbied to keep the status quo, where rafters and landowners work out private agreements under what some say is a murky law governing how rivers can be used.
“If the rafters pull their ballot initiative, this issue will go away,” Anderson said.
Jessica Fender: 303-954-1244 or jfender@denverpost.com
