It’s perplexing that preserving legal public stream access remains one of the most untouchable topics in the Colorado legislature. Our state’s constitution boldly proclaims that every natural stream belongs to the public, yet bizarre court rulings have twisted that promise into a convoluted legal maze.
This isn’t an obscure academic debate, it directly impacts everyday Coloradans who risk arrest just for floating or wading on our waters. It’s high time we confronted the absurdity of it all before the situation becomes even more volatile.
Before this session even started, a promising moment emerged. Several legislators joined a float trip organized by the pro access community, openly discussing details and signaled a willingness to work on a right-to-float bill. That work continued with thoughtful conversations, stakeholder meetings and a statewide education campaign. Thousands of Coloradans signed petitions and wrote to their legislators. The moment seemed at hand to transform Colorado’s constitutional promise into concrete law. Yet, the legislature failed to introduce a right-to-float bill during the 2026 legislative session.
Opponents of public stream access are formidable, using messaging to stoke fear and a powerful lobbying machine to keep our waters locked in legal ambiguity. These groups exploit every uncertainty to stoke panic among lawmakers and the public. Their messaging is designed to distract from the real goal: to privatize public resources and ensure that the ultra-wealthy can control access to our rivers. While our supporters have built a transparent, methodical campaign through stakeholder meetings, film screenings of the new film, “Common Waters,” and open legislative drafts, these adversaries wage a relentless campaign of speculative warnings to muddy the water.
States like Montana, New Mexico and Idaho have embraced and defended robust public access without triggering the doom-and-gloom scenarios painted by our adversaries. The so-called “multibillion-dollar taking” argument conveniently ignores legal precedents. For navigable streams, the state already holds title under the Equal-Footing Doctrine. And on non-navigable reaches, courts nationwide have ruled that a regulated public easement for floating and incidental wading is not a compensable taking.
When outfitters on rivers like the Taylor lose business because of privatization, it’s not an economic hiccup, it’s a red flag. With affordable housing vanishing from our mountain towns and conflicts like Roger Hill’s assault on the Arkansas River making headlines, we’re forced to ask: if Coloradans are being priced out of homes, will they soon be priced out of the wild spaces that sustain us? Clarifying stream access isn’t merely a bureaucratic exercise; it’s a moral imperative to protect our common culture, local economies and the innate human right to enjoy nature.
At its core, this debate forces us to confront a simple yet powerful question: Who is the West for? When powerful, out-of-state actors exploit loopholes to fence off riverfront properties, they risk turning our shared natural heritage into exclusive playgrounds. This isn’t just about boating or rafting, it’s about ensuring that every Coloradan, regardless of income, can access the landscapes that define us.
Maybe this isn’t perplexing at all. The legislature’s failure to introduce a right-to-float bill wasn’t because of a lack of ideas or support. Instead, lawmakers were overwhelmed by a small army of lobbyists hired by powerful dark money groups, who harassed legislators day and night to buy time and stall progress. They might have delayed our advance, but they have not defeated us. The fight for public stream access is far from over.
Our rivers are more than economic engines, they are a living part of our collective heritage and shared future. As proponents of that, we’re not going away and refuse to let privatization steal the soul of the West.
Cody M. Perry, of Mancos, is co-founder of Rig To Flip, a media company specializing in stories about the Colorado River Basin. He currently serving as chair of the Colorado Stream Access Coalition.