In Oregon, we are proud of our public beach law. Everyone can go to our ocean beaches for free and no one can own the beach or the ocean. It is our collective sunset. The commons were left to us by a governor who knew its importance.
In these last years of care and understanding for the Portland Harbor, I came to understand that the beaches of all navigatable waters were public and that included the Willamette River. Despite the pollution, the miles of rotting docks, and the contaminants in the sediment, they could not take away the beaches. From the high water mark, all the way out into the river, it was the commons, the collective. It was free to everyone.
But today, in a gut-wrenching punch to my gut, I found out that this rule does not apply in many parts of the Portland Harbor. They made an exemption for industry, And that exemption allowed the many multinational corporations to poison the fish and destroy the banks. All the arguments that the public has a right to beaches are not true for the people and wildlife of the Portland Harbor. Even if it becomes nonriver dependent, the owners can still block access, as in the Linnton Mill Site and yes, even the River Trail Land.
In this map, you can see the disparity in beach access and contamination. I write desperate letters all afternoon, begging for this not to be true, but it is true. The beaches in the Portland Harbor are not generally accessible to the public. They are bought and sold by multinational corporations. They fight to keep us away, secure in their ability to fly to the most beautiful beach resorts in the world.
Tomorrow is a new day. It is a violation of our treaties and of the state land use laws. I will take this bad dream, and bring it into the light, one day at a time. To all the children who can not go to a beach in a river city, we dedicate this work.