Oregon Department of State Lands Filled Lands: Initial Review Siletz River November, 2016 This page intentionally left blank. Siletz Initial Review: Siletz River P a g e | ii FILLED LANDS INITIAL REVIEW: SILETZ RIVER A project of Oregon’s Department of State Lands to identify, calculate and map both historically and new filled lands. November, 2016 Project Team: Bill Ryan, Deputy Director Linda Anderson, Project Manager Blake Helm, State Lands Ownership Coordinator John Bonnett, Ownership GIS Specialist Chris Castelli, Senior Policy & Legislative Analyst Gerry Hutson, Proprietary Coordinator Nancy Pustis, Proprietary Specialist Dan Antonson, GIS Analyst Contact: Bill Ryan, Deputy Director Operations Oregon Department of State Lands [email protected] Cover Page Photos (1) Lowe, Roy. Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge. N.d. Aerial Photograph. blog.oregonlive.com/terryrichard/2011/05/siletz_bay_national_wildlife_r Web. 6 Nov. 2016. [Top-left photograph] (2) View of Rocks, Siletz Bay Park. N.d. Photograph. Tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g51947-d5961681- i112117679-Siletz_Bay_Park-Lincoln_City_Oregon. Web. 3 Nov. 2016. [Top-right photograph] (3) Siletz Bay Sunset. N.d. Photograph. Oregoncoast.org/siletz-bay/ Web. 5 Nov. 2016 [Middle-left photograph] (4) Taft and Siletz Bay Aerial. N.d. Aerial Photgraph. Oregoncoast.org/history/ Web. 2 Nov. 2016 [Middle-right photograph] (5) Blue Heron and Red Tailed Hawk. N.d. Photograph. Coastvisitor.com/gallery/siletz-bay/ Web 5 Nov. 2016 [Bottom-left photograph] (6) Lowe, Roy. Snowy Owl at Siletz Bay. N.d. Photograph. Fws.gov/news/blog/index.cfm/2012/1/17/Photo-Tour- relating-to-Snow Web. 3 Nov. 2016 [Bottom-right photograph] DISCLAIMER: The data and analysis provided in this study is for informational purposes only and was not prepared for, nor is it suitable for legal, engineering, or surveying purposes. Siletz Initial Review: Siletz River P a g e | iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 2 Purpose........................................................................................................................................ 3 Methods ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Data, Maps, Charts & Documents ............................................................................................... 5 Filled Lands Summary & Description .............................................................................................. 8 Feature Name .............................................................................................................................. 8 County ......................................................................................................................................... 8 Township, Range & Section ......................................................................................................... 8 Meandered Date & Information ................................................................................................. 8 Geographic Scope ........................................................................................................................ 8 Waterway Description ............................................................................................................... 10 Timeline ..................................................................................................................................... 10 Filled Lands Findings .................................................................................................................. 11 Signature Block ............................................................................................................................. 27 Appendix A ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Siletz Initial Review: Siletz River P a g e | iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Waterways – lakes, rivers and streams – are vital to Oregonian’s quality of life. Historically, many waterways were used as trade routes for Native Americans, pathways for explorers and pioneers and highways of commerce for timber and steamboats. Many of these same waterways provide habitat for anadromous species of fish. Over the years some of these waterways have been artificially filled creating new usable upland. The purpose of this review is to determine whether any State of Oregon ownership interest remains or is vested in respect to filled lands as defined in ORS 274.905. This Initial Review identifies historically and new filled lands that the State of Oregon previously had, or currently has, an ownership interest. The focus of this review is the tidally influenced waters of the Siletz River, including Siletz Bay, Drift Creek and Schooner Creek. Within the review area there were a total of 40 fill events covering an area approximately 28 acres that were determined to be filled through artificial means. Historical fill (fill occurring before May 28, 1963) was identified in 26 areas and encompassed approximately 17 acres. New fill (fill occurring after May 28, 1963) constituted 11 of the areas and encompassed approximately 10.5 acres. The remaining three (3) areas, covering less than one (1) acre, lacked enough historical data to determine the approximate date when the fill occurred. The Department of State Lands (DSL), through this review, was able to determine that the state may retain an interest in some portion of all 40 of the fill events identified in this study. Below is a map of the Siletz River Initial Review area which highlights the 40 areas where fill events took place and identifies sites where the state may retain an interest. Siletz Initial Review: Siletz River P a g e | 1 INTRODUCTION At statehood, Oregon acquired title to the submerged and submersible lands of navigable and tidally influenced waterways under the Equal Footing Doctrine and the Oregon Admissions Act. In conjunction with the Public Trust Doctrine, this ownership embodies the principle that the state holds title to these lands for public navigation, recreation, fisheries and commerce. The Oregon Legislature delegated to the Department of State Lands (DSL) the authority to authorize uses of state-owned submerged and submersible lands. Revenue generated from these authorizations is deposited into the Common School Fund for Oregon’s K-12 public schools. Throughout much of Oregon’s history the placement of fill on the state’s submerged and submersible lands was unregulated. The filled lands were generally considered beneficial, resulting in expanded business opportunities along wharfs and docks or new agricultural lands. Dredging, which created much of the material available for fill, fostered more opportunities for commerce through deepened shipping channels. It was often thought that filling submerged and submersible land was an improvement to what was seen as low-value areas. Land owners adjacent to waterways placed fill or allowed fill to be placed on the submerged and submersible land adjacent to their property in order to increase the usable area of their property. In 1967, the Oregon Removal Fill law was enacted and the practice of filling waterways became a regulated activity. Following a long line of legal cases, the act of filling in submerged land is considered an avulsive event that does not change property ownership lines. For that reason, the State of Oregon still has an interest in many of the filled lands since these lands were formed by placing fill on state owned submerged and submersible land. Before 1963 the state relinquished title to some submersible lands. As Oversite/Direction a result, the state does not claim title to all filled lands; only those lands where the state’s title has never been relinquished. Natural Administrative Planner GIS Specialist Resource Specialist In general, DSL has not proactively pursued any type Specialist of comprehensive statewide settlement of filled Filled Lands Preliminary Report lands claims. These issues are typically raised on an Output from Planner and GIS Specialist. Input for research, individual basis through a bank financing draft study, waterway ownership determination requirement, regulatory permit or potential sale of the property. In many cases, the lending bank or title company will find a “cloud on title” through their Research, draft study, research and initiate contact between DSL and the outreach communications and updates to the ownership landowner. Currently, there is no comprehensive database mapping or appraised value of all filled lands, but Figure 1: Filled Lands Study Process Siletz Initial Review: Siletz River P a g e | 2 their estimated fair market value is in the millions of dollars. DSL is following a process which includes research and GIS data captured in an Initial Review. This document will be used to help with community outreach as well as further collection of any documentation in order to fully develop the Filled Lands Study as mandated by Oregon legislation. This process is circular as well as iterative in nature and depends upon all team members being informed by each other’s work. See Figure 1 for a visual representation of this process. PURPOSE In summary,