A river outfitter named his price — $750,000 and a piece of prime property — to stay off a disputed stretch of the Taylor River, leading critics last week to question his motives in helping launch a legislative fight over Colorado waterways, The Denver Post reports.

Mark Schumacher owns Three Rivers Resort on the Taylor, where an out-of-state developer has tried to shut a 2-mile stretch of the river and touched off legislation and a ballot initiative aimed at providing greater access to Colorado rivers.