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Syndicate
Sep
30
| On the Egde - Our Beaches at Risk |
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| Tuesday, 30 September 2008 | |
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Providence photographer Kathie Florsheim has been working for several years on a project to document the state of our shoreline -- with the aim of exploring how we value and use the coast, and the hope of communicating an appreciation for its value. Here is a sample of her work and her discussion of it, for more, visit her Web site. My photographic project, On the Edge, documents land use along the coast, and brings me to the shore often. I have seen a lot of beaches in the last five years and realized there are a number of issues common to most of them. Take, for instance, the inevitable public-private debate about who can walk, where, along the beach. In one waterfront town in Massachusetts, I have seen fencing that cordons off a private beach from the public. That property abuts a small road that is marked with PRIVATE signs, enough of them to fill a Volkswagon. While the property may, in fact, be private, my hunch is that the road is public, but the signage adjacent to the road is meant to deter unwanted traffic. So much the better if one misunderstands that the road as well as the property, is private. That kind of deliberate misunderstanding is widespread, all along the coast. I have been thrown off a beach, also in Massachusetts, that belonged to a motel, because I was told I was trespassing. I knew the motel owner, and had photographed on his property, with permission, numerous times. But I was apparently setting a bad precedent, even though there was no one is sight who might have gotten the idea I was setting a precedent. It is true that Massachusetts is a low-water state, so in fact, according to the letter of the law, I was trespassing. So is everyone who walks along the sand in Massachusetts. But that would not be true in a high-water state, like Rhode Island. Confused? It is confusing, but the rights, at least from a legal perspective were established in the 17th century, according to British law. Depending upon whether a state is a declared high or low water state, one is allowed to stroll on the sand or, legally at least, only in the water. In Massachusetts, you are permitted to walk only below the mean low water mark, which means you will always be walking in the water. But in Rhode Island you can walk the beaches below the mean high water mark, which means you can meander along the sand anywhere along the coast, legally. The letter of the law is rarely enforced the way it was the day I was ejected. People usually stroll along the sand without a thought, and much of that access has to do with good will. I have heard egregious stories of misbehavior from both property holders and those who would use the coastal rights of way. What is clear is that each perspective represents valid concerns and that a lot of the issues would be less so, were all parties to use common courtesy and good judgment, which is what I trust, Dear Reader, you will do. |
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