How did the State of Oregon become the owner of submerged and submersible land?
There are two separate legal doctrines under which Oregon gained ownership of waterway land: one is called “navigability;” the other “tidality.” Under the Equal Footing Doctrine, federal courts have held that states entering the Union after the original 13 states have the same rights as those original states. When the original states took sovereignty of their land from the British after the American Revolution, those states became owners of the land underlying what are termed “navigable” waters as well as the land underlying tidal waters. Therefore, when Oregon was admitted to the Union in 1859, it became the owner of all land underlying both the navigable waterways and tidal waters within its borders as a part of its sovereignty. Question: What waterway areas do the people of Oregon own? Answer: DSL manages segments of the following navigable waterways: Chetco, Columbia, Coos, Coquille, Klamath, John Day, McKenzie, Rogue, Sandy, Snake, Umpqua, and Willamette. Please see list of state-
