PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A homeowner’s fence protruding into the Willamette River has sparked some debate over property rights in Oregon — but up in Washington, the laws surrounding the issues are completely different.
Earlier this week, KOIN 6 News discovered the homeowners who built a fence all the way down into the Willamette River in Clackamas County are now required to remove part of it for access to the river, according to the Oregon Department of State Lands.
The reasoning behind the removal is that in Oregon, the public has the right to access beaches and riverbanks along navigable waterways. The ODSL said the owners didn’t have the right or the permits to erect a fence on the river banks and into the river, and removing part of it will not only restore access to the public, but it will also ensure salmon can have safe passage through the waterway.
Viewers reached out to KOIN 6 News about a similar fence in Vancouver that dips into the Columbia River. We learned, however, that Washington’s laws are much different on the matter.
“In Oregon, I know it’s all still publicly owned along the river banks and stuff and so it’s accessible,” Joe Smillie of Washington Department of Natural Resources said. “On the Washington side? Not so much.”
Washington possibly has the most unusual public beach access rules of any Western state. While most states, including Oregon, define the boundary of lands available for private ownership at the high tideline, Washington allows for private ownership of lands down to the low watermark.
This is why the Washington Dept. of Natural Resources says the fence in Vancouver is legal.
“That is private property,” Smillie explained. “There are stretches all along the river where these bed lands got sold off and the river banks got sold off and into private hands.”
This is a holdover from the state’s early days when loggers and shellfish farmers were allowed to purchase tidelands from the government.
“We were one of the few states in the country to sell off some bed lands and tide up until about the 1960s,” Smillie said. “They needed some revenue and people wanted to buy, so we sold off about 70% of our public aquatic lands.”
While the state no longer allows people to buy tidelands, many areas of the beach have been passed down through generations and remain private property. Additionally, beach and riverfront property owners are allowed to build private piers and other structures — like a fence — along public waterways.
Even if fences aren’t up, Washington officials remind the public it’s important to be aware of where you’re walking, because you could be on private property.