{"id":3682,"date":"2026-06-09T09:35:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T14:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/?p=3682"},"modified":"2026-06-11T07:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T12:25:08","slug":"center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"Center Staff\u00a0Examine Public Access to Shoreline in\u00a0Article Published in\u00a0The Conversation\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Walking on the beach is a simple yet legally complex act. The Public Trust Doctrine guides how we access, use, and enjoy certain water bodies. However, states differently interpret and apply certain tenets of this doctrine, including whether and where the public can walk the shoreline. Director, Professor, and Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed Chair Melissa Scanlan and Water Science and Policy Communications Fellow Will Matuska write in The Conversation about the ways the public is excluded from reaching the water\u2019s edge \u2014 even when that right is protected by the public trust \u2014 and how communities respond.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read it at The Conversation<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more of our published work<\/a> on the Public Trust Doctrine<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Walking on the beach is a simple yet legally complex act. The Public Trust Doctrine guides how we access, use, and enjoy certain water bodies. However, states differently interpret and apply certain tenets of this doctrine, including whether and where the public can walk the shoreline. Director, Professor, and Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39778,"featured_media":3691,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[11,43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-spotlight-stories"],"uwm_unpublish_requested":false,"yoast_head":"\nCenter Staff\u00a0Examine Public Access to Shoreline in\u00a0Article Published in\u00a0The Conversation\u00a0\u00a0 - Center for Water Policy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Center Staff\u00a0Examine Public Access to Shoreline in\u00a0Article Published in\u00a0The Conversation\u00a0\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Walking on the beach is a simple yet legally complex act. The Public Trust Doctrine guides how we access, use, and enjoy certain water bodies. However, states differently interpret and apply certain tenets of this doctrine, including whether and where the public can walk the shoreline. Director, Professor, and Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Center for Water Policy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uwmwaterpolicy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-09T14:35:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-11T12:25:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/667\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-11-at-7.16.18-AM-scaled-e1781180694210-1024x624.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"624\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"William Matuska\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"William Matuska\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"William Matuska\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e73be1bfb22ee4a38a1ff32fb4a681f5\"},\"headline\":\"Center Staff\u00a0Examine Public Access to Shoreline in\u00a0Article Published in\u00a0The Conversation\u00a0\u00a0\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T14:35:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-11T12:25:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":151,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/667\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Screenshot-2026-06-11-at-7.16.18-AM-scaled-e1781180694210.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Spotlight Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\\\/\",\"name\":\"Center Staff\u00a0Examine Public Access to Shoreline in\u00a0Article Published in\u00a0The Conversation\u00a0\u00a0 - Center for Water Policy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/667\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Screenshot-2026-06-11-at-7.16.18-AM-scaled-e1781180694210.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T14:35:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-11T12:25:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e73be1bfb22ee4a38a1ff32fb4a681f5\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/667\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Screenshot-2026-06-11-at-7.16.18-AM-scaled-e1781180694210.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/667\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Screenshot-2026-06-11-at-7.16.18-AM-scaled-e1781180694210.png\",\"width\":2170,\"height\":1323,\"caption\":\"A man walks on a beach and the text \\\"Who is allowed to walk on the beach? It depends on where you live\\\" is in front of him.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/category\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Center Staff\u00a0Examine Public Access to Shoreline in\u00a0Article Published in\u00a0The Conversation\u00a0\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/\",\"name\":\"Center for Water Policy\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/centerforwaterpolicy\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e73be1bfb22ee4a38a1ff32fb4a681f5\",\"name\":\"William Matuska\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b308f21ad3359f868cadaafaacf315abafdbf46b9e6ca65aed49928e8447aee1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b308f21ad3359f868cadaafaacf315abafdbf46b9e6ca65aed49928e8447aee1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b308f21ad3359f868cadaafaacf315abafdbf46b9e6ca65aed49928e8447aee1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"William Matuska\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Center Staff\u00a0Examine Public Access to Shoreline in\u00a0Article Published in\u00a0The Conversation\u00a0\u00a0 - Center for Water Policy","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Center Staff\u00a0Examine Public Access to Shoreline in\u00a0Article Published in\u00a0The Conversation\u00a0\u00a0","og_description":"Walking on the beach is a simple yet legally complex act. The Public Trust Doctrine guides how we access, use, and enjoy certain water bodies. However, states differently interpret and apply certain tenets of this doctrine, including whether and where the public can walk the shoreline. Director, Professor, and Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed …","og_url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/","og_site_name":"Center for Water Policy","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uwmwaterpolicy\/","article_published_time":"2026-06-09T14:35:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-11T12:25:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":624,"url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/667\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-11-at-7.16.18-AM-scaled-e1781180694210-1024x624.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"William Matuska","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"William Matuska","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/"},"author":{"name":"William Matuska","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/#\/schema\/person\/e73be1bfb22ee4a38a1ff32fb4a681f5"},"headline":"Center Staff\u00a0Examine Public Access to Shoreline in\u00a0Article Published in\u00a0The Conversation\u00a0\u00a0","datePublished":"2026-06-09T14:35:18+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-11T12:25:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/"},"wordCount":151,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/667\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-11-at-7.16.18-AM-scaled-e1781180694210.png","articleSection":["News","Spotlight Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/","name":"Center Staff\u00a0Examine Public Access to Shoreline in\u00a0Article Published in\u00a0The Conversation\u00a0\u00a0 - Center for Water Policy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/667\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-11-at-7.16.18-AM-scaled-e1781180694210.png","datePublished":"2026-06-09T14:35:18+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-11T12:25:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/#\/schema\/person\/e73be1bfb22ee4a38a1ff32fb4a681f5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/667\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-11-at-7.16.18-AM-scaled-e1781180694210.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/667\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-11-at-7.16.18-AM-scaled-e1781180694210.png","width":2170,"height":1323,"caption":"A man walks on a beach and the text \"Who is allowed to walk on the beach? It depends on where you live\" is in front of him."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/center-staff-examine-public-access-to-shoreline-in-article-published-in-the-conversation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/category\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Center Staff\u00a0Examine Public Access to Shoreline in\u00a0Article Published in\u00a0The Conversation\u00a0\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/","name":"Center for Water Policy","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/#\/schema\/person\/e73be1bfb22ee4a38a1ff32fb4a681f5","name":"William Matuska","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b308f21ad3359f868cadaafaacf315abafdbf46b9e6ca65aed49928e8447aee1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b308f21ad3359f868cadaafaacf315abafdbf46b9e6ca65aed49928e8447aee1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b308f21ad3359f868cadaafaacf315abafdbf46b9e6ca65aed49928e8447aee1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"William Matuska"}}]}},"acf":[],"meta_fields":{"_edit_lock":["1781184261:39778"],"_thumbnail_id":["3691"],"_edit_last":["39778"],"_yoast_indexnow_last_ping":["1781180708"],"feat_img_video":[""],"feat_img_gallery":[""],"feat_img_caption":["feat-img-caption-on"],"breadcrumbs_display":["breadcrumbs-on"],"otp_nav_display":["otp-on-mobile"],"post_layout":["post-layout-theme"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["11"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["1"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39778"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3682"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3687,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3682\/revisions\/3687"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/centerforwaterpolicy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}