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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, April 24, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 22, 2005 A.G. opinion could boost waterway bill Legislation creates a management plan to appease streamside landowners and recreational boaters By DON JEPSEN for the Mail Tribune SALEM — An attorney general’s opinion could boost a bill now before the Legislature that would create a management plan for recreational use of Oregon’s rivers and streams. The opinion, released Wednesday, was hailed by State Treasurer Randall Edwards, and the two sponsors of Senate Bill 1028: Sens. Kate Brown, D-Portland, and Ted Feriolli, R-John Day. "I see it as a way of resolving conflicts between boaters and landowners without resorting to navigability studies," said Feriolli, who may have the biggest stake in the legislation. The Oregon Land Board, composed of the governor, secretary of state and state treasurer, was poised at its April meeting to approve a staff recommendation to declare 174 miles of the John Day River navigable. That would have meant the ownership of the beds and bank to the river’s high-water mark would have reverted to the state under a federal law giving states title to such land upon entering the union. Gov. Ted Kulongoski warned at the April Land Board meeting that he wasn’t committed to the management plan. He said he wants the best solution to the often contentious relationships between landowners and boaters. Advertisement The management plan is appealing in part because it spares the Division of State Lands from the divisive and slow study of each river to determine if it meets a commercially navigable definition. To date, only 11 Oregon rivers have been declared "navigable" since statehood in 1859. Irked by the delays and by confrontations with landowners, the Northwest Steelheaders has petitioned the Land Board to begin determining ownership on seven other rivers, including the upper Rogue River. The Rogue study is currently under way. By adopting a management plan to clarify the rights of both recreationists and landowners and applying it to all navigable rivers in the state, the cumbersome studies could be suspended. For land owners, that means the state wouldn’t possibly claim ownership of submerged and submersible lands — property they have paid taxes on for many years. At the same time, the management plan spells out the rights of recreationists and uses money from a fee on boats to provide limited bankside amenities and law enforcement. The attorney general’s opinion cites Oregon Supreme Court decisions that go back to 1869. The opinion asserts that common public law continues to authorize some public use of navigable waterways, regardless of whether the state has asserted ownership. To date, the state has asserted ownership of submerged and submersible lands on 11 rivers that were declared navigable. Another study is under way on the upper Rogue, and five other requests for a determination of navigability are pending. A problem arises, however, because no state law sets rules on river use and upland owner rights. Backers of Senate Bill 1028 say the legislation is the answer. "Our legislation certainly should ameliorate some of the conflicts by defining where recreationists can go with certainty," said Feriolli. Edwards said if the bill fails — and Gov. Ted Kulongoski has adopted a wait-and-see attitude — "then we have no option but to go ahead with the costly, stressful studies of each river. "What we’re trying to bring with this bill is certainty and clarity," said Feriolli. The bill’s sponsors have a little over seven weeks to get the measure passed and to the governor. The John Day designation postponed by the Land Board last week will be reconsidered at the board’s June session. Don Jepsen is a free-lance writer living in Salem. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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