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68 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, May 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 Biz Connection 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 May 17, 2005 State navigable-river bill faces criticism over access rights By DON JEPSEN for the Mail Tribune SALEM — A proposed management plan guaranteeing public access to Oregon’s rivers and streams ran into a firestorm of opposition at its first hearing Monday. Recreation interests and landowners roundly castigated Senate Bill 1028, an effort designed to ease conflicts between boaters and riverside property owners. The only witness supporting the proposal was State Treasurer Randall Edwards, a member of the State Land Board. The board, which also includes the governor and secretary of state, is charged with determining public ownership of the beds and banks of the state’s rivers — those that have a history of commercial navigation. But that requires a river-by-river study, often lasting up to a year. To date only 11 rivers have been declared "navigable" under the doctrine of public use granted the state when it entered the union. Edwards testified that the process "is a slow, piecemeal, litigious process." Advertisement "We need to look at a statewide solution," he said. "This bill does just that. With the water come rights that extend to the banks up to the high-water mark." Edwards warned critics that if a river is declared navigable, the state assumes ownership of the beds and banks. SB1028 would allow adjacent property holders to continue their ownership in exchange for access to boaters, along with limited use of adjacent banks. That didn’t sway the crowd. Gary Benson, legislative director for the Association of Northwest Steelheaders, said that while he favors a legislative solution to the access issue, "this bill is not the solution. Charging new fees for the use of Oregon’s rivers is totally inappropriate." He cited a section of the Oregon Admissions Act that declared all navigable rivers free public highways not subject to a tax, fee, duty or toll. The proposed legislation would impose a $2 per foot charge on boats. He and others objected exempting the Metolius River from the proposed law by designating it a Class 2 waterway. "This simply does not pass the straight-face test," he said of the blue-ribbon trout stream. Criticism also came from a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney specializing in navigability and river use issues. "There is nothing whatsoever in this bill that tells us what our rights are," said Bryan Redd. He said it "mysteriously and inexplicably" delegates access rights to the Land Board or other state agencies. Noting that a recent attorney general’s opinion had once again affirmed Oregon court decisions going back to the previous century that the right of public access is paramount, Redd contended these rights "are not ambiguous." He charged that SB1028 "starts us down the path to private rivers." Conversely, Dale Johnson, who owns property on the Little North Fork of the Santiam River east of Salem, said the bill usurps private property rights. He urged the Senate Rules Committee to postpone any action until a thorough study is made "of this very complex issue. M. Chapin Milbank, of Gates, lives on the North Santiam River. He said boaters floating past his cabin have never been a problem, and said the bill completely ignores such problems as non-river users using the banks for a private garbage dump. He criticized the fee on boats and also the composition of a proposed waterways advisory board that would advise the Oregon Marine Board on managing river use. "This board is stacked or loaded with landowners against river users," he said. The strong opposition did not bode well for passage of the measure, which is co-sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Kate Brown, D-Portland, and Sen. Ted Feriolli, R-John Day. Feriolli was the only member who sat through the entire hearing. Unless the Legislature comes up with a proposal, the Land Board in June is scheduled to act on a recommendation to declare navigable 174 miles of the John Day River in Feriolli’s legislative district. That would negate private ownership of the riverbed and banks and open it up to public use. A similar study is under way to make a ruling on public access on the upper Rogue River. Don Jepsen is a freelance 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. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Auto Insurance Mesothelioma Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Payday Loans Advertisement s