Newspaper Page Text
Page 6B, The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, December 27,2023
Georgians Stand to Lose Freedom to Boat on Georgia’s
Streams in Wake of Committee’s Recommendations
Special to the Ledger
Recent recommenda
tions made by a Geor
gia House of Represen
tatives study committee
have raised concerns
among the state’s river
enthusiasts who say
that, if acted upon by
the full legislature, the
recommendations could
greatly curtail Geor
gians’ long standing
freedom to recreate on
Georgia’s rivers and
streams.
Tasked with clarifying
where Georgians can le
gally fish on the state’s
freshwater streams, the
House Study Commit
tee on Fishing Access to
Freshwater Resources
issued recommenda
tions in November
calling on the state to
determine and delineate
the “navigability” of
each of Georgia’s rivers
and streams based
on a restrictive defini
tion of navigability that
dates to 1863 and is
geared towards support
ing barge traffic, not
paddling. This process
could conflate naviga
bility, which determines
the ownership of the
river bottom, with the
common law “right of
passage” which entitles
the public to travel any
waterways that will
float a boat.
Many of Georgia
streams that boaters
regularly float and
fish could be deemed
“non-navigable” un
der the committee’s
recommended defi
nition, ranging from
popular whitewater
runs in North Georgia
to peaceful blackwa-
ter streams in South
Georgia. Even popular
paddling destinations
on portions of the Chat
tahoochee, Chestatee
and Etowah rivers could
be at risk, along with
nearly all mountain
rivers and small and
medium-sized streams
throughout the state.
“Right of passage
has been enshrined in
Georgia law since the
1800s,” said Dan Mac
Intyre, an attorney
and Georgia Canoeing
Association river pro
tection committee chair.
“The public has a right
of passage on Georgia’s
streams that is separate
from other public recre
ation rights like fishing
- which more directly
hinge on navigability
findings - but that dis
tinction has not always
been recognized by
courts and is absent in
the committee’s report.”
“Since Georgia’s
inception when our
streams were the state’s
highways, we have en
joyed a long-established
right to pass down these
waterways in boats of
all sizes. In trying to
clarify fishing access,
the study committee is
using an outdated law
to define navigability
based on land owner
ship and freight that
ignores the way we use
Georgia’s waterways
today for recreation,”
said Andrea White,
Southeastern Chair for
the American Canoe
Association. “There is
both Georgia legal prec
edent and more modern
“pleasure craft” tests in
neighboring states that
take recreation into con
sideration that would
be a more appropriate
legal test than naviga
bility.”
River enthusiasts point
to North Carolina and
South Carolina where
state laws evolved
from a similar origin
as Georgia’s to pro
tect public boating use
today. In both states,
citizens have the right
to travel by pleasure
craft, including canoes
and kayaks, on any wa
ters that will float such
vessels.
“This system has
worked extremely well
to support both a robust
river recreation econ
omy and culture, as
well as private property
rights, with a relative
ly clear delineation
between the two,” said
Kevin Colburn, Nation
al Stewardship Director
with American White-
water.
The right of passage
on Georgia’s streams
was established by the
Georgia Supreme Court
in 1849 when it deter
mined that the public
could travel down any
water that supported
“passage” regardless
of any navigability test
involving freight.
But, since the codifi
cation of the definition
of “navigability” in
1863, rights of passage
have been conflated
with navigability. In
1997, the Georgia
Supreme Court ruled
that Ichawaynochaway
Creek in Baker County
was closed to the public
based on the state’s
1863 navigability defini
tion. Likewise, in a sim
ilar case also in 1997,
the Georgia Supreme
Court ruled that canoe
ists did not have the
right to pass down Ar-
muchee Creek in Chat
tooga and Floyd coun
ties because the court
deemed it “not a naviga
ble stream.”
The impact on the
Georgia outdoor recre
ation economy, qual
ity of life, and public
health impacts of the
committee’s recommen
dations and resulting
recreational losses
could be staggering.
Georgia River Network
estimates that there are
some one million pad-
dlers in Georgia. Those
paddlers support more
than 70 small business
es that provide canoe,
kayak, paddleboard,
raft and tube rentals and
guide services on the
state’s rivers. The U.S.
Bureau of Economic
Analysis estimates that
boating and fishing on
the state’s waterways
contributed $762.7
million of added value
to Georgia’s economy
in 2021.
“The General Assem
bly should act to protect
the public’s right to
fish, but they also must
protect the public’s right
to enjoy traveling the
state’s rivers by boat,”
said Rena Ann Peck,
Georgia River Network,
Executive Director. “We
have a robust culture
of boating on Georgia’s
rivers and streams and
we need to continue to
build that river rec
reation economy, not
take it away from our
citizens and ecotourism
industry.”
Georgia River Net
work, American White-
water, American Canoe
Association and Geor
gia Canoeing Associ
ation are encouraging
Georgians to communi
cate with their local leg
islators about this issue.
Individuals can contact
their legislators via an
e-mail action alert at
https://protectgeorgia.
org/#/393.
Submitted Photo
Six years old Anna Hammond with her first
buck on November 20th in Lee County.
Lee Processing & Taxidermy
"A cut above the rest"
Hunter Flitch
(229) 886-9387
Jeff Futch
(229) 886-1847
105 CA Hwy 377
Leesburg, CA 31763
(229) 759-2869
Southwest Health District Urges Vigilance Following
the Identification of a Rabid Fox Near Camp Osborn
M£W YEAR, FLAM:
1. Driving Lessons
2. Cub Insurance
Cosbs
3. Call D0C0
Driving School
Pre-Register Online
www.docodrivingschool.com
Learn to
rive
with
Hours:
Tues.-Fri., 9-5
Closed for Lunch
1-1:30
Working Remote
Until 12-30
207 Cedric Street Leesburg • 229-420-3590
#933 #7050 #DT628
Special to the Ledger
In response to the re
cent discovery of a rabid
fox near Camp Osborn
in Worth County on
December 14, 2023, the
Southwest Health Dis
trict (SWHD) is urging
the public to remain
vigilant and take proac
tive measures to mini
mize the risk of rabies
exposure.
Local authorities
responded promptly to
reports of a suspicious
fox exhibiting erratic
behavior near Camp Os
born. Subsequent testing
confirmed the presence
of the rabies virus in the
animal. The immediate
threat was neutralized,
and there is no current
indication of further
exposure in the area.
Rabies is a fatal viral
disease that affects the
central nervous system
and can be transmitted
to humans through the
saliva of infected ani
mals, usually through
bites or scratches. To
minimize the risk of
exposure, the Southwest
Health District encour
ages the public to follow
these important guide
lines:
• Do not approach,
handle, or feed wild
or stray animals.
• Vaccinate your family
pets against rabies
annually.
• Teach children not to
approach or play with
wild or stray domestic
animals of any kind.
• Do not leave pets or
children outside unat
tended or allow them
to roam free.
If you are bitten by an
animal:
• Thoroughly clean
the wound immedi
ately with soap and
water to reduce the
likelihood of rabies
transmission.
• Call your doctor, or
local health depart
ment, or visit your
local emergency room
as soon as possible
for advice. You or
your doctor can con
sult with the Georgia
Poison Center (404-
616-9000 in Atlanta,
or 800-282-5846
statewide) to decide
whether postexposure
human rabies immune
globulin (HRIG) and
vaccine are recom
mended for this bite.
Your doctor can also
tell you if you need
a tetanus booster or
antibiotics. Provide
your doctor with the
following informa
tion:
o Type of animal
involved (pet or wild
animal)
o Sick or well animal,
type of symptoms
o Provoked or unpro
voked attack
o Type of exposure
(cut, scratch, licking
of an open wound),
part of the body, num
ber of exposures
o Animal’s vaccina
tion status (does not
apply to wild ani
mals)
o Animal available/
not available for test
ing or quarantine
Under certain cir
cumstances, a domestic
animal may be placed
under quarantine and
observed for 10 days fol
lowing the bite to see if
it develops symptoms of
rabies. Cats, dogs, and
ferrets will become ill
and expire within days
of shedding the rabies
virus in their saliva (the
time of the bite).
If it is deemed neces
sary to euthanize the
animal, it is imperative
that the head/brain re
mains intact for testing.
Worth County Rabies
Testing Statistics:
To provide additional
context, Worth County
has tested 10 specimens
this year, with 7 re
turning positive results
since January 1, 2023.
This represents one of
the highest number of
specimens tested and
positive cases recorded
in a single year. Nota
bly, among the positive
cases, 5 were foxes, de
viating from the typical
primary vector, which is
raccoons; the remaining
two positive cases were
raccoons.
For more information
on this topic, please
contact the Southwest
Health District at 229-
352-4275 or the Georgia
Department of Public
Health’s website at
https://dph.georgia.gov/
epidemiology/zoonot-
icvector-borneinfesta-
tions/rabies.