A message from Tim Kelley, AW Board of Directors and Safety Committee Chair. Tim was a close friend of Paul Zirkelbach's.

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American Whitewater has been asked by friends of Paul Zirkelbach to establish a memorial fund dedicated to river access issues in Colorado. The fund will be used to maintain and improve access to Colorado's rivers with an end state leaving no doubt that the public has the right to navigate and recreate on the natural streams and rivers of Colorado.

I can think of no greater memorial than to link Paul's name and legacy with fixing river access in Colorado.

The S. Platte was PZ's backyard and is one of Colorado's biggest access problems. Cheesman Gorge, one of Paul's 1st descents, has been the most contentious access issue in CO for the past 6 years. Paddlers have been harassed, assaulted, ticketed for criminal trespassing, and summonsed to court for trying to paddle through Sportsmen's Paradise (SP) on their way to the gorge. AW was finally able to secure an agreement w/ SP this past spring, but it is very fragile.

AW & CWWA reached a settlement with a landowner below Deckers on the S. Platte, which ensured paddlers would not be harassed or threatened when floating past this man's property. Just after the spring runoff started, the landowner just down river threatened paddlers with his dog and swinging an axe handle at them. AW & CWWA are working w/ the county sheriff and DA to solve the situation.

Egress off Upper South Boulder Creek across Gross Reservoir is about to be resolved as a result of AW efforts in the FERC re-licensing of Gross Reservoir. This agreement includes a new parking lot being built and access trail for Lower South Boulder as well.

The Lake Fork of the Gunnison Lawsuit, which involves a landowner suing a rafting company for civil trespassing, promised to be a precedent setting case that AW joined as a codefendant. This appeared to be our best chance at a long-term solution to CO access problems. It has proven to be a dead end as the rafting company, Cannibal Outdoors, sold its equipment and the judge has ruled AW can't continue the case as the primary defendant. This case will remain open for two years and could still proceed if Cannibal resumes operations on the Lake Fork.

Beyond these examples, there are several other hot access spots in CO including several that are just about to boil over into the public's awareness. AW will continue the short-term battles and look for opportunities to solve the situation for good. Be it through the courts given a case with favorable facts or a legislative initiative, which is being considered for the near future.

Memorial fund objectives:

Short-term:

• Ensure boaters are not harassed.
• Ensure boaters can float on the Lake Fork Gunnison, South Platte, Blue, and Gross Reservoir without threat of assault, criminal or civil trespassing charges.

Long-term:

• Ensure the public's right to navigate, float, and recreate on Colorado's rivers and streams.
• Clarify the public right in an unassailable legal context.

Whatever the course, AW will see this through with your support. AW estimates it needs a standing fund of $10,000 dollars to continue to fight the short-term battles and prepare the battlefield for long-term solutions favorable to paddlers.

Paul was a legendary paddler known for "hanging it out" and rising to the most difficult paddling challenges he could find. I cannot think of a more deserving cause than to let his legacy help secure access to Colorado's rivers. Thank you for your support in Paul's memory.

Tim Kelley
AW Board of Directors

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The picture at the top of this page is of Paul Z. on the 1st Descent of Cheesman Gorge in 1989 (Photo by Gary Jenrette). Many more pictures of Paul are available online at www.kayakingcolorado.com:16080/paul

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