Don Lindly Park To Be Sold To The County

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission has voted to approve the sale of the Don Linley property on the Alsea River to Lincoln County, ensuring the site remains open to the public. The roughly ten–acre parcel, purchased by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in 2014, was originally intended to become a new public boat launch on the upper tidewater reach of the river. The project was funded primarily through federal Sport Fish Restoration dollars, with additional support from the Oregon State Marine Board and donations raised by the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation.

Over the years, Lincoln County and state partners completed surveys, design work, and public meetings to advance the boat ramp project. But in a 2023 public meeting, most attendees said they preferred the site to stay undeveloped, used instead for kayaking, swimming, angling, and general park use. At the January 2026 Marine Board meeting, the board took back a grant from the county to work on putting in a boat ramp at the site. Citing that shift in public opinion and changing county priorities, Lincoln County decided not to move forward with a motorized boat ramp and instead requested to purchase the property outright.

During testimony at the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission ODFW’s Sport Fish Restoration coordinator, Holly Hutchko, told commissioners "Lincoln County informed us that they wanted to purchase the property because they no longer planned to pursue the motorized boat ramp, and that was because of the change in public opinion and county priorities." She added "There has been public involvement in the project from the beginning, including in the multiple opportunities for public to comment on our proposal today, which is selling the property."

Huchko told the commission "Those opportunities recently were at the January 2026 Lincoln County Board meeting, the public land advisory committee meeting in 2026 and the marine board meeting at all of those meetings, there was no public testimony or comments on this property sale, and we heard during our commission process here only from one person that was in support of the sale." At the January 7, 2026 Board of Commissioners meeting the information was put forth in the documents of recording segment and was not publicly discussed.

Hutchko added that the agency wants to remain flexible and keep the shoreline open for bank fishing and diverse access needs. As part of the sale, a deed restriction will be recorded to guarantee continued public access and to help protect the site’s wetland and estuary habitats. Because federal funds were used to acquire the property, ODFW secured approval from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to sell the land and repay the program using a new Yellow Book appraisal.

That appraisal valued the property at 250,000 dollars, down from its earlier appraised value. One commissioner questioned the drop, but Hutchko said the latest federally approved appraisal concluded the property had previously been slightly overvalued and now reflects a lower market price, not physical damage or degradation.

Commissioners ultimately voted to approve the sale, with one “no” vote cast in disappointment over the continued lack of motorized public access on the upper Alsea tidewater, which some say has become a de facto private fishery. With the sale moving ahead, ODFW will repay the federal funds while Lincoln County takes ownership and keeps the shoreline open to the public.