This page presents information regarding the ownership dispute for two parcels within fTWC’s Area of Concern. Resolution of this dispute is required to enable the posting of use regulations for the public. The parcels in question are:
T 16 S, R 11 E, Sec. 33, NW ¼ of the SW ¼; (aka: Deschutes County Tax Lot 1611330000400. (Hereinafter Lot 0400))
T 17 S, R 11 E, Sec. 4, SW ¼ of the NE ¼; (aka: Deschutes County Tax Lot 171104A000600. (Hereinafter Lot 0600))

Our conclusion is that these lands are owned by BLM. A brief rationale for this conclusion follows:
- These lands were returned to the USA in 1910 after it was determined that the patents granted by the USA to the State of Oregon were not valid due to faulty diligence on the part of the State’s authorized agent and,
- In describing the lands to be granted to the Tumalo Irrigation District (TID) by the State of Oregon (Oregon Water Resources Department) in 1988, 1989 and 2010, assumptions were made without adequate research relative to Lot 0400 and Lot 0600 amongst others. A transcription error from the original to the county copy was made regarding Lot 0400.
- All this resulted in these parcels being claimed first to the State of Oregon in 2003 who subsequently quitclaimed them to TID in error. This is how it appears in the Deschutes County DIAL database.
- Any new information substantiating the State’s claim is cheerfully appreciated.
Details of the Issue:
The assertion that BLM owns these parcels is set out in BLM’s General Land Office Records. (Documentation is HERE for Lot 0400 and HERE for Lot 0600). Additionally, these two parcels are identified and BLM properties in the Upper Deschutes Resource Management Plan HERE. TID acknowledges the dispute on their website in the past but as of this writing, some mapping links are broken.
Research by a concerned citizen was performed in 2018 at the State Archives in Salem in an attempt to resolve this issue. Copies of the following documents were made and accompany this narrative as noted. They trace the journey from the Carey Act to the return of the aforementioned lots to the USA:
· The relevant section of the “Carey Act” of 1894 is HERE.
· Oregon’s acceptance of the conditions of the above Act and authorizing and directing the State Land Board to oversee the reclamation of “desert lands” is HERE.
· The submission by William Laidlaw, a duly authorized agent of Oregon of a list of land selections for settlement under the act including Lot 0400 and 0600 is HERE. The arrows point to the relevant entries.
· The filing and acceptance of the list of lands is HERE.
· The patent letters issued by President Roosevelt showing Lot 0400’s eligibility is HERE. The first arrow on page 3 calls out Lot 0400. The second arrow on page 4 calls out Lot 0600. This is a large file due to coloration; it may take a while to load.
· An investigation was done to review and reclaim those properties found ineligible for patenting including Lot 0400 and Lot 0600 is HERE. Note that the initial list submitted by the Desert Land Board does not include the lots but the consequent Indenture signed by Governor Bowerman does include them.
Further investigation by this author into the Deschutes County DIAL databases (https://dial.deschutes.org) confirms the essentials of this progression. Using the Deschutes County “Records Research” database, the following is found in the “Deed Records (1871 to 1982) option.
For Lot 0400, the Metes and Bounds book (HERE) displays entries for the relevant property description for:
- The application for desert lands commonly described as “Segregation List #13 in 1905 is HERE,
- The granting of patents by the USA to the State of Oregon in 1905 is HERE.
- An indenture returning lands from Oregon to the USA that were not found to have been properly developed for patenting is HERE. Please note that there appears to be a transcription error for Lot 0400 relative to the signed original in the archives. Whether this is the source of the dispute is unclear as no discrepancy exists for Lot 0600.
A final note: A patent search done by this author and independently by the Chief Cartographer at Deschutes County finds no patent granted by the USA to the State of Oregon from 1910 to present for Lot 0400. A patent search for Lot 0600 through the BLM Land Patents website shows the reconveyance of 1910 as the last entry for this property description.
The Account number assigned by DIAL to Tax Lot 1611330000400 is #150787. The summary page for that account gives the user the option of selecting “Tax Lot History”. Relevant selection options on that page include:
Current Tax Lot Ledger Report – July, 2003 – present (PDF)
Ledger report from Deschutes County’s current Assessor’s Office System. Updated Nightly. AND
Historic Tax Lot Information – 1961 through July, 2003 (PDF)
May include electronic reporting and scanned versions of paper records. AND
Additional Research Resources:
Clerks Grantor/Grantee Index – Prior to 1960 (PDF)
The index lists property grantors and grantees within a township, range, and section.
Selecting the “Current Tax Lot Ledger Report…” option returns the “DESCHUTES COUNTY ASSESSOR’S NAME LEDGER” (HERE). Note the effective date is 5/15/2003 and lists the Source ID as “Assessor’s File: Conversion: 150787”. In my response to my query to understand this “conversion”, the cartographer at the county sent me a copy of a document called a “Request for Roll Change” (HERE) which documents the resetting of ownership of various parcels in this section subsequent to ORWD quitclaiming their interest to TID in 1988 (HERE). The Planning Department Approval document is “Ref: 170/581”. To find this document, one needs to click on “Official Records (1983 to Present)”, pull up the “Search Documents” page, then click on the “Advanced Search” option. Enter the document number (“170-581” in this case) into the ‘Historic Book-Page (456-123) field and hit return. The results are HERE. The first of the two results is a document dated 9/12/1988 that pulls in the quitclaim deed from OWRD to TID with the property description of the Lots referenced above. Note that the BLM is not mentioned as the Grantor.
The working hypothesis is that it was assumed that Oregon owned these parcels – not unreasonable since they were all part of a group surrounding the current reservoir that was owned by the State. For instance, in testimony before the Department of State Lands on 9/27/2011 by Carl Hopp, attorney for TID, the history of confusion about ownership in the area was recapped as a preamble for a request for certain provisions in the Central Oregon Asset Management Plan (HERE – Begin Page 8). A letter requesting clarification of BLM grazing allotments further demonstrates the confusion regarding Lot 0600 HERE.
Selecting the “Historic Tax Lot Information…” option returns the two page “Real Property Tax Lot Record” (HERE). These entries have primarily to do with the history of Section 33. The entry for 8/10/87 references TL 1611 7891 which is the lot number describing TID’s holdings after the transfer and adjustments were made surrounding the quitclaim from Oregon to TID. Note the 40.05-acre description is identical for Lot 0400. R.C. means Roll Change described earlier. The Historic Ledger for the TID holdings (HERE) calls out Lot 0400.
For Lot 0600, the Metes and Bounds book (HERE) contains the same entries as Lot 0400. The Historic Ledger only contains the property description.
My conclusion is that inadequate research was done to ascertain the ownership history of Lots 0400 and 0600 when the State of Oregon assumed ownership in the County Record. Consequently, the quitclaim to TID is of no consequence.
Many thanks to Gregg Rossi at Deschutes County for helping me navigate their records. All errors are mine.
Peter Fullenwider – Sec/Treasurer of friend of the Tumalo Wildlife Corridor (501c3).