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The INDEPENDENT, July 1, 2004
The
INDEPENDENT
Serving the upper Nehalem River valley. Published on the
first and third Thursdays of each month, by Public Opinion
Laboratory Ltd., 725 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064, as a
free newspaper. Publishers, Dirk & Noni Andersen. Editor,
Noni Andersen. Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410, email: noni@
the-independent.net Display Advertising, Clark McGaugh,
email: clark@the-independent.net Classified Advertising,
Rebecca McGaugh, email: rebecca@the-independent.net
Opinion
OPRD should finish
both old and new plan
Recent comments by “Bits and Bites” columnist
Jacqueline Ramsay about horse manure on the linear
trail, and a letter of response from local equestrienne
Jan Bernardi in this issue of The INDEPENDENT, both
correspond with a long-standing problem:
When is the Oregon Parks and Recreation Depart-
ment going to finish the Banks-Vernonia Linear Trail?
The master plan for the B-V Trail included a four-foot
paved path and a four-foot horse path divided by a
four-foot buffer area. This plan was developed in re-
sponse to the needs and concerns of horse, bicycle
and walking groups – and it is the plan they were told
would be followed. Pieces of the plan show up here
and there, such as the eight paved miles from Vernon-
ia to the Washington County line, but nowhere is it
complete.
Two elements are now coming together that could
benefit both old and new plans: The Banks end of the
linear trail is finally being worked on and groundbreak-
ing has officially started development of the new
Hare’s Canyon State Park on Hwy. 47 between Ver-
nonia and the Sunset Hwy. The B-V Trail goes through
part of the western edge of the new park, which will in-
clude campgrounds, a horse camp and day-use areas.
This is a perfect time to complete the long-delayed
work on the B-V Trail.
In addition to these two state parks, Columbia Coun-
ty is nearing completion of arrangements that will allow
the development of a linear trail from Scappoose to
Vernonia, via the Columbia Main Line and other log-
ging roads and/or easements. Private land owners are
quite cooperative with this effort; unfortunately, BLM is
more difficult to work with.
When complete, these developments will put Ver-
nonia in the middle of the linear trail from Scappoose
to Banks. This would not only keep Vernonia’s parks
and campgrounds busy, but would bring in more busi-
ness to help maintain local merchants and, probably,
stimulate development of additional businesses.
The cooperation and assistance of state and federal
agencies is an absolute requirement for these efforts
to be successful. It shouldn’t take another 12 years.
Ike Says…
By Dale E. Webb, Member
Nehalem Valley Chapter, Izaak Walton League
Oregon is in the middle
of a water war! No, it’s not
about taking water out of
the rivers, but about letting
people use their streams.
One war is currently un-
folding on the John Day
River in eastern Oregon.
For years landowners on
the John Day have been
making a ruckus about people using the river
and, for years, more and more people are com-
ing to the river to use it. With a widely renowned
bass fishery, mild waters and scenic beauty,
people want to use this treasure. Some
landowners want to keep it as their own.
A few years back, a fisherman was cited by a
Sherman County sheriff officer for trespass on
the lower John Day River. The fisherman de-
clared that he had accessed his fishing spot
legally by staying below the high water mark.
Soon, a case was in the courts. The Northwest
Steelheaders Association contributed financial
support and also charged that the State had
been remiss by inaction toward determining the
navigability of the John Day River. The trespass
charge was tried before a jury and the action
against the State of Oregon was tried before
Judge Paul Lipscomb. In both cases, the river
was found navigable from river mile 174 to the
mouth of the river. Judge Lipscomb found that
the State of Oregon had unreasonably delayed
taking action on a navigability study proposed by
the Northwest Steelheaders and ordered them to
make a decision.
The case had been a slam-dunk, yet there
were renewed attacks from landowners, in the
form of bogus legislative bills by Sen. Ferrolli of
John Day. Finally, the Division of State Lands
(DSL) has issued an opinion that the John Day
River is navigable from its mouth to river mile
174. DSL is currently continuing the process to-
ward a final determination of navigability.
What is sad about this whole issue is that this
mess need not be. Oregon had, at one time, de-
clared almost all streams in the state navigable.
Designating navigable streams in Oregon began
in 1859, when Oregon was admitted into the
Union. Under the equal footing doctrine, Oregon
received title to all navigable streams. All the
state had to do was declare the streams naviga-
ble, but they didn’t do so until 1917. I imagine
back in those days, nobody much cared if his
neighbor was fishing on his property, everybody
traveled across each other’s land freely. I have
recently received information that, in 1917, Ore-
gon passed a law declaring all streams capable
of floating any forest product as navigable. The
reason for the law was so the State could charge
a franchise fee to log rafting corporations. In
1921, Oregon passed a Montana Access Law
(Montana has one of the most liberal river rights
laws). In 1940, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
that, once a stream is navigable, it must remain
so. In 1957, Oregon repealed the
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