LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

[June 15th, 2005] Boat Missed, Facts Omitted

Aside from the part that neither side likes the bill, the boat was missed in your recently published article about Senate Bill 1028 ["Surf, Turf Oppose Rivers Bill," June 8, 2005]. Worse than that, key facts were omitted that will mislead the public as to what this bill can and likely will do if passed.

By focusing on the navigability study process as the sole source of river-use rights, existing federal law and the Public Use Doctrine were completely ignored. By skipping those, you do not provide full disclosure of what the public's current rights are to use our rivers, especially those that have not had a formal navigability study.

The recent attorney general's written opinion on this subject gives a clear interpretation of the rights that we already have. After reviewing that, it becomes clear that SB 1028 doesn't give any new rights or even clarify existing ones, as the bill sponsors promise. It simply establishes a new bureaucracy with the power to systematically restrict our ability to use the rivers. Section 4 of SB 1028 has language that is very clear regarding the new authority to implement restrictions on how, or even if, we can continue our waterways.Ê

It appears to me that Willamette Week did not follow through with the research and investigation that you're known for. I urge you to do further research on this topic and print a new article. Next time you can lay out our current rights accurately, then review the clauses in SB 1028 that give blanket authority to reduce those rights. Heck, you might even want to point out some of the immediate restrictions, such as the special exemption that would make sections of the world-famous Metolius River off-limits from day one.

Barry J. Kundert
Sherwood

Editor's Note: WW's story should have included the state attorney general's opinion on this issue, as well as a more comprehensive history of river rights in Oregon. If you really want to see us getting blasted, go to www.wweek.com and see the Story Forum posts on this story.

clarification

An item in last week's Winners and Losers about Multnomah County jail inmates failed to include that the city will pay for 57 new jail beds and that the county will also get another 22 jail beds, both as of July 1.