2022 Beaches Conference Program

Join Verrill's Gordon R. Smith at The Beaches Conference where he will be presenting with the panel on Courting Opinions: Ownership, Access, and Use of the Maine Coast. While the legal opinions of the judicial branch of state government can be difficult to interpret and at times confusing to understand, they have an impact on the everyday lives of residents, visitors, and landowners of the Maine coast. This session seeks to shed light on two Maine Supreme Judicial Court decisions that influenced what is a permissible use in the intertidal zone and who owns a stretch of beautiful shoreline in a York County town. It further presents an indigenous perspective on land stewardship v. ownership, as well as the latest challenge to past Supreme Court decisions about who actually owns the land between the tides in Maine. The goal of this session is to increase public awareness and understanding of complex legal issues and the court decisions that govern our lives along the coast of Maine. The Beaches Conference is designed to inspire learning, appreciation and awareness, and promote informed decision-making and actions on our changing beaches and coasts. The event fosters the exchange of scientific, cultural, and experiential knowledge from diverse interests. Please join us in building and celebrating the partnerships needed to support long-term beach and coastal monitoring, management, and stewardship.

For more information and to register for this event, please click here.