A4 The SpokeSman • TueSday, auguST 23, 2022
Who can access the Deschutes and where?
Access on river a
complicated question
BY TIM TRAINOR
Redmond Spokesman
Joel Barker was fishing the
Deschutes River outside Terre-
bonne early this summer, start-
ing at the Borden Beck Wildlife
Preserve and working his way
downstream.
As he made his way to the
next hole, Barker moved off
public land into river that was
surrounded on both sides by
private property. At the edge of
the river, a recently erected sign
made him stop mid-cast to de-
bate whether he could legally
continue his pursuit of trout.
The sign read:
This sign marks the end of
public access on trails and river.
No entry beyond this point.
The private property extends
to the center of the river on both
sides.
This property is under video
and photographic surveillance.
Trespassers WILL be prose-
cuted.
Barker thought he had the
right to fish the river through
private land, but the sign con-
fused him and he decided
against it.
And he isn’t the only one
confused about where his recre-
ational rights end and the rights
of the landowner begin. State
The Deschutes River downstream from the Borden Beck Wildlife Pre-
serve outside Terrebonne. A nearby sign states that private property
extends to the center of the Deschutes River on both sides.
A sign downstream of the Borden Beck Wildlife Preserve outside Terrebonne stating that private property
extends to the center of the Deschutes River on both sides.
law is vague about what qual-
ifies as trespassing on the De-
schutes, as well as other rivers
throughout Central Oregon.
The confusion dates all the
way back to 1859, when Oregon
was first admitted as a state. At
the time, all land underlying wa-
terways that were used, or could
be used, to transport goods and
people became state-owned
property — what is termed a
“navigable river.”
However, back in 1859, no
specific waterways were iden-
tified that met — or failed to
meet— this navigability stan-
dard. That means that over the
last century, it has been left to
the State Land Board (and at
times the judiciary and the leg-
islature) to make the determina-
tion on a case-by-case basis in
Oregon.
But no determination has
ever been made on the De-
schutes River, or the Crooked
River for that matter.
The first step in that process
is a navigability study request.
According to Liane O’Neill,
communications officer for the
Department of State Lands,
the organization “has been ap-
proached by a local group in the
last couple of years with ques-
tions about a navigability study”
on the Deschutes. However,
O’Neill said that no navigability
study request has officially been
requested as of press time.
The Deschutes River Conser-
vancy said it has not requested
a study and has no stance either
in support or opposition to de-
fining the river’s navigability.
Though the Deschutes is not
officially a navigable water-
way, recreational users still have
some rights.
Current guidance from the
Oregon Department of State
Lands for rivers that have not
been deemed navigable is that
that people “may float down
publicly-owned waterways and
they may stand or walk upon
the beds or banks of the river
below the ordinary high water
line.”
According to Oregon’s Pub-
lic Use Doctrine, anyone may
float a river that is large enough
to accommodate a boat, even if
that water is not defined as pub-
licly-owned. People may float
that river while fishing, recre-
ating, navigating, or other legal
uses.
They may also use the beds
and banks of the waterway be-
low the ordinary high water line
for water-dependent activities,
such as swimming and fishing.
But to get to the river, water
users have to be careful. In order
to access the water from land
above the ordinary high wa-
ter line, water users must be on
public land or receive permis-
sion from a private landowner.
Residents debate future of 700 acres
BY ZACK DEMARS
CO Media Group
A public hearing Wednesday focused on a seem-
ingly simple question: Should a plot of rocky land
northwest of Redmond be considered “farmland”?
Deschutes County Commissioners heard hours of
testimony both for and against an application to al-
low potential low-density housing development on
just over 700 acres of land off Lower Bridge Road. The
hearing Wednesday pitted concerns about housing
availability against issues of water use, farmland af-
fordability and rural development.
The application, submitted by 710 Properties, LLC,
would change the land, owned by Eden Central Prop-
erties, LLC, from an exclusive farm use zone to a ru-
ral residential one. That would open the door for the
landowner to apply to build a subdivision on the prop-
erty with up to 71 homes, but commissioners decided
Wednesday they would make a final decision on the
rezone at another meeting on Sept. 28.
The process has attracted significant attention from
nearby landowners, farmers, conservation groups and
other area residents, many of whom filled the meeting
room and online queue to make comments Wednes-
day.
Central to 710 Properties’ application is their argu-
ment that the property doesn’t meet the state’s defini-
tion of “farm use,” a burden they have to meet in order
to justify the change in zoning. To make the point,
Ken Katzaroff, an attorney for the owners, relied on
expert reports showing the property’s soils aren’t fit for
growing crops and that the water use impact of new
homes would be negligible.
“My point is we’ve done the work, we’ve looked at
what our potential farm use is, what our potential ‘ag-
ricultural’ use is if we want to go broader. But at the
end of the day, the state law test is whether you’re do-
ing one of those uses for the purpose of actually mak-
ing a profit,” Katzaroff told commissioners at the con-
map courtesy deschutes County
Roughly 700 acres of land zoned for farming near Terre-
bonne could be rezoned for rural residential use.
clusion of the session’s public comments. “What the
experts say, and what the evidence shows is that we
can’t here.”
A county-appointed hearings officer, who consid-
ered evidence and arguments about the legality of
the change, issued a report in June finding that the
application met that burden and that commissioners
should approve the application.
Still, a number of commenters Wednesday took is-
sue with that analysis.
Carol Macbeth, an attorney for Central Oregon
LandWatch, argued to commissioners that the prop-
erty could, in fact, be used to sustain a profitable farm.
“Farm uses are possible,” Macbeth told commis-
sioners. “A greenhouse is possible without any use of
the soil, poultry would be possible, there’s all these
things that one could do that don’t require good soils.
They may require water, but water, again, is available
Search turns up fentanyl
in couple’s hotel room
to the property.”
Katzaroff rebutted Macbeth’s suggestion by arguing
the cost of obtaining water rights had to be considered
when determining that a farm could be “profitable,”
and that doing so for the property would be prohibi-
tively expensive.
A number of comments came from nearby prop-
erty owners concerned that wells dug for the 71 new
homesites would impact the wells on their property.
Some noted that, due to drought and other causes,
their wells are already approaching their lowest level
or need to be dug deeper to keep water pumping.
Those wells would be considered “exempt” under
state law, meaning all 71 could pump up to 15,000 gal-
lons of water for domestic use a day without needing
to mitigate that use by returning water back to the De-
schutes Basin.
“My pump is currently one foot off the bottom of
my well. That’s getting pretty close to none,” said Kim
Campbell, who lives north of the property. “If you’re
going to put a subdivision south of me, it could easily
affect my well, and everybody else’s wells that are these
shallow wells.”
In response to water concerns, Katzaroff pointed to
a consultant’s study, which concluded that “measur-
able interference with existing wells is unlikely to oc-
cur” with the drilling of 71 new wells.
Commissioner Phil Chang was the board’s chief
skeptic of the rezone application, echoing arguments
the property could be farmed and that new homes
could impact the water supply.
A number of other commenters, some wearing “ev-
ery home counts” buttons, expressed support for the
proposal, citing the region’s need for new housing and
the developers’ plans to use solar power and donate
some proceeds from development to nonprofits.
The comment period for the application closes Aug.
24.
█
Otherwise they could legally be
trespassing.
In the case of the signage
downstream of Borden Beck,
the person who posted the sign
may indeed “own” the beds of
the river within their tax lot.
Surveillance of the river may be
legal as well.
Sgt. Jayson Janes of the De-
schutes County Sheriff’s Office
said that the office does respond
to calls of trespassing along the
Deschutes and elsewhere in the
county, where public/private
property lines can sometimes be
fuzzy. He recommends, “If you
are not certain a portion of land
is open to the public, it is safest
to stay off of that land until you
can confirm it is public land,”
said Janes. “Many of the public
trails along the river are pretty
well marked.”
Reporter: 541-617-7814, zdemars@bendbulletin.com
BY TIM TRAINOR
Redmond Spokesman
A Redmond couple was ar-
rested Wednesday, August 17
after a search turned up fentanyl
at their Village Squire Motel
room.
Michael Meston, 32, and
Katelynn Davis, 24, were
booked on multiple charges.
Meston was charged with hav-
ing an outstanding warrant and
Davis charged only with a pro-
bation violation. According to
police, the investigation is ongo-
ing and additional charges may
follow.
According to the Deschutes
County Sheriff’s Office street
crimes unit, police were inves-
tigating Meston “for the sales
of fentanyl pills imported from
Portland and later distributed
within Deschutes County.”
At 5 p.m. August 17, detec-
tives executed a search warrant
at the hotel where Meston lives
with Davis, his girlfriend.
According to police, the
search found “evidence of the
sales of counterfeit oxycodone
pills containing fentanyl.” Detec-
tives also found user amounts
of both methamphetamine and
fentanyl.
Both Meston and Davis were
taken to the Deschutes County
Jail.
█
Reporter: ttrainor@
redmondspokesman.com
Gompers Distillery offers visitors gobs of fun
Redmond-based Gompers
Distillery adds local flair to
cocktails with its brand of gin
BY NICK ROSENBERGER
Redmond Spokesman
It would be hard to find a more
fitting business than a gin distillery
built in the junipers of Redmond, yet
Gompers Distillery does just this —
and offers good times in a Roaring
1920s-themed setting.
Gin, which gets its herbal and floral
taste from juniper berries, is almost al-
ways used in mixed drinks and rarely
served by itself, said Michael Hart,
who owns the distillery with his wife
Jessica. This was problematic.
“I always liked the final depth and
complexity of gins,” Michael said. “But
I never found one I could do anything
I want with.”
Options from popular brands like
Tanqueray or Beefeater were missing
something, and none were versatile
enough for what the Harts wanted.
“One gin was good with a gimlet
and one with a martini, but I never
found one that I could drink neat or
on the rocks and not have my eyes roll-
ing back to my head,” Michael said.
A decade ago, as the couple de-
cided on a drink for the night, Jessica
Hart wondered what it would be like
to create their own. Michael laughed
for about 15 seconds, then realized it
might actually work.
They knew exactly what they wanted
in a gin. The difficulty was creating it
— especially with zero knowledge of
distillation or the spirits industry.
Michael said he and Jessica sur-
rounded themselves with people who
knew the industry and got to work,
spending about two years getting the
taste just right and passing all the bu-
reaucratic red tape. Part of that time
was spent coming up with the spirit,
he said, while the other part was spent
refining it to make sure it had a beauti-
ful, almost roller coaster-like quality.
“You get the juniper, you get the lav-
ender,” he said. “So it’s complex but it’s
straightforward.”
This complex taste comes from the
juniper berries picked from the Harts’
farm outside Bend, where they also
grow lavender for the gin — which
gives the spirit a peppery finish thanks
to the volcanic soil of the area. The
golden pears they source from Hood
River lend it a smoother feature.
Whatever someone tries to do with
their gin, Michael said, they’ll be com-
plimenting it rather than trying to
cover up the local flavors.
These local accents are all the more
important as breweries and distilleries
have boomed in popularity across the
United States in the last decade. Since
the beginning, however, Michael and
Jessica knew they wanted the distillery
to be in Redmond and for it to be the
city’s first.
“We love the people in Redmond,”
Jessica said. “We love how people are
more easygoing here.”
In 2015, they hoped to locate the
distillery at the First National Bank in
downtown Redmond, but those plans
fell through. Then, Jessica found out
she was pregnant with the couple’s first
child.
Four years later, they found their
current building in the Jackpine Indus-
trial Complex in northeast Redmond.
They opened in April 2019.
“That ended up being perfect for it,”
Jessica said. “It was just being built so
we were able to customize it the way
we needed it.”
The space and distillery take inspi-
ration from Jessica’s grandfather, Her-
man Gompers, who was forced into
hiding after Hitler invaded the Neth-
erlands in World War II. He was cap-
tured by the Nazis twice and escaped
twice, eventually fighting in Israel’s
War of Independence as a demolitions
expert. After running a bakery busi-
ness in Israel, Herman and his wife,
Deborah, moved to Los Angeles where
they started a popular bakery and
served celebrities like Frank Sinatra.
nick Rosenberger/Spokesman
A Gompers bottle sits ready to be filled
with local, handmade gin.
The 1920s-inspired interior is dec-
orated with objects from Herman’s
past, such as some of his clock collec-
tion and pictures of him refereeing re-
nowned Brazilian soccer player Pelé.
Like many businesses, however,
sourcing has been a thorn in their side
since the COVID-19 pandemic dis-
rupted the supply chain and meddled
with their ambitions to produce more
as supplies such as bottles became
scarce.
“Being a small, family-owned, hand-
crafted distillery ... we don’t have the
money like other big distilleries that
can just be like ‘I’ll buy up all this
glass,’” Jessica said. “It’s getting better,
but hopefully it will be a lot smoother
than it has been the past two years.”
Despite supply-chain hiccups, the
Harts are already working on future
spirits in addition to their Gompers
Estate Gin, Gompers Old Tom Style
Gin and Gompers Vodka. Residents of
Redmond can expect a navy strength
gin — meaning gin with 114 proof or
57 percent alcohol content — and a
whiskey bourbon. However, they’re
still testing the whiskey.
“I always feel like you can’t release
anything until it’s what you want to
drink,” Jessica said. “It’s not quite
there.”
Additionally, they offer a daily free
drink to veterans and first responders
to acknowledge and appreciate their
service. There is also a secret room
on site for Gompers club members.
They’re working on creating a mem-
bers-only game room upstairs where
they will host events such as a corn
hole competition. Membership costs
$125 per year on a rolling basis.
“We’re trying to make it as fun as we
can,” Michael said.
█
Reporter: nrosenberger@redmondspokesman.
com