NEWS RELEASE

Media Contact:

Ken Armstrong, Communications Manager, 503-881-2623, ken.armstrong@state.or.us                     

Aug. 26, 2019

Oregon DSL sets emergency restrictions at several riverfront locations on Columbia, Willamette rivers in Portland area

SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon Department of State Lands today announced additional Portland-area beach use emergency restrictions on four Columbia and Willamette river locations. The action, which will be followed by a request from DSL to the State Land Board to develop permanent rules at the locations, takes effect immediately.

The temporary emergency restrictions prohibit all activity between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. and prohibit campsites and campfires at all times on the following locations:

• The Columbia River in the North Portland Harbor between river miles 102 and 105.5
• The Oregon Slough in Portland between river miles 0 and 2.5
• The easterly bank of the Willamette River in Portland between river miles 1 and 5.5
• The easterly bank of the Willamette River in Portland between river miles 8 and 10

On July 1, the Department of State Lands implemented emergency restrictions at Lindbergh’s Beach on Swan Island, located on the easterly banks of the Willamette River at Swan Island within the city of Portland. Both the July 1 restriction and today’s action were the result of requests from the Port of Portland to restrict use of beach property due to nuisance littering/dumping, reckless burning/open fires, damage to property and derelict boats. The port is the upland owner at these riverfront locations.

“Illegal camping, along with abandoned and derelict vessels, is a major problem in the metro area and statewide,” said Ken Armstrong, DSL Communications Manager. “While we don’t want to issue blanket restrictions for the entire Willamette and Columbia right now, we do want to be aggressive in addressing problem areas. We also want to be strategic in using our limited resources to partner with other agencies and local governments to address the most serious locations first.”

DSL will ask the State Land Board at its October meeting for authority to pursue permanent restrictions at these locations via administrative rule changes. An administrative rule advisory committee and a public comment period will be part of that process. More information on the rulemaking process will be available at: https://www.oregon.gov/dsl/Laws/Pages/Rulemaking.aspx

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