Accessing the Maine Coast
Everything you wanted to know about rights and responsibilities of accessing the coast of Maine
Accessing the Maine Coast is a self-help resource for Maine people.
This website contains information to help waterfront users, coastal communities, businesses, landowners and others address issues related to coastal access and working waterfronts in Maine. The intent of this website is to offer tools, resources and information to help facilitate cooperative approaches to the ever-growing complexity of working waterfront and coastal access issues in Maine. In addition to tools, legal information, a robust glossary, and references to the large body of work and organizations working on these issues, the website also offers a Q&A format for the following three entities: waterfront users (fishermen, harvesters, aquaculturists, recreational boaters, and others), government and public entities (municipalities, state programs, and others), and private landowners (waterfront infrastructure owners, private property owners, and others).
Coastal Access Toolkit
There are multiple ways that coastal access challenges can be addressed. Use this toolkit to gain access to new approaches, partners, documents produced in conjunction with this website, coastal access resource organizations, a glossary to define your coastal access search terms, and much more.
Private Waterfront Landowners
What are your legal rights and responsibilities to manage public use of your property? What is the scope of your ownership and what are its limitations?
Government & Public Entities
Municipalities and governments have unique tools available for creating and maintaining access and governments have the authority to use their regulatory power on behalf of the public, with restrictions.
Waterfront Users
What are your coastal access rights and responsibilities? In Maine, waterfront land may be owned to the mean low tide as private property. Privately owned intertidal land can be accessed by others for fishing, fowling and navigation.
Common Law & Statutes
What legal principles govern shoreline ownership and access in Maine? Property holders may own the shore all the way down to the mean low tide mark. The state or town may own shoreline areas including beaches. The public does retain access to the intertidal area for the purposes of fishing, fowling and navigation regardless of who holds the title to the land. For each space and use of a space, there is a balance between public and private rights.
