Good to know that Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle stands for river access.
From the story:
Quote:
Colorado law is relatively unclear when it comes to the right to float down a river. In most states, the government owns the river bank between each sides high-water mark, plus the bed beneath. That pretty much allows people to travel down a waterway without fear of trespassing. The Centennial State is different. Here, someone who owns land on both sides of the river controls everything but the water flowing down it. And that means kayakers or tubers who get out of the water to travel around an obstacle may be trespassing if the land is so posted.
In Boulder County, Sheriff Joe Pelle has decided that his deputies generally wont ticket people who are simply passing down a river, and incidentally trespass to get around a diversion dam or fence. Pelles approach has been ratified by Boulder County attorneys.
On March 9, 2004, a landowner along Boulder Creek called sheriffs deputies, asking them to ticket four adults and four children who were floating through his property. Deputies declined. They also refused on at least three occasions in the summer of 2004 to do anything when Scott Weiser complained about boaters on his property.
In a Nov. 8, 2004, letter to Weiser, Pelle said the two simply have a different interpretation of the law, but that he considered the debate closed.
While the documented contact with the streambed and fence might technically constitute a trespass, I believe it to have been incidental to lawfully transiting the creek, Pelle wrote. I expect that you will disagree with my decision. ... I can only suggest that, anticipating the likelihood of future conflicts between landowners and recreational users of the states waterways, you work with the state Legislature to clarify the trespass statutes, resolving the question for good.
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