TO:Gilmer County Board of Commissioners

February3, 2016

TO:Gilmer County Board of Commissioners

FROM:Sgt. John VanLandingham

SUBJECT:Cartecay River Gilmer County

The Cartecay River

The Cartecay River is approximately 19 miles in length and completely contained within the borders of Gilmer County. It begins in the northeast corner of the county and joins with the Ellijay River to form the Coosawattee River that flows into Carter’s Lake. It is a non-navigable river.

In the upper sections of the river there is a trout fishing outfitter that leases a large stretch of the river. Below this section the river flows through a gated community that has worked to create a good trout fishery for the residents of the community. Both places will prosecute trespassers for entering these areas. When these two areas were first created there were some conflicts, but now that the community knows they will be prosecuted for trespassing in these areas, there have been very few complaints in the past couple of years.

The areas along the Cartecay River that are primarily used by the outfitters can be broken down into four sections. The first is from Holt Bridge to Hwy 52. The second is from Hwy 52 to Lower Cartecay Road. The third is from Lower Cartecay Road to Mulkey Road. The fourth is from Mulkey Road to the DNR canoe launch. These four area comprise approximately 9.5 miles of the total 19 miles of the river.

The first section, from Holt Bridge to Hwy 52, is approximately 1.25 miles long and is completely private property. In this stretch the river flows through approximately 33 different properties and there are approximately 13 residences located along the river.

The second section, from Hwy 52 to Lower Cartecay Road, is approximately 1.25 miles long and is completely private property. In this stretch the river flows through approximately 23 different properties and there are approximately 16 residences located along the river.

DNR has had no complaints from landowners on either of these two sections of the Cartecay River.

The third section, from Lower Cartecay Road to Mulkey Road, is approximately 2.25 miles long and is completely private property. This section of the river contains dangerous Class II rapids. In this stretch the river flows through approximately 145 different properties and there are approximately 100 residence located along the river. This section of river ends at Mulkey Road where Gilmer County owns a thin piece of property, slightly wider than a two lane road. The county allows river access at this point. There are approximately 10 parking areas at this location and the county also allows the commercial outfitters to use this area as a pickup location. At busy times this area becomes heavily congested. There is no room for the commercial buses and trucks pulling trailers to turn around, so they use the private drives in the area. There is nowhere for the commercial outfitter’s clients to use the restroom while they wait to be picked up, so they go onto the adjacent private property. The Sheriff’s Office receives many calls each year about blocked driveways, public indecency, and trespassing at this site. The county commissioners have closed parking at this location during the peak months, allowing only pickup and drop-offs.

The fourth section, from Mulkey Road to the DNR canoe launch is approximately 4.75 miles long and flows through both private property and part of the Rich Mountain WMA, Cartecay Tract. This section of the river contains dangerous Class II and Class III rapids. In this stretch the river flows through approximately 100 different properties and there are approximately 80 residences located along the river. The first .5 mile of this stretch is privately owned on both sides of the river. The next one mile is privately owned on one side of the river and is WMA on the other. The river then flows through WMA on both sides for approximately .75 mile. The next one mile is again private on one side and WMA on the other before becoming WMA on both sides of the river for the remaining 1.5 miles to the DNR canoe launch. This final 1.5 miles is probably the slowest section of the river.

The Cartecay River from Lower Cartecay Road to the confluence of Clear Creek, which is located below Mulkey Road in the fourth section of the river, contains several dangerous Class II and Class III rapids. These rapids are even more dangerous in higher water conditions such as summer thunderstorms. This stretch of the river is not conducive to inexperienced canoers and kayakers without assistance from a more experienced paddler, and is especially inhospitable to tubing. There have been many injuries in these stretches of the river and most have involved tubers in the areas of the Class II rapids.

Commercial Outfitters

Ellijay River Outfitters is located in the first section along the Cartecay River north of Hwy 52. They are located on property owned by the outfitter. They use the first section of the river for short tubing trips. They use the second and third sections of the river for longer tubing and kayaking trips.

Cartecay River Experience is located at the beginning of the third section of the river. They use the third section almost exclusively for all tubing and kayaking trips. They have another place of business located on Hwy 52 along the Cartecay River closer to Ellijay. They shuttle river users to and from this location.

Other tubing companies occasionally spring up along the river during the summer months, but these are the only two that I am aware of that operate from year to year. A third company outfits on the Coosawattee River within the Coosawattee River Resort. The Coosawattee River Tubing Company operates entirely on private property. They do not allow alcohol, glass containers, or intoxicated persons on their shuttles or on the river. They instruct all floaters not to leave the river unless there is an emergency, and they have a height restriction of 48” for children. DNR has never been called to respond to any complaints from floaters using this outfitter. Due to the slow current of the river in this area, DNR has never been called to respond to an emergency involving floaters using this outfitter except for a few instances of floaters missing the outfitter’s exit area.

Conflicts and Issues

DNR Law Enforcement and Gilmer County Sheriff’s Office have been responding to numerous complaints on tubers and kayakers on the Cartecay River for the past five years. These complaints have varied from trespassing, littering, public indecency, obscene language, intoxicated persons, drug use, burglary/theft, terroristic threats and assault. The one common factor is that almost 100% of the calls/complaints have come from within the third section of the river or the county river access location on Mulkey Road at the end of the third section.

On some days during the summer there are estimated to be between 500 and 1,000 people using the river in the third section , to tube, raft, kayak, or canoe. This is by far the most populated area along the river and on the highly congested days leads to many conflicts among the land owners and the visitors. Not only do the commercial outfitters use this area for tubers and kayakers, but many locals use their own personal equipment to both tube and kayak the river in this stretch.

Cartecay River Experience, that uses the third section almost exclusively, advises people that they can exit the river and walk back up to the top of the rapids in order to float the rapids multiple times. Their website encourages floaters to bring a picnic with them on the river. Since they are exclusively using a section of the river that is private property and that section of the river contains a residence approximately every 120 feet, they are encouraging the boaters to trespass on private property, and it leads to many conflicts.

The tubes are slow moving vessels and this means that they spend more time traversing through a piece of property than a kayak or canoe. Often times the tubes will get stuck against the bank or in shallow water and sit there for extended periods of time. Tubers that are slowly floating through or stopping for extended periods of time are the main cause of complaints for littering, obscene language, public intoxication, public indecency, and terroristic threats. Conflicts between landowners and tubers far outnumber the conflicts between landowners and kayakers. Often time’s groups of tubers will have cooler tubes. These cooler tubes more often than not contain alcohol containers. We have seen many instances of these tubes turning over on the dangerous rapids and spilling large quantities of trash, often beer cans or bottles, into the river.

In 2012 I met with approximately 50 resident’s that live along the Cartecay River, most within the section from Lower Cartecay Road to Mulkey Road. They were very frustrated with the response from the Gilmer County government officials and were looking for solutions. They were considering forming a group to shut down all access on the Cartecay River. I advised them that we were willing to work the complaints on their property, but it was difficult for us to make cases against people floating the river. When the landowners have a trespassing complaint the trespassers are generally gone by the time law enforcement can arrive, and evidence of the crime is generally only the landowner’s statements if a suspect can even be located. I offered to set up details on their property to address issues, and many feared retaliation. Many of the landowner’s were only part time residents of the county. We have worked details on property in some of the areas and made many arrest including public indecency, public intoxication, littering, no PFD’s, underage alcohol and drug violations. Many people have been warned to leave private property or be arrested for criminal trespass by both DNR and Sheriff’s deputies. One of the largest landowners in the section of the river between Lower Cartecay Road and Mulkey Road, sold his property and house and moved out of the county because of the number of issues he had with the floaters. He was physically assaulted on his property when he told two men that were tubing, that they were trespassing. He has put his other Gilmer County properties up for sale because of his dissatisfaction with the Gilmer County government officials.

In 2013, the Gilmer County Commissioner’s established a committee to look into the complaints along the Cartecay River, primarily in the section from Lower Cartecay Road to Mulkey Road. The committee made three recommendations to the Commissioner’s. Close parking at the county river access from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day on Mulkey Road where the commercial outfitters were taking their clients off the river. Ban commercial inflatable tubes, rafts, canoes, or kayaks on the Cartecay River from Lower Cartecay Road to Mulkey Road. Ban the possession and or consumption of alcohol on all rivers in Gilmer County, to also address the outfitters that were operating on the Coosawattee River or any future operators on the Ellijay River. The commissioner’s only action was to ban parking from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. The conflicts between the landowners and the visitors to the Cartecay River continue to be a major issue and a burden on DNR and Sheriff’s Office resources during the peak summer months.

I see five major issues/conflicts that occur on the Cartecay River. They are almost 100% exclusive to the third section of the river from Lower Cartecay Road to Mulkey Road.

1. The greatest concentration of both commercial and noncommercial tubing, kayaking, and canoeing is occurring between Lower Cartecay Road and Mulkey Road, the most heavily residential area along the river.
2. Slow moving inflatable tubes are stopping for extended periods of time on private property, and there are no areas for river users to stop along the river to play, picnic, or use the restroom where they are not in someone’s backyard.
3. River users are becoming intoxicated and littering alcohol containers along the river, getting out on private property to urinate and defecate, using obscene and vulgar language in landowner’s backyards while the landowners are trying to enjoy their property with their families, and making threats to landowners who confront them.
4. There is not enough room at the county takeout on Mulkey Road for the commercial outfitters to turn around their vehicles if non-commercial river users are allowed to use the approximate 10 parking spaces.
5. There are large number of commercial outfitter clients hanging out at the county river access while waiting to be picked up and while waiting they wander onto the public roadway or onto the adjacent private property. There are no facilities for the clients while they wait here.

Attachments

Attached are the Georgia River Water Rights Laws O.C.G.A 44-8-1 through 44-8-3 dealing with non-navigable streams, and two Georgia Supreme Court Cases, Givens v. Ichauway and Georgia Canoeing Association V Henry. Both cases finding in favor of the landowner for denying access to persons floating non-navigable rivers. I have supplied landowners along the river with this information, and there has been talk of some of the landowners banning together to shut down all access through their property if something isn’t done to address their concerns.