Year: 2021
Project(s):
Relevance
Part of Sea Grant's mission is to inform the public on natural coastal resources, and the information from the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program explained the right of public access to beaches below the mean high tide line. In Alabama, common law requires allowing the public access is to areas below the mean high tide. However, some waterfront property owners and local municipalities are not aware of the laws that maintain this access.
Response
A Fairhope, Alabama, code enforcement officer turned to the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium (MASGC) for help regarding public beach access after new homeowners next to a city marina posted private beach/no trespassing signs to prevent people from walking the beach. An MASGC attorney provided her article "Shifting Sands, Bedrock Law: Public Ownership of Tidelands," which explains how centuries of common law protect the right of the public to access beaches below the mean high tide line in Alabama. http://masglp.olemiss.edu/waterlog/pdf/sep20/wl40.3_article4.pdf
Results
Because of Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program expertise, members of the public in a small town are able to enjoy access to a beach that homeowners posted as private.
Recap
After landowners improperly posted their beach as private property/no trespass, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant explained to the City of Fairhope, Alabama, via an article in its legal publication, "Water Log," that the public has a constitutional right to access beaches in Alabama and ensured access for everyone. (2021)