It’s high summer in Maine and so we find ourselves thinking about how a verdict from the state’s highest court, expected later this year, could bring considerable change to public beach access in our state.

Peter Masucci v. Judy’s Moody, the first major case involving public access to intertidal land in Maine in years, was taken to appeal a 1989 ruling that limited public use of that intertidal land — between the high and low water mark — to “fishing, fowling and navigation,” activities enumerated in a 400-year-old ordinance.

Citing “acrimony, chaos and conflict” between beachgoers, the plaintiffs in the case are seeking the legalization of “reasonable recreational use of the intertidal zone.”

A recent letter to the editor from a resident of Wells, where the legal appeal originated, offered some insight into the sustained frustration there. “As summer continues at Moody Beach in Wells, families once again crowd onto 1% of the sand, while 99% lies virtually empty, due to inaccurate “Private Beach” and “No Trespassing” signs,” the July 16 letter read.

With this year’s beach season well underway, this exclusionary spirit is on feisty display up and down the coast of our state. The aggrieved letter writer concluded by encouraging the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, in the Masucci case, to “​​side with the people of Maine and the summer visitors who are vital to its tourist economy” in its adjudication. Sadly for the writer, it’s not as easy as that.

It’s not that we don’t understand this nature of emotional appeal; last September, this editorial board wrote in optimistic support (or, really, hope) of a ruling that would restore some form of welcome for the public. “We hope it will be a sensible change for the better, one designed to weather cynical challenges and stubborn dedication to “workarounds” by righteous, opportunistic individuals and groups,” we wrote.

If the aforementioned 1989 ruling is put on a stronger legal footing, enforcement of boundaries and “stay out” stuff is likely to deepen on our beaches. Wherever you stand on the appeal, it’s not too early to begin thinking about how the court’s decision might change time spent on the coast, might ask of all of us.

What have you noticed at the beaches you frequent in Maine? What sort of conversations have you had on the subject of public access? Let us know how you’re feeling about the access question. Comment below or write us an email: [email protected].