Safe and Lawful River Passage
Hattie Johnson
Dear Colorado County Commissioners,
Happy Friday to you all.
I am writing to you today representing the Responsible River Recreation Alliance or RRRA. The RRRA is a coalition of outdoor advocates, businesses, community leaders, and river users working to promote responsible recreation on Colorado’s rivers and streams while ensuring safe and lawful river passage.
Our shared goal is to advocate for thoughtful legislation that supports safety and provides clarity for both recreationists and private property owners while protecting Colorado’s public resources.
A significant portion of floatable rivers in Colorado run through private land. Without clear laws and expectations, conflicts between recreators and landowners are widespread. I have attached a document that shares examples of these conflicts reported to American Whitewater in 2025 and 2026. Bear in mind that these are just some of the examples about which we are aware. If the legislature were to define safe and lawful passage in Colorado it would provide clarity for landowners and river users—and even law enforcement--reducing such conflicts.
Our draft principles for legislation are attached for your review. Our proposal seeks to confirm what is already happening on our rivers across the state; it is not looking to expand use.
The current legal framework is unclear, particularly around trespass and liability. That ambiguity creates risk and confusion on both sides. A safe and lawful passage approach offers a clear, limited standard that helps reduce that uncertainty.
As you may have heard in the Colorado Sun podcast on this topic recently, we're proposing a base hit, not swinging for the fences, because we know what can be done, and are committed to making progress over stagnation and the worsening of the situation.
We feel strongly there is a good opportunity to clarify these legal "murky waters" in a way that protects landowners and the outdoor recreation economy and your input is invaluable. If you are supportive of this effort, even individually, please reach out to me directly (hat...@americanwhitewater.org). If you have further questions and concerns, we greatly appreciate and welcome feedback, so please reach out directly. We are able to join BOCC meetings to discuss or with enough interest could host a webinar for discussion.
Thank you for taking the time to review our advocacy and efforts. I welcome further conversation with anyone interested.
