Taylor Shellfish, neighbors, state will talk about remedy

By Chester Allen | The Olympian • Published July 31, 2008

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TOTTEN INLET – Everyone agrees that Taylor Shellfish Co. farmed shellfish — mostly geoducks and oysters — on state-owned tidelands for decades.

But not everyone agrees what should happen after a land survey shows the extent of tidelands improperly farmed and Taylor pays a settlement to the state.

That process continued Wednesday, as surveyors worked on determining how much state tideland Taylor Shellfish farmed.

At the same time, Natural Resources and state Department of Fish and Wildlife crews started a scientific count of how many shellfish are on the tidelands.

As the technical people worked, waterfront neighbors and representatives of Taylor Shellfish and Natural Resources talked about what will happen next.

Beachfront residents want Natural Resources to kick Taylor off the estimated20 to 30 acres of state tidelands for good.

Taylor Shellfish wants to lease the lands from the state.

Natural Resources, which handles shellfish tideland leases for the state, is studying the issue, and there is a chance that Taylor Shellfish will be granted a lease to grow shellfish there.

Taylor owns tidelands next to the state-owned tidelands.

Waterfront residents, who did the initial research that showed Taylor was farming state-owned tidelands, said they want little or no shellfish growing on the state tidelands.

Natural Resources shouldn't allow Taylor to farm geoduck clams or install bags of oysters on the beach, resident Anita Woodnutt said.

"In 1997 and 1998, Taylor changed their footprint on the beach," said Woodnutt, a local resident for 26 years. "They changed to bagged oysters and started geoducks.

"The first geoduck harvest out here pulverized everything on the beach. We used to see all kinds of diverse life on the beach, but now the only things allowed to live out here is what Taylor plants."

Bill Taylor, an owner of the family-run company, said the previous owner farmed the tidelands from the 1950s until 1972, when Taylor Shellfish purchased the land. No one realized that some of the tidelands belonged to the state, he said. No one was trying to cheat the state or break the law, Taylor added.