Land Owner Liabilities along the river walk     Landowners may worry about their liability regarding visitors using the river walk on their specific privately owned land.  The UGA Environmental Law faculty have provided us with a nine page study and 35 pages of individual case studies indicating that, in Georgia, “landowners including developers, homeowners associations, and local governments do not owe a duty of reasonable care to users of land which the landowners have set aside for the use by the general public without charge for recreational purposes.”  Thus, the landowner faces very limited liability for injuries received by the users of the land.  “However, if the land is set aside just for subdivision residents, rather than the general public, it is unlikely that the landowner will fall within the RPA (Recreational Property Act) liability protection and instead, will owe a duty of care as defined by general premises liability principles.”  Likewise, if “a conservation easement holder is not the landowner the easement holder will be protected.”  They provided documents citing many such cases.       An example conservation easement provided to us by the Great Barrington Massachusetts Housatonic River Walk, releases landowners from liability and as well relates insurance information about their policy concerning the river walk.  There are insurance companies that offer such policies on such recreational land across the country, and at reasonable rates. So it appears that homeowners and developers or homeowner associations may be more vulnerable if their river frontage is not open to the public, than if it is. Landowners may worry about their liability regarding visitors using the river walk on their specific privately owned land.  The UGA Environmental Law faculty have provided us with a nine page study and 35 pages of individual case studies indicating that, in Georgia, “landowners including developers, homeowners associations, and local governments do not owe a duty of reasonable care to users of land which the landowners have set aside for the use by the general public without charge for recreational purposes.”  Thus, the landowner faces very limited liability for injuries received by the users of the land.  “However, if the land is set aside just for subdivision residents, rather than the general public, it is unlikely that the landowner will fall within the RPA (Recreational Property Act) liability protection and instead, will owe a duty of care as defined by general premises liability principles.”  Likewise, if “a conservation easement holder is not the landowner the easement holder will be protected.”  They provided documents citing many such cases. An example conservation easement provided to us by the Great Barrington Massachusetts Housatonic River Walk, releases landowners from liability and as well relates insurance information about their policy concerning the river walk.  There are insurance companies that offer such policies on such recreational land across the country, and at reasonable rates.   So it appears that homeowners and developers or homeowner associations may be more vulnerable if their river frontage is not open to the public, than if it is.