Page 14
The INDEPENDENT, July 1, 2004
Ike Says …
From page 2
1917 navigability declaration
because people no longer
moved logs down streams. In
1973, the Oregon Legislature
(Agriculture Committee) quietly
repealed the Montana Access
Law. In 1984, the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled that just because
the purpose of a navigability
declaration is no longer need-
ed, that does not mean the
stream is no longer navigable.
For many people, the defini-
tion of a river being navigable
conjures up images of stern-
wheelers or large log rafts, but
that is not so. Federal and U.S.
Supreme court rulings have de-
fined much broader interpreta-
tions. All findings come back to
the tenet that the river was, or
could have been, used for com-
merce at the time of statehood.
Did or could have native Amer-
icans used the river to catch
fish or travel by canoe? Did or
could have a fur trapper used
the stream to move his catch?
Did or could have a survey
team floated the river to deter-
mined its feasibility for log
drives? In almost all instances
the answer is “yes” on Oregon
streams.
The courts have ruled that
fishing and recreational boating
is a form of commerce. So the
issue of whether most of Ore-
gon’s streams are navigable, or
not, is really not in question.
The issue is whether Oregon’s
legislators will get off their rear-
ends and do the right thing, or
will Oregonians have to go to
the ballot box to correct this in-
justice. This problem needs to
be resolved, not only for the le-
gal owners (the citizens of Ore-
gon), but also for all the proper-
ty owners who may be paying
taxes on land that may not be
theirs.
A new group, CORR (Coali-
tion for Oregon River Rights),
has been formed and is spear-
heading the effort to get the use
of Oregon streams resolved.
CORR’s fundamental principal
is to reestablish Oregonians’
rights to “float, anchor, walk
and wade to the high water
mark” on all Oregon streams
that would be deemed naviga-
ble under current law. CORR
does not feel it is necessary
that navigability is determined
and thus title to the rivers may
stay as they are. CORR is pre-
See page 16
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