Our Common Wealth

19Who Owns the Beach?

Some 70 percent of the Earth’s surface consists of oceans, and we all own them. But getting access to what we own isn’t always easy.

Here’s the math. Half the population of the United States lives within 50 miles of the coast. But 70 percent of coastal land is privately owned, and the percentage is increasing all the time. A relatively small group of private owners constitutes a blockade to a much larger group of common owners. What gives?

If this sounds like a cue for lawyers to enter—well, it is. Beachfront access has become a heated issue from California to Maine and in the Great Lakes states in between. There have been major victories for the public, but private property fundamentalists have mounted a predictable reaction, ...