Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark has decided it is time to see how many private shellfish farms are encroaching on public tidelands.
Goldmark said he made up his mind when he learned that Taylor Shellfish Farms appeared to have crossed a private property line with a geoduck farm and trespassed onto state tidelands in North Bay. If true, it would be the second time that Taylor was caught in such an act. See my story in today’s Kitsap Sun.
Long before Goldmark took office in January, groups including the Coalition to Protect Puget Sound Habitat were talking about places they suspected trespass was occurring.
When I raised the question last year about using technology to check all state tidelands, officials with the Department of Natural Resources told me they didn’t have the staff to do that. OK, I said, but what if you could show that you could collect enough money to pay the cost through charges for back leases where trespass was taking place. That would not work, I was told, because the revenue does not come back to pay the staff.
It turns out that this statement may have been only half true. Revenues from tideland leases go into the Aquatic Lands Enhancement Account. Half the money in the account goes to local entities for restoration and recreation projects. The other half goes back to the DNR for management. If management includes checking boundaries and if the state could collect twice the cost, then the program would pay for itself.
When I made that point this week to Bridget Moran, deputy supervisor for aquatic and agency resources, she downplayed the revenue-generating aspects. With the tight economy and businesses hurting, I guess it wouldn’t look good for the state to focus on cold, hard cash. Because geoduck revenues go into that aquatic lands account, the fund really isn’t hurting anyway.
“Our intent is to make sure the people’s resources are being managed in a sustainable way,” Moran told me. “If through this process we find trespass, we will put that money into the ALEA.”
Moran is new to the job, coming to DNR from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and previously the Department of Agriculture. In my dealings with her, I have found her to be exceedingly capable, and I wish her well in her new high-profile position.
My only suggestion — and this idea comes from Bill Dewey of Taylor Shellfish Farms — is to communicate well with the growers. Call a public meeting or two to explain what is going on, what is expected of the growers and what the growers can expect from the state.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention that Pandora’s shellfish basket may still contain a legal bombshell. Taylor Shellfish Farms has advanced a legal theory contending that, in the early 1900s, the state intended to sell the property in Totten Inlet where Taylor was growing geoducks. Under that theory, the state should be forced to correct the “mistake” made so many years ago.
I don’t how legitimate the idea is, but when Taylor and Goldmark settled their dispute out of court, the question went unresolved. If problems are widespread, might one or more disgruntled shellfish farmers raise the theory again?
I have written a lot about this topic of trespass, both in stories and in Water Ways. Check out a previous blog post from May 7, when I listed most of my writings.
