Accessing the Maine Coast

Why is access important to local governments?

Coastal access is important for both recreational and commercial users. Ensuring recreational access to the coast offers visitors and locals the opportunity to connect with marine ecosystems. Commercial access to the coast and to working waterfront infrastructure supports the local economy by ensuring access to marine livelihoods.

How can state and local governments plan for coastal access?

Comprehensive planning and harbor planning ordinances and processes can reduce the types of development that might restrict and limit access. These tools can also be used to provide incentives for developers to provide access to the public in both new development and redevelopment.

How can we ensure access for tribal members?

Tribal Nations

As sovereign nations, Tribal nations that have intertidal land and access have the right to regulate intertidal fisheries and the access to coastal spaces. Settler-colonial policies historically sought to separate Wabanaki people from their fisheries, a legacy carried forward through state decisions about where Wabanaki people were allowed to live; the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission’s Sea Run report details these histories and outlines pathways for restoring connections to clamming and other cultural lifeways. In many ways the State of Maine relates with the sovereign Wabanaki tribal nations in a similar way to municipalities. As of spring of 2023, The Passamaquoddy at Sipayik are working to create an ordinance specifically for wild intertidal shellfishing (primarily clams). This governing document would allow Passamaquoddy people greater access to wild intertidal shellfish. While Sipayik is the only Wabanaki Nation in Maine with coastal landholdings – and therefore the only Nation positioned to create an ordinance of this type – their approach may still offer useful insights or procedural examples for other Tribal Nations seeking to strengthen governance over their own fisheries, harvesting rights, or access systems within their respective geographies.

Non-Wabanaki government 

Unlike many other coastal states, Maine does not ensure coastal and fisheries access for Indigenous people in Maine. Multiple U.S. Supreme Court cases create the precedent for non-tribal governments ensuring access for indigenous people. The U.S. vs. Winans, a U.S. Supreme Court case from 1905, states that “Tribes retain their aboriginal rights unless abrogated by treaty, abandoned or extinguished by statute” and that “Indians have an easement over lands to gain access to their usual and accustomed places.” Furthermore, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld this finding in 1942 in Tulee v. Washington. In Tulee v. Washington, the U.S. Supreme Court established that states may regulate the manner in which fishing can take place for conservation purposes, however it upholds indigenous peoples’ right to fish in “usual and accustomed places” without a state fishing license. 

While members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation, the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, and the Aroostook Band of Mi’kmaq do not need to register for a license for recreational harvesting of wild intertidal shellfish, there are no protections for Wabanaki people when it comes to commercial harvesting or coastal access broadly. Because of this, Wabanaki people who are not residents of a coastal community in which they wish to commercially harvest are required to apply for non-resident licenses. Maine is a home-rule state, and thus, many of the protection measures to ensure Wabanaki access to coastal spaces are left to municipalities.

How can we use government mechanisms to help protect existing access points and create new access points?

• Conduct an inventory of access points and working waterfront infrastructure. 
• Conduct an inventory of shellfish access-specific resources.
• Look at the existing ordinances to see if any existing regulations can be used to ensure public access in new development or redevelopment projects. See the Lamoine case study for an example.
• Purchase land with water access, or acquire access rights from a willing seller. The state offers grant programs to assist with the purchasing of coastal land. See the Lubec Case study for an example. The Land and Water Conservation Fund can also be used for purchases for recreational water access. 
• Enter into a private agreement with a willing property owner. 
• Establish land use regulations to create or enhance access. Zoning for access is one tool to secure future access points. 
• Tax related policies and programs can help reduce assessed value through enrollment in current use taxation or other tax-related programs and policies, selling development rights, or by placing enforceable deed restrictions upon a parcel. Models for new tax tools are also available.

How can we protect and preserve access through other means?

• Coastal landowner appreciation events can be a great way to build relationships between coastal property owners and coastal users. These events can be small-scale, yet have a huge impact when it comes to building trust and respect between landowners and those who may be on their property. See the Harpwell case study for an example. 
• Reach out to local realtors to inform them of the ways they can help build new access points. 
• Reach out to and inform new coastal landowners of what they can expect living in a coastal town with a working waterfront (whether that working waterfront is a mudflat or a public wharf). See this publication from Harpswell as an example. These kinds of publications can be prominently displayed in municipal offices and even be given to new coastal landowners who may have to come into municipal offices to fill out or deposit other paperwork. 
• Reach out to neighboring local government units to learn about what they are doing to protect and preserve access. While the context of each municipality is unique, often strategies can be adapted to work in a different space.
• Reach out for support. There are many organizations who are actively working to create resources to support local government units in their quest to protect and preserve access. They may be able to add to your capacity, provide you with resources, or connect you with the information you seek. These include but are not limited to Maine Sea Grant, The Maine Shellfish Learning Network, Manomet, Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, Maine Coastal Fisheries Partnership, Casco Bay Regional Shellfish Working Group, Tidal Bay Consulting, The Island Institute, Maine Coast Heritage Trust

How can we secure or manage existing public access?

• Re-establish rights of way
• Acquire or secure easements
• Plan for access.

What is the role of land trusts as public interest entities in planning, enhancing, creating, securing, and managing access?

Land Trusts and conservation organizations can assist in the process of protecting and preserving access. If your goals align with the goals of a local land trust, they may be able to help municipalities purchase land and secure access long term. For more information and to find a land trust near you, visit the following resources:

• Land Trust Alliance
• Maine Coast Heritage Trust
• The Conservation Fund
• The Trust for Public Lands

What state action is being taken to support working waterfront access?

• The Working Waterfront Access Protection Program provides matching funds to help fishing and aquaculture businesses, co-ops, municipalities, and other groups protect working waterfront properties for commercial fishing and aquaculture purposes. 
• Shore and Harbor Planning Grants 
• Small Harbor Improvement Program | Maine Department of Transportation.

What federal action is being taken to support working waterfront access?

Keep America’s Waterfronts Working Act (2021-2022): In 2021, Senator Pingree of Maine, introduced a bill to the House of Representatives that would charge State Coastal Management Zones to establish a Working Waterfront Task Force and grant program. This legislation was reintroduced to the House of Representatives in March 2025. While this legislation has been introduced, it has not yet passed to become law as of the summer of 2025.

where can I find more information?

• In 2021, The Island Institute published a report about the state of the working waterfront in Maine. It contains up to date information and resources. 
• 2020 Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association State of Maine’s Working Waterfront Report.
• The Casco Bay Regional Shellfish Working Group created a guide called Preserving Access to the Intertidal which is a guide geared toward municipal managers and offers advice, guidance, and strategies for protecting and preserving coastal access.