[Bleugrass]

It’s still private property. Trespassing is illegal, regardless of how much you feel you are helping others.

There's no "trespassing" involved. The fence had been placed there illegally over a public right of way. It's not at all clear to me if cutting and removing the fence could be considered to be destruction of private property under Colorado law, but it most certainly could not be considered trespassing.

Here is the best discussion of the issue I could find.

 

[jamesthomas]

Thanks for posting that Bleugrass.

 

[ArgoCat]

I got just one thing to say: Thank you.

 

[jgrebe]

“Freedom to wade”: 80-year-old Colorado fisherman notches win for public access to rivers

Colorado’s Court of Appeals has cleared the way for 80-year-old fisherman Roger Hill to make his case for a public right to fish on his favorite stretch of the Arkansas River as it flows down from …

www.denverpost.com

 

[jamesthomas]

This is the lawsuit I referenced above. Hopefully something useful will come out if it.

 

[billlanghofer]

How low can you do this section in a 14 foot raft? How long is the float?

 

[jamesthomas]

Float is 18 river miles. Takes all day. Lowest raftable level depends on your skill level. Me and my 16 foot cat like at least 1k.

 

[swcosa]

My buddy ran it yesterday and cleared two river wide fences. Should be good to go.

I had a friend who lived in Arboles years ago and he would call the ranchers and simply let them know he was going to raft this section and he would probably need to cut any fences that cross the river. He said some of them would say "ok" and some wouldn't really say much and grumble. We did this stretch a few times and had to cut fences and never had an issue. We would cut one side then the remaining tail would drift downstream out of the way, of course rafters need to keep away from that tail end. My friend said one of the ranchers told him the cows don't typically try to cross the river during high water so a fence isn't needed and at lower water rafters don't typically raft it, that's when they put the fence back up.
While I truly appreciate the information about the fences being cleared it is a bit of a bummer to read about this section on a public forum because it will lead to more people using it (which can lead to more safety and rancher-boater issues). I know it is inevitable but it just speeds up the spread of knowledge about some of these last hold-outs that aren't very popular. I also get the safety aspect and sharing of info. Not looking for a "Mountain Buzz Brawl" just saying.

 

[jamesthomas]

Still way under utilized IMHO. Never any other vehicles in the take out lot. I hear what you are sayin though. It’s getting harder and harder to get on the river anywhere these days without some kind of drama.