Access agreement reached on South Platte River!

In Colorado’s South Platte River basin, above Cheesman Reservoir, Wildcat canyon offers paddlers pristine, boulder strewn, class V whitewater.  Along the 7.5 mile stretch of steep and remote river corridor, exciting drops offer 15’ slides, 12’ vertical drops, undercuts, log-jams and sieves.  The remoteness, technical difficulty, mandatory portages and mental fortitude needed to safely run this stretch of whitewater, makes Wildcat Canyon, one of the most adventurous trips for paddlers in Colorado.

The run, which has rarely been enjoyed in the last few years, stretches through U.S. Forest Service lands between Eleven-mile Reservoir and Cheesman Reservoir, both owned by the Denver Water Board. Access to the canyon necessitates paddling through a stretch of private property collectively known as  Sportsman’s Paradise, a fishing club straddling the South Platte River. To run Wildcat Canyon,  paddlers typically start their runs upstream of Sportsman’s Paradise at the Happy Meadows USFS campground, and float through club property to access USFS lands downstream of Sportsman’s Paradise. Historically, the act of floating through club property to access Wildcat Canyon has resulted in harassment by landowners, physical assault on paddlers and criminal prosecution. In numerous reports, paddlers have described being forced  out of their boats in class II whitewater to avoid man-made obstacles intended to block downstream navigability through private lands. For nearly a decade, American Whitewater has held this private control of public access to Wildcat Canyon in the national spotlight. 

In 2002 in an effort to avoid testing the issue of navigability, American Whitewater and Sportsman’s Paradise reached a good faith agreement that took the conflict over access on the upper South Platte out of the national spotlight.  The agreement was reached by Tim Kelley and American Whitewater by offering certain guidelines for paddlers when floating sections of creeks and rivers that are frequently fished, or that pass through private property.  Sportsmen’s Paradise agreed to remove the metal rack hanging from their bridge which created a river wide strainer endangering public safety and forcing trespass. This man-made obstruction to downstream navigation was intended to block paddlers from impacting fishing waters along the club’s 2 miles of river corridor, and created opportunities to file charges against paddlers by forcing them out of their boats and onto private lands. While Sportsman’s Paradise approved of the guidelines, club members prefer that paddlers not float through their property. The agreement has rarely been tested since 2002.

In late 2007, Sportsman’s Paradise and American Whitewater came together in an effort to refine the 2002 good faith agreement and bring a formal end to the decade long conflict.  Working collaboratively to identify areas of conflict and potential solutions, American Whitewater and representatives of Sportsman’s Paradise have reached an agreement that outlines roles and responsibilities for club members and paddlers to follow, granting safe access to USFS managed lands adjacent to Sportsman’s Paradise.

2008 Access Agreements
In an effort to improve and enhance access to a section of the South Platte River known Wild Cat Canyon, both parties (Sportsman’s Paradise and American Whitewater) have agreed to the following arrangements.

1. Sportsman’s Paradise will allow access through it property on the private road via car or van to the entrance of Wild Cat Canyon with an escort by an approved member or its caretaker.
2. Arrangement for the access must be made 24 hours in advance and no later than 6 p.m.
             (719.748.3212 or sportspd@Wildblue.net)
3. The pick up vehicle will be escorted off Sportsman’s property after unloading all gear and boaters.
4. Boaters will try to arrange to arrive in groups in order to minimize inconvenience to Sportsman’s caretaker.
5. All guests and boaters agree to hold harmless from all liability Sportsman’s Paradise
6. The following recommendations are for safety and convenience of both parties--
          A. All boaters arrive between 8 am and 10 am
          B. River flow rate should be at least 275 cfs
7. This agreement is for one year from date of signing--both parties will have input for improvements on the             anniversary date. Agreement my be terminated by either party with 30 day written notice.
8. American Whitewater will make good faith effort to notify its members of the agreement by website, email and posting information in kayak shops.

The agreement outlined here, seeks to protect the interests of fishermen, paddlers, and landowners locally, while not surrendering a person’s right to float or boat on Colorado streams across private lands without the owner’s permission. The agreement establishes an alternative to floating across Sportsman’s Paradise by securing permission for paddlers to cross Sportsman’s Paradise property via vehicle, and accessing public lands to the north of club property.

AW would like to recognize Nathan Fey, Landis Arnold, Jonathan Kahn, Tim Kelley, Joe Keck, and Jay Kenney for their various efforts to represent paddlers in the negotiations and for evaluating a workable access alternative to Wildcat Canyon.