OLYMPIA — The state Court of Appeals upheld on July 26 an easement for Hood Canal aquatic lands between the state Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Navy.
The decision from a three-member panel of the Court of Appeals upholds a May 2015 Jefferson County Superior Court ruling that DNR “had the authority to grant the easement to the United States Navy” and the easement “was not arbitrary, capricious or unlawful.”
“This is great news for the people of Washington,” Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark said in an announcement released by DNR. “This vital agreement between the Department of Natural Resources and the Navy has been affirmed in every venue in which it has been reviewed. Today’s decision protects a priceless marine ecosystem while ensuring public access and preserving the operations of the Navy and the many jobs that rely on its presence in Hood Canal.”
In July 2014, the Navy paid DNR $720,000 for a 50-year restrictive easement on 4,804 tidelands and bedlands in Hood Canal.
A federal lawsuit challenging the easement was dismissed in September 2015.
DNR is steward of more than 2.6 million acres of state-owned aquatic lands and is responsible for ensuring environmental protection of the state’s aquatic resources.
