What is the origin of the controversy over ownership of the submerged and submersible land underlying Tenmile Lakes?
A. The Tenmile Lakes were originally surveyed by the U.S. Government in 1880 but a major error was made. The lakes and surrounding lands were “platted” (divided into sections). The lakeshore SHOULD have been “meandered” (a survey line is run around the lake more or less at the ordinary high-water line) but was not. The surveyor reasoned, in error, that the lakes could be drained and turned into swampland. As a result, the federal government granted patents (deeds) to people without reserving the lake shore and bed for the State of Oregon as a navigable waterway. Ever since that time, lakefront owners have disputed the state’s claim, despite a 1924 federal surveyor’s report exposing the original error. In fact, the federal government had no right to issue title to the shoreline and lakebed below ordinary high-water, because it was to have reserved the land for the state. Mr. Joseph A. Ganong, U. S. Cadastral Engineer, summarized in his 1924 survey report: “Evidently Deputy Wright establ
