Georgia Committee Meeting on the Right to Paddle this Friday
A special state House study committee tasked with determining the public's rights to paddle on Georgia’s streams will hear from the public for the first time in a meeting scheduled for Sept. 20 at Unicoi State Park. The meeting could result in recommendations to dramatically curtail the public's right to paddle rivers in Georgia. Friday’s meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at the lodge at Unicoi State Park, near Helen, GA. Following a presentation by the Department of Natural Resources, there is time set aside on the agenda for members of the public to provide comments. Paddlers are encouraged to attend the hearing and speak up for your right to paddle the state's rivers.
The House Study Committee on Navigable Streams and Related Matters grew out of a legislative effort to name sections of some 64 streams and rivers in Georgia as “navigable” and thus open to the public for boating, fishing and hunting. HB 1397, introduced in the most recent legislative session, was highly controversial and criticized by both river user groups and property owners. It never made it out of committee. Instead, legislators created a study committee to investigate the issue further. The study committee will examine aspects of navigable streams in this state and the issues surrounding their ownership, private and public rights of use and other related matters and may make recommendations for proposed legislation ahead of the 2025 legislative session.
American Whitewater, Georgia Canoeing Association, American Canoe Association, Georgia River Network and the Tennessee Valley Canoe Club are urging lawmakers to preserve existing recreational river uses and protect the public’s ability to float down the state’s many rivers and streams, including those that likely were not travelled by steamboats or cotton barges in 1863. In 2020, boating and fishing were responsible for more than $1 billion in economic activity in Georgia. The state’s rivers and streams support some 70 canoe/kayak/tube outfitter businesses and countless fishing guides along with businesses ranging from convenience stores to hotels. It is hard to overstate the impact that taking away the long-held public freedom to paddle rivers could have in Georgia.