General Stewardship Discussion : American Whitewater Forums
Jocassee Rivers need help!
Posted by: bankfull1 (IP Logged)
Date: August 14, 2006 11:21PM
Nothing new, but Access at the Horsepasture and Toxaway need to be cleared up.
The Horsepasture is a simpler issue, in that the public has right to putin at the Hwy 281 bridge, its just that no one has set the precedent legally yet. The only people to get tickets didn't follow up and get it dismissed. NC has the best navigability laws in the country, and it is legal to access the river at the Hwy 281 bridge.
Someone needs to just go down there and get a ticket and then appeal it to a court beyond the local scope to get it overturned. Then access will work out. I am not a lawyer though, and am not positive it is that simple. Bottom line is that access to the Horsepasture W&S River is legal, we just have to go the whole mile to protect that right to access.
Toxaway is much more difficult, in that it lies completely in the Gorges State Park. The putin is technically accessible since on CAN technically use the Hwy 64 easement to get to the streambed and then stay below the high water mark and portage the falls. Parking is another story. The big concern is the banning of kayaking in the park, which is a real possibility. It would be banned for the claim of cutting down on environmental impact, and for the fact that the park isn't interested in the liability of conducting S&R in the event of an emergency. Trying to stall this seemingly inevitable decision by the state park will be tough, and once again, though I am not an expert or lawyer, I am willing to help with the guidance of AW staff. The park development plan involves much construction, road building, campgrounds with RV hookups, visitor centers, bathrooms, overlooks, parking lots, etc. It seems that if they can take the land and develop it so extensively, then by comparison kayakers will have little to no impact environmentally speaking. Still, kayaking is not viewed well with park officials, especially state park officials, who are often case the most stringent in their management scope.
We must work to protect our priviledge to access the Jocassee watershed, as it is the most beautiful and rugged region in the east.
The Horsepasture is a simpler issue, in that the public has right to putin at the Hwy 281 bridge, its just that no one has set the precedent legally yet. The only people to get tickets didn't follow up and get it dismissed. NC has the best navigability laws in the country, and it is legal to access the river at the Hwy 281 bridge.
Someone needs to just go down there and get a ticket and then appeal it to a court beyond the local scope to get it overturned. Then access will work out. I am not a lawyer though, and am not positive it is that simple. Bottom line is that access to the Horsepasture W&S River is legal, we just have to go the whole mile to protect that right to access.
Toxaway is much more difficult, in that it lies completely in the Gorges State Park. The putin is technically accessible since on CAN technically use the Hwy 64 easement to get to the streambed and then stay below the high water mark and portage the falls. Parking is another story. The big concern is the banning of kayaking in the park, which is a real possibility. It would be banned for the claim of cutting down on environmental impact, and for the fact that the park isn't interested in the liability of conducting S&R in the event of an emergency. Trying to stall this seemingly inevitable decision by the state park will be tough, and once again, though I am not an expert or lawyer, I am willing to help with the guidance of AW staff. The park development plan involves much construction, road building, campgrounds with RV hookups, visitor centers, bathrooms, overlooks, parking lots, etc. It seems that if they can take the land and develop it so extensively, then by comparison kayakers will have little to no impact environmentally speaking. Still, kayaking is not viewed well with park officials, especially state park officials, who are often case the most stringent in their management scope.
We must work to protect our priviledge to access the Jocassee watershed, as it is the most beautiful and rugged region in the east.
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.
RSS for this Forum