Keep It Wild, Don’t “Play it Safe”

As Mr. Bimble knows after last weekend, our tiny, densely populated little state still has a lot of opportunities to get fatigued and lost “in the wilderness”. This despite the fact that we do not have as much as a square mile of national park or national forest. The reason we DO have so much “room to run” is because of all of the state, municipal, and private landowners who generously allow us to use their undeveloped lands for recreation. A big part of the reason they can afford to do so is the fact that they have very limited liability should one of us “recreators” injure ourselves on the trail. In effect, we have all unknowingly “signed a waiver”, and that, in my opinion, is as it should be. Recently, some holes were exposed in these laws such that generous landowners who allowed the public to run the trails, or hike or bike in the woods, COULD be held liable in case of an injury. CFPA, and other groups, have recently been fighting vigorously to assure landowners prootectin from lawsuits in order to keep the lands open for our use. The House and Senate have both passed the bill, and all that is now needed is the governor’s signature. This is a victory for trail runners, for sure! I received this letter today describing where things stand:

Dear “Forrest”,

In the last hour of the legislative session, the Senate of the CT General Assembly passed H.B. 6557 ensuring that Municipalities will be better protected against frivolous lawsuits stemming from outdoor activities on 150,000+ acres of recreational lands. The House had passed this bill on May 17th, and final approval by the Governor is eagerly anticipated.
This new Law accomplishes so much:
1) Municipalities (including municipal entities like water companies, sewer districts, special districts like the MDC, etc.) have been restored as landowners under the Recreational Land Use Act (this landowner status and associated protections were lost in 1996);
2) Municipalities should gain confidence both to keep existing municipal lands open for public recreation, and to acquire/open new recreational areas. In general, Municipalities will be protected against liability on recreational lands as long as:
a. The land is provided to the public free of charge; and
b. The municipal landowner is not guilty of “willful or malicious failure to guard or warn against a dangerous condition, use, structure or activity”;
3) Due to the compromises necessary to get this legislation passed, the extra protection against liability for municipalities will not extend to “swimming pools, playing fields/courts, playgrounds, buildings with electrical service, or paved public through roads open to the public for four-wheeled private passenger motor vehicles”. Those areas will remain covered under the municipal liability laws that have been used for the last 15 years;
4) Bicycling is now specifically included as a “Recreational Purpose” covered under the Recreational Land Use Act; and
5) There are no changes to the strong existing protections available under the Recreational Land Use Act for private landowners (individuals, corporations, private utilities, land trusts, etc.).
This is an enormous step forward both for protecting and increasing recreational land use opportunities in Connecticut!
We thank the many partners (individuals, businesses, towns, and organizations) who have helped with this effort. Amongst many legislators who supported us on this fight, Representative David Baram deserves special mention for his great leadership and statesmanship throughout the session! Lastly, thanks to you for your interest in keeping access to municipal lands open.
We couldn’t have done it without you, and we hope you stay connected to our ongoing conservation and recreation efforts at CFPA. You’ve joined our email list, but you may not have joined our organization yet. Please join CFPA as a member and support our ongoing conservation work.
All the best,
Eric Hammerling
Executive Director