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Beachcombing : Salvage or Theft?

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U

UncaBuffalo

Guest
I have always thought that beachcombing was basically covered under salvage laws and that it was okay to take home anything you found below the high water mark. Recently, while in the San Juan Islands of Washington State, a park ranger threatened to give me a ticket for collecting drift-wood...even though the wood had been collected outside the park at various places around the island while I was kayaking. I shrugged the whole incident off as the product of an over-zealous ranger mis-understanding the law. Then this weekend on the coast in central Oregon, I had a similar situation occur, but this time it involved some rocks I wanted to take that were rolling in the waves. So my question is...what am I allowed to beachcomb? ...and where? (Would it matter if I was by a national park? ...state park? ...private land?)

Thanks.
 


racer72

Senior Member
Driftwood cannot be removed from beaches in Washington state. It is considered a natural part of the beach and must not be taken. Unnatural objects such as glass floats or other debris, you are free to take. Driftwood is a vital part of erosion control of the beaches. There are many areas of Puget Sound where driftwood and other objects have been removed for development and it has caused problems with the ecosystem of the area.
I have kayaked in Puget Sound many times and I was always told to bring my own firewood or collect a minimum of 300 feet from the high tide line. The rocks on the Oregon coast probably fall in the same category, it is a natural part of the environment and must stay.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
The same is true in the state parks of most states and all Federally run parks.
 
H

Humble Warrior

Guest
Unless the logs were round,shaped like a ring,and had diamonds in them,you were not beach-combing....you were playing with the environment. Think about it dude.....ever burned a diamond?
 

derrickito

Junior Member
weird. i posted to this thread a couple days ago but do not see my post? reposting

Can anyone quote a source stating the legaliting (or illegality) of driftwood gathering in washington state? I have found that state and national parks, as well as a couple city codes (seattle muni code) making driftwood gathering illegal, but there seems to be no state laws prohibiting collection in public areas or on private land with permission from landowner.

I'm looking at using driftwood in some furniture projects and it seems that it is perfectly legal in most public areas to remove driftwood for use.

can anyone prove me wrong?

info that i have found:

this states that The Washington State Attorney General , ruled that is fully legal for you to collect driftwood from a beach in Washington, with the exception of "logs, piling poles and boom sticks."
LOG PATROL RIGHTS VS. LITTORAL OWNER RIGHTS

this ruling on vashon also gives clearance to removing driftwood as it's not standing, not vegetation, and if not in a critical area, no permit needed http://your.kingcounty.gov/ddes/RRC/RegReviewDocs/MinRRC061026.pdf
 

Isis1

Senior Member
weird. i posted to this thread a couple days ago but do not see my post? reposting

Can anyone quote a source stating the legaliting (or illegality) of driftwood gathering in washington state? I have found that state and national parks, as well as a couple city codes (seattle muni code) making driftwood gathering illegal, but there seems to be no state laws prohibiting collection in public areas or on private land with permission from landowner.

I'm looking at using driftwood in some furniture projects and it seems that it is perfectly legal in most public areas to remove driftwood for use.

can anyone prove me wrong?

info that i have found:

this states that The Washington State Attorney General , ruled that is fully legal for you to collect driftwood from a beach in Washington, with the exception of "logs, piling poles and boom sticks."
LOG PATROL RIGHTS VS. LITTORAL OWNER RIGHTS

this ruling on vashon also gives clearance to removing driftwood as it's not standing, not vegetation, and if not in a critical area, no permit needed http://your.kingcounty.gov/ddes/RRC/RegReviewDocs/MinRRC061026.pdf
admin deleted it. because you are necroposting a thread from TEN YEARS AGO!
 

derrickito

Junior Member
i didn't know there was a time limit on any of these threads. it's a perfectly valid question completely on topic as far as i can see.
 

derrickito

Junior Member
it's the same question. why can't information of the same topic be filled in one thread

i run a few forums, and it's nicer to have one thread databse on the same topic rather than 20 of the same question asked over and over and over. if 60 people came in here and asked this same question, wouldn't you be yelling at them to use the search because it had been answered so many times?
 

Isis1

Senior Member
it's the same question. why can't information of the same topic be filled in one thread

i run a few forums, and it's nicer to have one thread databse on the same topic rather than 20 of the same question asked over and over and over. if 60 people came in here and asked this same question, wouldn't you be yelling at them to use the search because it had been answered so many times?
start your own thread with your own question.
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
it's the same question. why can't information of the same topic be filled in one thread

i run a few forums, and it's nicer to have one thread databse on the same topic rather than 20 of the same question asked over and over and over. if 60 people came in here and asked this same question, wouldn't you be yelling at them to use the search because it had been answered so many times?
None of the regulars will usually help somebody who necroposts.

Stop trying to argue and start your own thread if you want an answer.

This forum is not like most forums. It's much easier if one can get the relevant facts in the first post then wading through page after page of people in similar (but rarely identical) situations. If you are discussing Team Edward vs. Team Jacob (or whatever kind of forum you run) then page after page may work. It doesn't work here.
 
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