A disturbing situation in Dewatto. I have been by this beautiful estuary on a couple of occasions and would never have thought it was owned by the State, and apparently there is significant doubt about that. This story is sort of pitting the old Hood Canal community against the modern DNR, which is trying to establish an aquatic reserve in Dewatto. “Proposed Dewatto Natural Resources Conservation Area” While I supported this effort when I first heard of it, I had no idea it was embroiled in a lawsuit/land battle with homeowners and neighbors. DNR should not be fighting this battle. The owners do not want to sell, and the property has been privately owned since at least the 1930s. There is extensive records from the owners proving title to the land. Ms. Franz ought to back off this issue. It is a no win situation, that will only harm future efforts to create aquatic reserves. While I’m sorry that the state does not have the opportunity to create the reserve here, the case that owners present is quite compelling.
It was the start of a love affair. These are words that Marlene Iddings, 86, uses to describe the tideland property she and her late husband, Lloyd, purchased at Dewatto Bay in 1959…. The Iddings family has been entangled in a lawsuit with the state Department of Natural Resources since 2015, with both parties claiming ownership of more than 7 acres of tidelands. The suit is set to go to trial in Mason County Superior Court this spring, though a Kitsap County judge will preside over the case since Mason County judges have recused themselves. Joining the Iddings are nearly 20 other landowners whose properties would be directly impacted by the outcome of the case, since the state has proposed leaving the Iddings with about a 3-acre slice of tidelands that would domino into their neighbors’ properties. The implications of the case extend beyond Dewatto Bay. In court filings, the state has noted that if the court finds that the Iddings have legal title to the tidelands, the state can still take them without compensating the Iddings, since for decades the public has harvested on those tidelands. Arla Shepherd Bull reports. (Kitsap Sun)
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Aquatic Reserve, Dewatto Bay, DNR, Puget Sound |
