Oregon Revised Statutes

Or. Rev. Stat. § 274.430 (2026)

State ownership of meandered lakes; status as navigable and public waters

✓ current as of May 2026
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      274.430 State ownership of meandered lakes; status as navigable and public waters. (1) All meandered lakes are declared to be navigable and public waters. The waters thereof are declared to be of public character. The title to the submersible and submerged lands of such meandered lakes, which are not included in the valid terms of a grant or conveyance from the State of Oregon, is vested in the State of Oregon.

      (2) ORS 274.430 to 274.450 shall not apply to any nonnavigable lakes lying within the boundaries of any duly organized and incorporated drainage district which was in existence on January 1, 1921.

      (3) Nothing in this section impairs the title of any upland or riparian owner to or any vested rights in land which was added prior to May 25, 1921, by natural accretion or reliction to the lands of such upland owner. [Amended by 1967 c.421 §132]

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 2017–2020 · leading case: Kramer v. City of Lake Oswego, 446 P.3d 1 (Or. 2019).
Kramer v. City of Lake Oswego, 446 P.3d 1 (Or. 2019). · cites it 3× “025(1) ; 14 **439 ORS 274.430(1). 15 The legislature uses the term "submersible lands" to "describe the land between the high-water mark and the low-water mark in both tidal and nontidal waters" and the term " 'submerged lands' to describe the land lying below the low-water mark…”
Kramer v. City of Lake Oswego, 395 P.3d 592 (Or. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 2× “” According to plaintiffs, because Sucker Lake (as mentioned, the former name for a portion of what is now Oswego Lake) has been “meandered,” there can be no factual dispute that all of the present day lake is “navigable and public.”
Chernaik v. Brown, 475 P.3d 68 (Or. 2020). “” Relatedly, ORS 274.430 states that “[a]ll meandered lakes are declared to be nav- igable and public waters.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 274.430(1) — 2 cases
Kramer v. City of Lake Oswego, 446 P.3d 1 (Or. 2019). “025(1) ; 14 **439 ORS 274.430(1). 15 The legislature uses the term "submersible lands" to "describe the land between the high-water mark and the low-water mark in both tidal and nontidal waters" and the term " 'submerged lands' to describe the land lying below the low-water mark…”
Kramer v. City of Lake Oswego, 395 P.3d 592 (Or. Ct. App. 2017). “” According to plaintiffs, because Sucker Lake (as mentioned, the former name for a portion of what is now Oswego Lake) has been “meandered,” there can be no factual dispute that all of the present day lake is “navigable and public.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 274.430(3) — 1 case
Kramer v. City of Lake Oswego, 446 P.3d 1 (Or. 2019). “025(1) ; 14 **439 ORS 274.430(1). 15 The legislature uses the term "submersible lands" to "describe the land between the high-water mark and the low-water mark in both tidal and nontidal waters" and the term " 'submerged lands' to describe the land lying below the low-water mark…”
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