A bit of Oregon vanishes.

Byline: The Register-Guard

There's consolation in knowing that of the 22 coastal states, Oregon was the last to require a permit to harvest crabs, clams and other saltwater shellfish. There's solace to be drawn from the fact that Oregon's $5 license fee, plus a $1.50 sales charge, will be tied for the nation's lowest. And resigned acceptance arises from understanding that the license fees will pay for helpful programs the state could not otherwise afford.

Yet the license requirement, effective Jan. 1, subtly transforms a birthright into a privilege. Crabbing and clamming on the Oregon Coast have always been part of what it means to live in this state, like picking blackberries in August. Anyone could do it, no one's permission was required, and it didn't cost anything. Nature's bounty has been there for everyone, and all that has been needed to share in it is a willingness to do some damp work.

The license, inexpensive though it may be, makes the state a party to Oregonians' relationship with shellfish, a relationship that has never required an intermediary. To be an Oregonian meant being able to decide, on the spur of the moment and with a glance at a tide table, to dig some clams or toss a crab ring off a pier. Even those Oregonians who never availed themselves of that opportunity held in the back of their minds the knowledge that they could if they wanted to, and perhaps that knowledge was most precious of all.

The Oregon Legislature adopted the license requirement, and lawmakers can't be faulted for it. The fees will raise an estimated $900,000, which will support programs necessary for public health, law enforcement and resource conservation. It's fair that these programs be paid for by those who benefit most directly - for instance, toxicology testing will ensure that the shellfish gathered on or near the coast are safe to eat. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife also expects to use fee revenues to protect and enhance shellfish populations, reintroducing species that were once native to Oregon coastal waters.

Still, however convincingly logic pulls in one direction, the emotions pull in the other. The loss that will occur when the license requirement goes into effect is real, and it's not the five bucks. The fee is well worth the programs it will support. The loss stems from the insertion of another wedge between Oregonians and nature, from the introduction of money and officialdom into a place it has never been before. It's a loss to be mourned.