Projo — Shoreline access bill requires close attention (Op Ed)

Janet Freedman and Nathan Vinhateiro of the URI Coastal Institute take tidal measurements at South Kingstown Town Beach as part of a year-long study of the mean high tide line, Rhode Island’s legal boundary between public and private areas of the state’s shoreline. Kris Craig/The Providence Journal

May 29, 2022

Op Ed By Nathan Vinhateiro and Janet Freedman — Access to Rhode Island’s shoreline has become a major issue at the State House this year.

Proposed legislation aims to set a standard that balances the public’s constitutional right to walk along the beach with the rights of private property owners on the coast.

Rhode Island is the Ocean State and its people have always passionately protected their access to the coast. From the Narragansetts’ deeply spiritual relationship with Grandfather Ocean, to the Rhode Island State Constitution, the sea and the shore are so integral to our state’s identity that they are held in trust for the people’s use.

But if the “shoreline” changes with each breaking wave, how do we draw a line in the sand for public access? Here’s what the science says on a very complex issue.

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