Legal Battle Over Wishkah River Timber Rights
A local man is held on charges of cutting timber on government land, setting the stage for a major legal test involving the Northern Pacific Railroad.
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The lieu land question has come up in such shape that it may be possible to get a decision thereon that will be of some value. Among the lieu lands in this locality is a tract up the Wishkah River that was deeded several years ago to Mrs. McGregor and to James Stewart. Part of this tract has since been sold to the city for a water works' site and part presented for a public park. Last Thursday a complaint was sworn out against Stewart by Geo. D. Allen and Jack Landers for cutting timber on government land. Stewart was arrested, but waived examination and was held over in $2,500 bonds to appear in the district court. Stewart says the Northern Pacific will take up his case and make a test matter of it. If any decision is reached in this matter, it will be far-reaching in its effects.
“If any decision is reached in this matter, whatever it may be, it will be far-reaching in its effects.”
Conflicts over public vs. private land use in the Wishkah watershed have shaped Aberdeen's geography for over a century, particularly regarding the city’s water supply and forest management.
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