Colorado Attorney General: Proposal Would Have “Staggering Implications” for Colorado.
The push to force “public access” to rivers that cross private land isn’t just another policy debate—it’s a direct threat to 150 years of Colorado law, property rights, and water management. Even the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, which filed a brief with the Colorado State Supreme Court, has warned that such a proposal could unleash chaos.“If the case is allowed to proceed, it would force courts to determine navigability for every river and stream in Colorado and have staggering implications for settled agreements governing the use of our state’s rivers,” the Attorney General’s Office cautioned.
That’s not hyperbole. Colorado’s entire water and property system rests on the rejection of the so-called “public trust doctrine” at statehood. For generations, ranchers, farmers, municipalities, and homeowners have paid taxes, invested in infrastructure, and relied on deeds that extend property rights to the middle of the river.
The proposal now being pushed would sweep all of that aside in a single blow.
A System Built on Certainty
When Colorado entered the Union in 1876, it made an explicit choice: Upon statehood Colorado declared that no navigable rivers existed within its boundaries, and explicitly rejected the "public trust doctrine". Instead, the state created a system where riverbeds could be owned, taxed, and transferred like any other property. That decision provided certainty for water allocation and land ownership in one of the driest states in the nation.The Attorney General’s Office emphasized that history in its brief:“Colorado’s system of private riverbed ownership is deliberate, longstanding, and integral to our legal and economic framework.”If courts now rewrote that history, the disruption wouldn’t stop with fishermen trying to wade across private land. It would touch every community in Colorado—undoing generations of legal agreements, water rights adjudications, and property transfers.
One of the Largest Takings in U.S. History
What’s really at stake here is nothing less than one of the largest government takings of private property in American history. Converting thousands of miles of riverbeds into public property overnight would strip Coloradans of rights they’ve held, purchased, and paid taxes on for over a century.As the AG’s Office warned:“Never in the Nation’s history has a single ruling attempted to convert thousands of miles of privately held riverbeds into public property overnight.”The cost to taxpayers would be astronomical, with damages potentially reaching into the billions. And all of this to satisfy a narrow group of outside activists who want to erase Colorado’s unique history and impose a system the state never adopted.
Why the Proposal would be Devastating for Colorado.
It destabilizes Colorado’s economy. Water law is the backbone of Colorado’s agricultural, energy, and municipal systems. Throwing it into disarray would ripple through every sector.It tramples property rights. Landowners who bought, sold, and paid taxes on property for generations would see those rights vanish without compensation.It risks endless litigation. Every river and stream could become a battleground, clogging courts for decades.It undermines local communities. Rural counties that depend on property taxes to fund schools, roads, and services would lose a critical base of revenue.
Colorado’s Message is Clear
The Attorney General’s Office filing in the Supreme Court leaves no doubt about what’s at stake:“This Court should respect [Colorado’s] choice, honor nearly 150 years of settled expectations, and decline to impose a public trust doctrine where none exists.”Colorado set its course at statehood. Undoing that choice now would devastate landowners, taxpayers, and communities across the state. This isn’t about fishing access—it’s about protecting the very foundation of Colorado’s water and property rights.