Tidelands

The shores of navigable tidal waters lying between the line of ordinary high tide and the line of extreme low tide are considered tidelands. Many tidelands are privately owned. Every effort has been made to verify public tideland locations on these maps; however, we cannot be responsible for errors. The absence of posted signs does not automatically identify public tidelands. Shellfish may not be taken from private tidelands without the owner's permission.

Rights and Responsibilities of Public Users

Certain rules of conduct should be followed when visiting public tidelands to dispel the image of the tourist who trespasses and leaves litter. Make sure to park in safe and appropriate locations and do not trespass across private uplands when accessing public tidelands.

Often there is no upland property available to install sanitary or garbage facilities. Use sanitary facilities available at nearby marinas and parks. The continued recreational and commercial harvest of shellfish in Washington State relies on clean water.

Users of state-owned tidelands assume all liability and risk associated with their use.

Shellfish growing is a viable industry and is very important to the economy of Washington State. Shellfish growers farm their private tideland beds for commercial purposes. Be careful not to encroach onto private shellfish bed(s).

History of Public Tidelands

When the original 13 colonies became states, the founding fathers adopted land use laws based on the English system of law. The shores of navigable waters and the soils under them were the property of the state. New states, upon admission to the union, retained the same rights as the original 13 colonies.

The State of Washington, at the time of adoption of the State Constitution on November 11, 1889, asserted its ownership of the beds and shores of navigable waters up to and including the line of ordinary high water (mean high water).

At that time all the tidelands of the state were publicly owned. However, the Washington State Constitution does not contain a provision allowing upland property owners any rights of access to saltwater for shipping, fish and shellfish propagation, or other water-oriented industry. Washington is a non-riparian rights state.

To rectify this situation, and provide revenue to the state, the 1889-1890 Legislature authorized the sale of public tidelands to private individuals. In the ensuing years, approximately 60 percent of Washington State-owned tidelands were sold to private owners. This practice was discontinued in 1969.

Management of Public Lands

Today, 1,700 miles of saltwater tidelands remain in state ownership. The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife manage some 300 miles of tidelands, including the Pacific coastal tidelands. The remaining 1,400 miles of tidelands are managed by Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The DNR manages these public trust lands by utilizing multiple use concepts. These lands are held in trust for all the people. However, it must be recognized that some uses such as aquaculture and recreation are not equally compatible. Therefore, DNR has inventoried the state-owned tidelands and classified them as being best suited for commercial use (open for lease), reserves, and for public use purposes. Approximately 75 percent of the Department managed tidelands were classified for public use. The decisions were based on location, historic use, length, and type of tidelands, and the extent and type of upland development.

Public Ownership

The extent of public ownership on any particular piece of state-owned tidelands varies depending upon the date the uplands were patented, i.e., transferred from government to private ownership.

For tidelands where the uplands were patented prior to statehood (November 11, 1889), the private upland ownership extends to the mean high water line or to the meander line, whichever is further seaward. Uplands patented by the United States after November 11, 1889 extend to the line of mean high water.

The meander line is the original surveyed shoreline, and in instances where erosion has occurred since 1889, it may be well out into the bay. This means that what looks like tidelands, could actually be privately owned uplands. Mean high water is the average of the elevations reached by all of the high tides for a particular area over a long period of time. A complete cycle of high tides takes 18.6 years. In most cases, the mean high water line falls just seaward of the line of old drift logs in the upper tideland area.

Since the meander line is a surveyed line rather than a constant elevation line, in areas where prestatehood patents exist for uplands it may be very difficult to determine the exact location of the boundary between public tidelands and private uplands. Additionally, naturally occurring erosion and accretion make upland boundary lines subject to constant change.

After statehood, numerous detached tideland tracts were sold for the purposes of shellfish cultivation. These privately owned detached shellfish beds are usually located some distance away from the shoreline; however, in some cases they are very close. Most commercial shellfish beds are marked with hemlock stakes or other markers by the property owner.