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Lawmakers hear calls for clearer 'navigable' definition as property owners close streams
Summary
A Georgia Rivers associate and Paddle Georgia coordinator told the committee that uncertainty about which streams are "navigable" is reducing access for anglers, outfitters and recreational boaters; he urged the legislature to clarify law after prior bills and court decisions left ambiguity.
Joe Cook, Paddle Georgia coordinator with Georgia Rivers, told the Senate Economic Development and Tourism Committee that unclear state definitions of "navigable" streams are shrinking the waterways available for boating, hunting and fishing and are harming outfitters and tourism.
"We would like to see policy adopted that protects our right to float down any stream that is capable of floating a recreational watercraft, like a canoe or kayak," Cook said, describing the right he said historically existed in Georgia.
Why it matters: Cook told the committee that the 2023 law (Senate Bill 115) affirmed rights to…
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