An assessment of Beach access and management issues on Galveston Island

Abstract

Abstract In Texas the public's right of ingress and egress to the sandy Gulf‐front beaches is guaranteed by the Texas Open Beaches Act passed in 1959 by the state legislature. During the early years of the Texas Open Beaches Act, most of the problems centered around questions of the legality of public beach access. Over the years, however, increases in coastal population and recreation and tourism activity have shifted the focus of problems from simple access to the more complex arena of beach management. The paper argues that policy‐makers need to broaden their focus from one of legal access to one that recognizes that access by definition involves both the development and management of facilities and services within social and ecological boundaries. Based on personal interviews, this paper looks at management decisions made on Galveston Island with respect to public access and the provision of facilities and services for public beach use. Management decisions are examined in the context of boundaries within which coastal managers must operate.