
We come and go, but the land is always here.
Willa Cather, O Pioneers!
I have a lifelong connection to the land, the shore, and the water in the Pacific Northwest. They are the focus of my law practice.
I have assisted clients with the following projects:
Land
- Real estate transactions.
- Wetland mitigation plans, mitigation banking, private mitigation agreements.
- Cell tower and rooftop leases.
- Resolution of easement issues.
- Permits and variances for floodplain development.
- Boundary disputes and discrepancies between surveys.
- Land transfers with the Oregon Department of State Lands.
- Leasing, use rights, and land exchanges on state and federal lands.
Shore
- Clarification of waterway boundaries along rivers, lakes, and the Pacific Ocean.
- Permits for dredging and upland development.
- Resolution of filled lands ownership.
- Removal, repair, and vegetation issues on levees.
- Analysis of public use rights on shores and waterways.
- Permitting for docks and streambank stabilization.
- Wharf registrations for marine terminals on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers.
Water
- Successful challenge to the State of Oregon’s claim of ownership to 89 miles of the Rogue River.
- Permits for waterway crossings and in-water structures.
- Protection of historic water rights in the Klamath Basin Adjudication.
- Waterway leases and registrations.
- Resolution of enforcement actions by the Oregon Department of State Lands.
- Legislation to clarify recreational use of rivers and streams.

River Navigability
The Rogue River channel has moved since its first survey in 1854. I helped property owners oppose the state’s claim of ownership based on navigability.

Moving Boundaries
Ownership boundaries along water can fluctuate. I helped owners and developers clarify boundaries along dozens of rivers and lakes in Oregon and Washington.