DENVER—A new commission will try to help resolve disputes between boaters and landowners over access to Colorado’s waterways.
Gov. Bill Ritter signed an executive order Thursday to create the commission, which was among the recommendations by a task force formed after a bill clarifying the rights of landowners and boaters failed in the Legislature this year.
The bill was prompted by disputes between landowners who don’t want boaters using waterways flowing through their property and boaters who say the state’s waters belong to the public. The conflict came to a head on western Colorado’s Taylor River last year when a developer told commercial rafters they could no longer float through his property.
“I believe a mediation commission can work its way through these matters in a civil, reasoned way where all the parties’ views are respected and considered in developing a resolution that could alleviate the need for litigation,” Ritter said in a statement.
The River Access Mediation Commission wouldn’t have the power of arbitration, and participation would be voluntary.
State law says floating on waterways running through private property isn’t criminal trespass if people don’t touch the stream bed or banks. Conflicts have flared when boaters and rafters anchor or beach their crafts or get out to use the banks or adjacent land.
The task force heard complaints about landowners who put up barbed wire, topple trees or build fences to stop boaters.
Other recommendations by the panel include public education about avoiding conflicts and erecting signs designating where public access is allowed and where it’s not. The panel also suggested a law clarifying landowners’ liability when a boater is injured floating over private property.
