Passage of a Resolve and/or a legislative enactment, that makes clear to Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court (the Law Court) that any/all state “sovereign immunity” defenses to littoral upland owner claims of title to intertidal lands are “waived”. The question of ownership of these lands is critically important—the courts must fully and finally resolve this question. Further, if the Law Court does not proceed to reexamine the Bell cases, the Legislature should (by a Resolve or an enactment) direct the Attorney General’s Office to commence legal proceedings to resolve the question of ownership/title to Maine’s intertidal lands utilizing all of the…

It has been several months since the Change.org petition to the Maine Legislature was initiated.  To date, over 1,000 supporters have signed on.  It is my hope this number will continue to grow as reviews and speaking engagements grow in number and more copies of the book are sold, placed in libraries, and distributed to legislators and decision makers.  The awareness is growing that Maine’s present intertidal land law lacks common sense, is out of sync with the law in most other coastal states, and is predicated on faulty legal analysis.  Also growing is the awareness that judicial mistakes of…

By George Smith, A Bangor Daily News Blog Book Review — In 1989, Maine’s Supreme Court took away our right to enjoy our ocean intertidal zones. Looking all the way back to when Maine was part of Massachusetts, the Justices ruled that our opportunities to enjoy the intertidal zones are limited to fishing, fouling, and navigation.