A Special House study committee will host a public meeting on Sept. 20 to get input as they work to determine which streams are navigable in the state.
The House Study Committee on Navigable Streams and Related Matters will hear from the public at Unicoi State Park near Helen at 9 a.m. The committee is part of a legislative effort to name sections of roughly 64 rivers and streams in Georgia as open to the public for boating, fishing, and hunting.
The committee is a response to HB 1397, which was introduced in the most recent legislative session but did not pass. The study committee will examine parts of the aspects of navigable streams in Georgia and potential issues surrounding their ownership, private and public right of use. The committee may then make recommendations for proposed legislation ahead of the 2025 legislative session.
Current state law guarantees the public the right to access all of the state’s navigable streams.
The public meeting will be at the Lodge at Unicoi State Park. Public comments will follow after a presentation by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The meeting will also be streamed here.
