The Public’s Radio — ‘We're not going to allow it’: Advocates push for greater access to Rhode Island beaches

Advocates for shoreline access collected seaweed on a beach in South Kingstown as property owners look on, on Saturday, June 26, 2021.
PHOTO BY ALEX NUNES

By Alex Nunes — Advocates for shoreline access are continuing to draw attention to what they say are ongoing threats to beach rights in Rhode Island. Some of them gathered Saturday in South Kingstown to collect seaweed and push for legislation to better clarify where the public is allowed to be on the shore.

Charlestown resident Valaree Villani got to the beach early Saturday morning. She came to watch her great nephew play in the water, but she also wanted to send a message to property owners, like the one who hired the nearby private security guards watching her.

“We're a loving state,” she said. “We’re a welcoming state. But please don't come here and think you're going to own the beach, because we're not going to allow it. And that's just the bottom line.”

Villani was part of a small group that came to collect seaweed along the shore in South Kingstown, just past the Charlestown Town Beach. 

Scott Keeley organized the event and has some history at the spot. Keeley was collecting seaweed on the beach in 2019 when police handcuffed and arrested him for trespassing. The charges were later dropped. 

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