Among our MCC membership is a very active whitewater kayak paddler whom many of you know as Dick Pierce. Fewer of you know him as Professor Richard J. Pierce, Jr., Lyle T. Alverson Research Professor of Law at George Washington University.

In the finest tradition of combining business with pleasure, Dick researched and authored a scholarly piece titled "What is Navigable Water? Canoes Count but Kayaks Do Not", which was published in the Syracuse Law Review, 53, #3, pp.1067-1092, 2003.

There's a lot of information in it about how judges would look at navigability issues, so anyone interested or involved in navigability and river access needs to read this, and use it as a ready reference to the precedents.

With the permission of both Dick Pierce and the editor of the Syracuse Law Review this article is available for viewing, in pdf format, by clicking this link: What is Navigable Water Article.pdf.