Whitewater rafting plays a major part in our state’s recreational allure and – at an estimated $150 million per year – economy. Guides who choose the intrepid line of work for the love of the summertime lifestyle often are the same venturesome free spirits who each winter work seasonally as patrollers, snowboard coaches and ski school instructors.

This ski bum-bohemian existence is the antithesis of 9-to-5 monotony. To many a raft guide, the whole point is to float for days on end.

As such, rafting companies and individual guides have long entered into agreements where guides are paid a flat rate for each day out on the river. Guides also earn income via sizable tips from the guests they guide safely in inflatables through dangerous waters.

This working dynamic enables companies to operate trips at relatively reasonable rates, all while guides get their chance, at a mutually-agreed-upon rate, to experience as much of the river life as they want. And, more recently, many Colorado companies are increasing wages, some above $15 per hour.

But a federal policy reversal by President Joe Biden’s administration is putting the cost and availability of trips – namely overnight rafting jaunts – in jeopardy. The Colorado River Outfitters Association, which represents 50 of the state’s rafting companies, and Arkansas Valley Adventures are suing the federal government over a Department of Labor November ruling. The ruling reverses a 2018 policy pivot under President Donald Trump that exempted “seasonal recreational services” – including rafting, hunting, fishing, skiing and climbing guides – from minimum-wage and overtime mandates. Those mandates originally were implemented by then-President Barack Obama in 2014 for what the government defined as “federal contractors.” Before Trump’s turn, the definition applied to these guides even though said employees worked for private companies permitted to work on public lands, as rafting businesses do.

Trump’s exemption four years ago was based on much the same practical, small-business economic realities the plaintiffs, including Arkansas Valley Adventures owner Duke Bradford, argued in U.S. District Court in Denver on Jan. 6. Pointing to the $22.50-per-hour overtime mandate, Bradford said if his company isn’t again exempted, seasonal employees will have their weekly hours capped at 40 in favor of more employees while the company coils into a four-day workweek without overnight trips. David Costlow, executive director of the Colorado River Outfitters Association, warned the mandates would lead to various increased expenses for dozens of companies across the state while also running the risk of losing guides to companies that don’t operate on federal lands. Costlow also said in December the mandates could raise the cost of trips as much as 250%.

In 2018, the Trump administration pointed to multi-day river tours and the numerous hours of overtime that could result. Trump reasoned the mandates “threaten to raise significantly the cost of guided hikes and tours on federal lands, preventing many visitors from enjoying the great beauty of America’s outdoors.”

?”If the price rises,” Costlow told the court on Jan. 6, “our worry is we will become an outfitting operation for the elite.”

Coloradans should hope U.S. District Court Chief Judge Philip A. Brimmer blocks enforcement of Biden’s executive order. Considering they have simply played by the rules and obtained permits, these private guiding companies are not contractors for the government. They are, however, linchpins in Colorado’s vital tourism economy.

Denver Gazette editorial board