Page 138 - Clackamas County Watertourism Strategic Plan. Final.v3

STRATEGIC PLAN FOR WATER-BASED TOURISM IN CLACKAMAS COUNTY, OREGON THE OPPORTUNITIES
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management structure for this area requires conducting a series of strategy sessions with all potential actors. Local county and state government, non- Institutional &
profit organizations, the BLM, and adjacent land owners should be involved. Creating a long-term management solution to keep the campgrounds open Organizational
and generating revenue will be in the best interest of all parties. The most appropriate structure cannot be dictated here because it will require the
cooperation and creative problem solving of all those involved. The DMO can and should act a facilitator to lead the coordination of these stakeholders
until a mutually agreeable solution can be found.

Recommendation 48: Lower Clackamas River Management Plan
Based on the visitation rates at Milo McIver State Park and Barton Park alone, the Lower
Clackamas is used by hundreds of thousands of people each year. However, the exact
number is unknown because no such management study exists. Public safety officials at the Municipal, County
and State levels are challenged with ensuring public safety along this corridor. User conflicts between boaters,
floaters and anglers occur often. Private landowners are concerned about trespassing, trash and other
mismanagement. It would be hard to find a more heavily used recreational river that doesn’t have a river
management plan than the Lower Clackamas. A River Management Plan for the Lower Clackamas will analyze its
use, its purposes, and its public values across all economic sectors. The study will then determine its
vulnerabilities, carrying capacity, strengths weaknesses, and opportunities. It will coordinate official
management operations. A River Management Plan for the Lower Clackamas will bring together all river
stakeholders to determine its vision for future use and determine the best strategies to implement that vision.
Recommendation 49: Navigable River Study for Clackamas River
In Oregon, the distinction between navigable and non-navigable waterways is critical to determine who owns
the land underneath the water (otherwise referred to as submerged or submersible land). If a river has been
declared navigable by the Oregon State Land Board (under ORS 274.040), then the river and the submersible and
submerged lands is publicly owned, and the public has full rights to access under the Public Trust Doctrine. If no
navigability study has been completed, then the State Land Board has not declared it navigable and ownership of the submersible and submerged lands belong to the adjacent
landowner who owns the property above the ordinary high-water mark. In 2005, the Oregon Attorney General issued a formal opinion on the public’s use of non-navigable
rivers. The ruling states that the public can use the surface of a waterway in Oregon for any legal activity unless the waterway isn’t wide, deep, or long enough for a boat to pass
along it. In Clackamas County, the only waterways deemed navigable are the Sandy and Willamette. Since the Clackamas River is the most visited river in the County a navigable
river study would be a valuable contribution to the management of the river. The river is heavily used by anglers, boaters, and floaters and a navigable water study may help
alleviate user conflicts and clarify the development potential along the river. A 1979 study by the Division of State Lands researched the status of navigability for the Clackamas
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and concludes with conflicting and unclear information . The study cites historic navigation uses including transportation of logs, fish, and stone from Feldheimers Ferry to the
mouth. However, the study then states, “Despite this evidence of commercial navigation of the Clackamas, there are two county documents which state that the stream is not a