Boating enthusiasts and representatives of the recreational boating industry are asking Georgia lawmakers to separate the right to float along the state's rivers and streams from hunting and fishing.
That was a major theme of the final meeting Nov. 13 of a legislative study committee that has been grappling with how to guarantee Georgians access to the state’s navigable rivers and streams without violating private property rights.
"The right of passage is independent of laws relating to navigability," Joe Cook, paddle coordinator for Georgia Rivers, a member of the Freedom to Float Coalition, told members of the study committee. "Common law guarantees the right to float."
The right to float down Georgia waterways has been caught up in a debate over fishing rights that began early last year when a property owner on the Yellow Jacket Shoals portion of the Flint River banned fishing there and sued the state to enforce it.
The General Assembly responded with legislation codifying public fishing rights into state law. But that didn't clear up confusion over which rivers and streams across the state are navigable and, thus, open to fishing and paddling, and which are off limits.
The House Study Committee on Navigable Streams has held several hearings this summer and fall to try to come to grips with that issue.
Front and center in the debate has been legislation House Majority Whip James Burchett, R-Waycross, introduced this year naming 64 rivers and creeks “presumed to be navigable.”
Burchett's "list" bill has run into strong opposition. Representatives of the Freedom to Float Coalition argue the bill, if adopted, would ensure the public's right to boat, fish, and hunt on just 5% of the state's 70,000 miles of waterways.
"List bills do not work when it comes to capturing the breadth of recreational boating in Georgia," said Suzanne Welander, author of "Canoeing and Kayaking in Georgia." "List bills barely scratch the surface of where people are boating today without conflict."
Burchett has suggested that boaters wishing to float down streams that are not on the list of navigable waterways seek permission from landowners along the banks of those streams.
But Janina Edwards, a kayaking instructor in DeKalb County, dismissed seeking out every property owner along a stream as unrealistic and even potentially dangerous.
"This idea could get me killed for trespassing or having to get permission from dozens of property owners," she said. "If a person has a vessel and it will float on a Georgia waterway, we have a right to recreate on it."
Opponents of limiting access to the state's rivers and streams also are putting forth an economic argument. Boating and fishing generated $1.1 billion in economic activity in 2022, and 70 small businesses offering canoe, kayak, tube, raft and paddleboard rentals as well as hundreds of independent fishing guides depend on access to Georgia waterways.
"Let's not curtail an entire river recreation sector," Andrea White, community programs coordinator for Georgia Rivers, told the study committee. "It's a major draw for our state."
The study committee has until Dec. 1 to make recommendations for the full House to consider during the 2025 General Assembly session starting in January. While Burchett's bill died with the end of the 2023-24 legislative term, it could resurface next year.
"It won't be an easy debate," Rep. Lynn Smith, R-Newnan, the study committee's chairperson, said at the end of the Nov. 13 hearing. "But it's one worth having."