Georgia River Network launches livestreams to showcase recreational, natural value of waterways

Summertime is ripe for enjoying Georgia’s rivers. Whether it’s the Chattahoochee, Altamaha, Ocmulgee, or any of the more than 70,000 river miles flowing through the state’s vast network of waterways, residents and visitors alike love fishing, floating, and paddling on them. So much so that according to a 2021 U.S. Bureau of Economics report, recreation on the state’s rivers accounts for at least $763 million of revenue each year.

Through a series of Facebook livestreams , Athens-based Georgia River Network explores the benefits of paddling and fishing on some of the Peach State’s beloved streams. Each installment is archived at the organization’s YouTube channel for streaming anytime.

“Freedom to Float” began the first Monday in July and continues each Monday until the end of August. So far, GRN has highlighted the whitewater section of the Chattahoochee River in Columbus as well as the Cartecay in the North Georgia mountains.

On Monday, July 29, the series features Ebenezer Creek with Brian Cohen of Backwater Expeditions along with representatives from Visit Savannah . The episode emphasizes recreation and tourism on the iconic 13-mile creek flowing into the Savannah River and home to the area’s oldest cypress trees.

All of this has risen to the fore because of two legislative pieces the Georgia General Assembly ended with in March. The first bill, H.B. 1172 , restricts boating, fishing, and hunting to navigable waterways only, while the second bill, H.R. 1554 , sets up a House study committee to determine which streams and rivers are navigable.

If a waterway is deemed non-navigable, then private property owners along a stream can assert their rights and effectively shut it down to the public.

Although a paddler's paradise, Ebenezer Creek is not listed as navigable by state

And that’s what has Brian Cohen of Backwater Expeditions concerned. An entrepreneur and outdoorsman, Cohen has been an outfitter on Ebenezer Creek since 1996, and under the new legislation, his livelihood is potentially at risk.

“As of right now, Ebenezer Creek currently isn’t listed as navigable, and that means if a property owner has land on both sides of the creek, they could block people from being on the water. I run kayak tours and lead people from all over the country and world to paddle Ebenezer Creek for its beauty and large cypress and tupelo trees. This bill could limit or shutdown my business.”

In Georgia, anyone is free to fish or float on a river deemed navigable, a state-level legal determination dating back to 1863 when barge traffic and commodity shipping—commercial navigation—dictated waterway usage. But in the 160 years since that designation, a lot has changed in river usage. Currently, none of Georgia’s inland rivers support commercial navigation while only 18-and-a-half miles on the Savannah River from the Port to the Atlantic Ocean host viable commercial navigation.

Georgia’s streams and rivers are now revered more for the solitude and recreation opportunities they offer. Joe Cook, Paddle Georgia coordinator with Georgia River Network, points out that commercial activity today has much more to do with leisure than shipping.

“We have hundreds of thousands of people boating and fishing each year, and that translates into real economic impacts on communities along rivers,” said Cook. “Ebenezer Creek supports multiple outfitters, and though they aren’t transporting commodities, each of these small businesses depend on consistent, continued river access.”

Cook explains that under Georgia law, riparian landowners living along non-navigable rivers have property rights to the middle of the streambed, allowing them to determine who can access the waterway. Officially designating waterways non-navigable—paired with Georgia’s private property laws—would potentially grant landowners unprecedented power over small businesses and longtime entrepreneurs.

He is also quick to point out that with GRN, the organization hosts events and annual fundraisers in which hundreds of people paddle on what would be considered non-navigable streams, yet since the organization's founding in 1998, they’ve never had a problem. The goodwill of property owners has so far been in their favor.

As educational efforts to ensure as many rivers and streams as possible are designated navigable, GRN’s livestream series features waterways that have a history of being well-loved for their natural beauty and outdoor recreation opportunities but that are not currently listed as navigable.

“If any stream can float a boat of any size, then the public should have a right to float on the water and use that stream,” said cook. “I don’t have the right to get out of my boat and touch the streambed or venture to property on either side. Floating in a boat is not touching a streambed, and by allowing the public to float that wouldn’t deny the property rights of the owner. The freedom to float means no rights are being taken away.”

What: “Freedom to Float Livestream Series” with Georgia River Network

When: 6 p.m., Mondays, July 29–August 26

Where: Georgia River Network Facebook Page facebook.com/georgiarivernetwork

Archived on YouTube: youtube.com/@GARiverNetwork

Learn more about ways to get involved: garivers.org/protect-our-freedom-to-float-georgia-rivers/

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia River Network launches livestreams to showcase recreational, natural value of waterways