Coastal Access Toolkit
For information about drawing up contracts, transferring access, and More...
Common Law & Statutes
For information about land ownership and More...
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Common Law & Statutes
What are background legal principles governing coastal land ownership and access rights?
Maine is one of only a few states in which coastal property owners own land out to the mean low tide line. These ownership interests are subject to a centuries-old public easement for "fishing, fowling and navigation," however. In most other coastal states this intertidal land is owned by the state in trust for the public under the public trust doctrine.
The right to own property and exclude others from it is a fundamental feature of U.S. law. Under Maine common law, coastal property owners may prevent people from gaining access to the shoreline of their land. Gaining unauthorized access – either perpendicularly or horizontally to the shore – may be trespassing for which one may be liable in court.
The government has authority under its police powers to make laws protecting the welfare of its citizens, including regulating lands next to beaches and shores. Under the public trust doctrine, the government is obliged to act on behalf of the public to protect publicly-owned submerged lands below the mean low tide line, and publicly owned natural resources such as fish, bivalves, and seaweed that might be extracted from the shore.
The U.S. Constitution and many state constitutions also give the government the right to take private property under the power of eminent domain but only if the landowner receives appropriate compensation. Sometimes the government’s attempts merely to regulate behavior on or use of land goes so far as to amount to a "taking" requiring the government to pay the landowner for the lost value of the land.
More on eminent domain and takings.
More on land ownership and trusts.
Who owns the shore in Maine?
Maine is one of only a few states in which coastal property owners can own land out to the mean low tide line. These ownership interests are subject to a centuries-old public easement allowing the public to use the intertidal zone for the limited purposes of "fishing, fowling and navigation." At present, this does not legally include public use for recreational purposes.
In most other coastal states the intertidal land is owned by the state in trust for the public under the public trust doctrine. This generally entitles the public to use the intertidal zone for recreational purposes as well as such things as fishing and navigation.
What state statutes are relevant to access issues?
State laws affecting public access to the shore include:
- Natural Resource Protection Act
- Maine’s Landowner Liability Law
- Coastal Management Policies Act
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About CMPA
- 38 MRSA 1801
- Mandatory Shoreline Zoning Act
- About CMPA
- About MSZA (PDF)
- 38 MRSA 435
- Subdivision Review Act
-
About CMPA
- About SRA: PDF
- 30-A MRSA 4401: PDF
- Submerged Lands Leasing Program
- Coastal Management Policies Act
- About CMPA
- 38 MRSA 1801
- US Coastal Zone Management Act
Where can I get more information?
For more information on basic legal principles as they relate to the public’s rights to the intertidal zone, the public trust doctrine, “fishing, fowling and navigation,” and court cases related to these issues (such as the famous "Moody Beach" case), please see:
- Duff, J. 2004. Public Shoreline Access in Maine: A Citizen’s Guide to Ocean and Coastal Law (revised). Orono and Portland, ME: Maine Sea Grant and the Marine Law Institute. PDF
- North Atlantic Water Dependent Use Study, Handbook of Legal Tools
- Executive Summary (PDF)
- Table of Contents (PDF)