RI Barrier Beach Permit - Out-of-State!!!

[Raven]

thats the proof..... even though you know its there. Not in my back yard mentality is making fishing a rich mans sport like membership in some ritsy golf club. it's ridiculous. I'll vote for ya beachwalker.... if you run for office.

[Ed B]

No doubt everyone will have their opinions on access. But the history of shoreline access has been a problem for many of us for decades. And those problems will be different for every community in which you live. Nantucket does not have the same problems as Warwick or Newport or Westerly etc.. and never will. Here in RI guys like DZ have been working for years to give a fisherman the opportunity to park their car on a public street at night and not get towed. He could talked to you for hours about his efforts and problems encountered to give us the opportunity for access in Newport.

In the town in which I live we have signs that designate Public Rights of Way. Waterfront homeowners pull the signs out and put up no tresspassing signs on their adjacent properties. Some file court appeals to Public right of Ways knowing that the state has no money to spend in fighting the appeal. In North Kingstown the local homeowners got together and brought in a front end loader to dig a trench to prevent people from driving out to the point at Bissel Cove.

The history of the right to waterfront access for the common citizens and confrontations with the perceived priviledged waterfront homeowners goes back centuries. You can learn more about RI public Right of Way in this link.http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/daytrip/CRMC/CRMC.html

[beachwalker]

Thank you Ed,

I refered to the info you provided and it is helpful.

Nantucket has just recently re-opened the 40th pole access point which was closed, last year, due to beach goers making a mess of the place. The homeowner had a legal claim to the right of way.
The beachgoers (which in this case were locals who claimed a "right" to access for generations) were trashing the place with parties leaving trash, loud music, PWC's and lack of respect for the access point.

The owner tried and tried to be nice but the ignorance and reactive nature of the beachgoers finally took him to the boiling point. Instead of permantly closing the access, he hired a lawyer and approached the town in an effort to find a common ground to the situation. He wanted the public to have access. The immediate, knee jerk reaction was that he was using his endless supply of money to legally fight the problem. The reality was that he was using his endless supply of money to reach a decision to ASSIST all affected.

There is now complete access to 40th pole (which by the way is an AWESOME fishing spot) but with stricter policing of the area.

This is where some of the increased beach pass funds are going.

Not EVERY private concern goes to these lengths to secure access but there is always hope. This gentleman saw the potential good in people regardless of their conduct.

At three other beaches the town has cut deals with property owners to secure parking for beach access. They do this by closing some access points so others can be forever secured.
The problem is that the South shore of the island is eroding away and, one day, ALL access points owned by the town will be but a memory. The truth is a hard plug to swallow somedays.

I realize the issues here couldn't possibly ALWAYS parralell other venues but there is hope that, through litigation and a respect for common cause, solutions can sometimes be achieved.

Here's to making the effort without ASSUMPTIONS of the private and public intentions.

The world can be a better place if people would just make the effort. Make the effort to understand, make the effort to be clean and make the effort to accept when a spot is full to capacity today and I should probably go elsewhere.

The best consequence of these capacity issues is that, if you are a SUMMER beach fisherman that knows his or hers salt, you would be BASS fishing when the crowds aren't present to begin with. (Nightime and early AM)

Have a successful holiday all !

[beachwalker]

Early on, in the previously mentioned struggle, the guy did roll boulders at the entrance one august day.

He's no angel