River Rafting in Washington

NAVIGATION RIGHTS In the state of Colorado, the issue of whether a landowner who owns the land adjacent to a river can prevent boaters from floating a river continues to be a flash point. Apparently, in Colorado, property owners believe they hold the rights all the way out to midstream. This, in spite of a Colorado law, clearly stating that river users have the right to navigate a stream as long as they don't trespass by stepping on the bank. Even so, some landowners have erected fences across waterways or strung neck-high wires, hired lawyers and, in some extreme cases, brandished weapons threatening river users who ignore the 'boundaries'. A Colorado representative has introduced legislation that would amend the existing law to allow boaters to not only navigate waterways without fear of reprisal but step on the bank if necessary for safety reasons or utilitarian reasons. River runners everywhere should be interested in the development of this story because, it is co