State lawmakers continue to wrangle with the issue of recreational use of the state’s rivers and streams vs. the rights of property owners.

Historically, Georgia law said that the public’s right to use navigable rivers and streams could not be denied. In the 1800’s a navigable stream was any stream that was capable of supporting a boat with freight.

Not much freight is shipped on rivers in Georgia anymore, but that doesn’t mean the state’s rivers and streams aren’t involved in commerce. Today, recreational use of the state’s waterways brings in millions of dollars each year.

Only twice in the modern era have the courts or the state legislature deemed a stream “non-navigable”. One of those streams was Armuchee Creek here in Northwest Georgia.

In attempt to help fix the issue, earlier this year, lawmakers named sections of over sixty streams in the state as “presumed navigable”. However, neither landowner’s organizations nor recreation advocates liked what the lawmakers did. That has led to the creation of a study committee that will be meeting later this year on navigable streams.

Chattooga County landowners with property along the Chattooga River along with fishing and kayaking enthusiasts are following the issue closely.