High water mark access WAC
- Thread starter headduck
- Start date
It’s not simple.
Still the best discussion I’ve seen:
The WAC you seek is Ch. 332-30-106 WAC.
Still the best discussion I’ve seen:
The Right to Float on By: Why the Washington Legislature Should Expand Recreational Access to Washington's Rivers and Streams
This article surveys the contemporary status of Washington's navigability doctrine and public trust laws and proposes a solution to the increased conflicts between riparian property owners and recreational river users. Part II addresses the federal navigability jurisprudence that establishes the...
digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu
The WAC you seek is Ch. 332-30-106 WAC.
Turns out WA is super tricky. Up until the 70s, wa Constitution did not allow leasing of shores and tidelands, and hence were sold to private parties and companies.
Today, only 29% of the state’s tidelands and 74% of the state’s shorelands remain in public ownership.
This makes access super tricky and unique per parcel.
Turns out the parcel I was curious about was sold in 1903 for $332... including mudflats, intertidal zone, etc out well below low tide. Amazing acreage. Right on the mouth of the river too...
Can float over by boat, but catch you walking by, even waist deep... Ticket.
Today, only 29% of the state’s tidelands and 74% of the state’s shorelands remain in public ownership.
This makes access super tricky and unique per parcel.
Turns out the parcel I was curious about was sold in 1903 for $332... including mudflats, intertidal zone, etc out well below low tide. Amazing acreage. Right on the mouth of the river too...
Can float over by boat, but catch you walking by, even waist deep... Ticket.
Depends on the parcel. Like said, Onx is probably the best source. I remember a few confrontations over the years. One on the Elochoman back in the 80's. An old guy below the old sawmill, owned a bunch of farm grazing land that went across the river and up a bluff. He posted it all, including the bottom of the river and allowed no one. We floated a drift boat down the lower river and dropped anchor in a beautiful hole to cast, not knowing. He came down and thew rocks at us yelling he owns the bottom. We said sorry, he called us white trash. I was told after he passed and the property changed hands, that the original deed wording changed to follow current law. The high water mark became the new line. It is now a bunch of houses and the high water mark is the line. Another many confrontations on the Carbon R. at Bridge St in Orting. Also back in the 80's. A guy bought and tried to post his riverfront property to the center of the flowing river just below the bridge abutements. Lots of fishermen would want to travel through to get down river from there causing many issues. Not sure how that played out. Parcel descriptions are the key and Onx follows most that I know of.