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Representatives from commercial rafting companies made the trip to the State Capitol in Denver Monday in support of House Bill 1188 which would clarify the rights of commercial rafting guides to operate on Colorado rivers through private property.
DENVER — If you own private land on either side of a river, can you prevent people from boating down it? Many other states have already tackled the issue, but in Colorado, the legal waters are murky.
A bill in the Colorado House of Representatives seeks to clarify matters by establishing that licensed river-rafting companies can indeed float rivers through private property and not be charged with civil trespassing.
About two dozen Colorado rafters, many from Summit County, grabbed their boats, paddles and PFD's Monday morning and gathered in the State Capitol in support of the measure, House Bill 1188.
“We've already lost one river in Gunnison County,” said Mark Schumacher, owner of Three Rivers Outfitting. “We don't want to lose another.”
The legislation would allow rafting companies to continue running stretches of river that have an established history of commercial trips. Under the bill, licensed outfitters wouldn't be trespassing if they made accidental contact with the banks or riverbed, or if they had to portage around hazards that would put passengers at risk.
The issue has come to a head in Gunnison County, where Texas-based developer Lewis W. Shaw II is attempting to block Three Rivers and another company from rafting a stretch of the Taylor River. Shaw owns land on both sides of the stretch, which commercial rafters have been running for decades.
“It is my firm opinion any individual or group or company rafting through our private property is committing an act similar to someone walking across your front lawn on a shortcut to the grocery store,” Shaw wrote in a letter to Scenic River Tours, which also operates out of Gunnison County. “It may be convenient, but it is nonetheless illegal.”
Boaters throughout the state fear that Shaw's actions — or potential litigation arising from the situation — could create a dangerous precedent that would threaten an industry that contributes about $140 million each year to Colorado's economy. In 2008, more than 500,000 people rafted the state's rivers.
“This situation just opened up a can of worms, and we had to go,” said Summit County resident Duke Bradford, owner of Arkansas Valley Adventures.
“I realized we had a statewide problem,” bill co-sponsor, state Rep. Kathleen Curry of Gunnison said Monday morning in front of the crowd of rafters. “We do need to tackle this issue in this building.”
The bill is co-sponsored by state Rep. Christine Scanlan, who represents Summit County.
The House Judiciary Committee approved the measure 7-3 late Monday night.
A bill in the Colorado House of Representatives seeks to clarify matters by establishing that licensed river-rafting companies can indeed float rivers through private property and not be charged with civil trespassing.
About two dozen Colorado rafters, many from Summit County, grabbed their boats, paddles and PFD's Monday morning and gathered in the State Capitol in support of the measure, House Bill 1188.
“We've already lost one river in Gunnison County,” said Mark Schumacher, owner of Three Rivers Outfitting. “We don't want to lose another.”
The legislation would allow rafting companies to continue running stretches of river that have an established history of commercial trips. Under the bill, licensed outfitters wouldn't be trespassing if they made accidental contact with the banks or riverbed, or if they had to portage around hazards that would put passengers at risk.
The issue has come to a head in Gunnison County, where Texas-based developer Lewis W. Shaw II is attempting to block Three Rivers and another company from rafting a stretch of the Taylor River. Shaw owns land on both sides of the stretch, which commercial rafters have been running for decades.
“It is my firm opinion any individual or group or company rafting through our private property is committing an act similar to someone walking across your front lawn on a shortcut to the grocery store,” Shaw wrote in a letter to Scenic River Tours, which also operates out of Gunnison County. “It may be convenient, but it is nonetheless illegal.”
Boaters throughout the state fear that Shaw's actions — or potential litigation arising from the situation — could create a dangerous precedent that would threaten an industry that contributes about $140 million each year to Colorado's economy. In 2008, more than 500,000 people rafted the state's rivers.
“This situation just opened up a can of worms, and we had to go,” said Summit County resident Duke Bradford, owner of Arkansas Valley Adventures.
“I realized we had a statewide problem,” bill co-sponsor, state Rep. Kathleen Curry of Gunnison said Monday morning in front of the crowd of rafters. “We do need to tackle this issue in this building.”
The bill is co-sponsored by state Rep. Christine Scanlan, who represents Summit County.
The House Judiciary Committee approved the measure 7-3 late Monday night.
