The Looming Battle for Puget Sound's Shoreline
As Washington prepares for statehood, a contentious legal struggle over the future of tide lands begins to take shape.
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One of the most interesting and important subjects for equitable adjustment is the matter of the thousands of acres of tide lands within the territory. So long as territorial statutes exist, no great embarrassment could ensue, but when statehood comes, the act of admission vests the title to these valuable lands in the new state, subject to sale, lease, or other disposal. How far the constitutional convention may seek to go in the way of legislative disposition is entirely problematical. The general government holds the title as trustee for the future state, without power of disposal. Embracing nearly all of Puget Sound, the Pacific Ocean, and the Columbia River, these lands exist in quantities unparalleled in any other state or territory in the Union. Some confusion has arisen by confounding the rights of adjoining land owners—known as littoral or shore owners—with riparian owners on rivers. Littoral owners can by no possible means acquire legal rights in the soil between high and low water mark without a grant from the state. However, it cannot be denied that persons or corporations who have in good faith made valuable improvements upon this property should be protected, and in case of sale or lease, preference should be given to such investors at prices lower than to speculators who have made no investment.
“The owners of property abutting upon a tide that ebbs and flows are known as littoral or shore owners. These last named persons can by no possible means known to the law acquire any legal rights in the soil between high and low water mark.”
The struggle for control of the shoreline was a critical issue during Washington's transition to statehood, mirroring today's complex conflicts between private development and public access to the Puget Sound waterfront. The legal distinction between upland owners and the state's sovereignty over tide lands remains a foundational pillar of Washington land use law.
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