Trespassing notices issued last month to about a dozen boaters parked in the Willamette River along Portland's downtown waterfront have had limited success so far in removing the suspected squatters.

Half of the boaters are contesting the evictions and aren't leaving.

Thirteen boaters received notices May 18 for squatting along a state-owned waterway for at least 30 days without permission. They had 20 days to move to another spot at least five miles away and not return for a year, move to a marina or contest the citation. If they don't comply, they can face fines of $100 a day until they move or their boats can be seized.

Seven of the boaters are awaiting hearings, said Lori Warner-Dickason, an operations manager with the Oregon Department of State Lands. They haven't been scheduled yet, she said.

Two likely points of contention, she said, are if the state lands department can prove each boat owner has been unlawfully parked on the Willamette River for 30 days and if the department is lawfully interpreting its 30-day "transient use" rule.

Two of the boaters moved to another spot at least five miles away, Warner-Dickason said. Another boater moved from a spot near the Hawthorne Bridge, but returned to a previous trespass area and has been told to move again, she said.

The remaining three boaters haven't appealed. Two of them moved to a public dock, where the state lands department doesn't have authority to cite them for trespassing, Warner-Dickason said.

The other hasn't moved and received a warning that his boat will be towed by a hired contractor if he doesn't move at least five miles or request a hearing by June 30, she said.

That boater, Rix "Finger" Chapman, told The Oregonian/OregonLive last month that he believed he was on public water and didn't plan to go anywhere unless there's an event such as the annual Fourth of July fireworks display or a barge coming through.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey