The fight to secure your right to float on Colorado streams continues. We have an exciting opportunity to make your support go further! Our partner, Colorado Whitewater, has offered $10,000 in matching funds for all donations to the Colorado Stream Access Fund starting today through the end of April. Double your donation by contributing today! We are up against a powerful and well-resourced opposition looking to privatize rivers for a select few.
With an incredible lobby and legal team, we have been pushing hard on the Colorado legislature to take up the right to float in this session. It’s a critical time for your state reps to hear from you. Please use this easy-action form and personalize your letter encouraging them to take up this important issue today.
American Whitewater, Colorado Whitewater, and the American Canoe Association founded the Responsible River Recreation Alliance this past fall and continue to grow our coalition. That group is pursuing a bill in Colorado’s 2026 legislative session to clarify the public’s lawful ability to float, scout, and portage around hazards on Colorado’s rivers, ensuring public safety, the health of the outdoor recreation economy, and the cultural values of river towns across the state.
This legislation would include robust protections for landowners, including expanding liability protections and clarity around property rights violations. For decades, Colorado’s murky river access laws have led to regular conflicts between public river users and landowners, risking the quality of life for both parties.
American Whitewater and our partners have been navigating this issue for decades and, for the past year, have undertaken concerted stakeholder outreach with water rights holders, landowners, farmers, local communities, and businesses. In response to stakeholder input, we are pursuing a bill that provides legal certainty for boaters, including that as long as river users launch and take out on public property, they can legally navigate downstream and portage and scout river hazards only as necessary for safe downstream travel.
With Colorado’s $37 billion outdoor recreation economy and increasing population, we believe that we must work together to find a legislative solution for river access before a court case takes up the issue without a public process.
Before legislation moves forward, river access proponents are committed to continued stakeholder engagement and encourage interested organizations and members of the public to reach out with questions and feedback.
To continue our momentum and achieve success in Colorado, we need your financial support. We have a big gap to fill to meet a $80,000 campaign goal to support our lobbying, stakeholder engagement, education, and broad grassroots efforts. If you enjoy Colorado’s rivers or if public river access is important to you, now is the time to make a contribution; whether small or significant, it all makes a difference. You can donate directly to this campaign using this form. We appreciate any support you are able to give! Thank you!
Kestrel Kunz
Southern Rockies Protection Director
kestrel@americanwhitewater.org
Hattie Johnson
Southern Rockies Restoration Director
hattie@americanwhitewater.org