The Colorado legislative session is set to end on May 13th, giving us just about a month to pass legislation that would secure safe and lawful river passage. We are still working hard to make this happen, and right now is the time to support this work by sharing your voice with your representatives. Donations are another critical way to support our advocacy, and our partner, Colorado Whitewater, has extended the timeline for meeting our goal of $10,000 in matching funds for all donations to the Colorado Stream Access Fund 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 team, we have been pushing hard on the Colorado legislature to take up our right to float in this session. It truly is a critical time for your state reps to hear from you, so 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.
As legislation moves forward, our team of river access proponents is committed to continued stakeholder engagement and encourages interested organizations and members of the public to reach out with questions and feedback.
To keep up our momentum and achieve success in Colorado, we need your financial support. We have a gap to fill to meet our $80,000 campaign goal. If you enjoy Colorado’s rivers or if public river access is important to you, now is the time to make a contribution; whether large or small, it all makes a difference! You can donate directly to our 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