Editing Freedom to roam (section)

====United States====
Because American property rights include the right to exclude others, the freedom to roam does not generally exist in the United States. But under some circumstances, long-term use of a path across private property may legally establish a [[prescriptive easement]] for the public. On federally owned property, the [[Article Four of the United States Constitution#Clause 2: Property Clause|Property Clause of Article IV, Section III]] of the [[Constitution of the United States|U.S. Constitution]] states that the [[United States Congress]] "shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States", granting the legislative branch the authority to regulate federal property "without limitations".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gaetke |first=Eugene |date=1981 |title=Congressional Discretion under the Property Clause |url=https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1065 |journal=The Hastings Law Journal }}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In the United States, governmental entities including cities, counties, states, and the federal government all manage land which are referred to as either public lands or the public domain. The majority of public lands in the United States are administered by the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, agencies of the federal government, and include about 640 million acres of land, about 28% of the total land area of 2.27 billion acres.<ref>Lipton, Eric, and Clifford Krauss, [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/us/romney-would-give-reins-to-states-on-drilling-on-federal-lands.html Giving Reins to the States Over Drilling], ''New York Times'', August 24, 2012.</ref><ref name="VincentArguetaHanson">Carol Hardy Vincent, Carla N. Argueta, & Laura A. Hanson, [https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42346.pdf Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data], Congress Research Service (March 3, 2017).</ref> Any person, including non-citizens, can legally access and recreate on these lands lawfully, sometimes referred to as the North American model of land conservation.<ref name="Modern Conservationist 2020">{{cite web | title=North American Conservation Model | website=Modern Conservationist | date=2020-05-21 | url=https://modernconservationist.com/north-american-conservation-model/ | access-date=2020-11-22}}</ref> Some state and [[Local government in the United States|local governments]] enforce stricter policies on their public land, such as [[loitering]] laws and [[redlining]] practices,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mitchell |first=Don |date=2002 |title=The Annihilation of Space by Law: The Roots and Implications of Anti-Homeless Laws in the United States |journal=Antipode |language=en |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=303–335 |doi=10.1111/1467-8330.00048|doi-access=free }}</ref> with some cities outright [[Exile|banishing]] certain groups of people.<ref name="st-louis-banishment">{{Cite news |last=Kohler |first=Jeremy |title=St. Louis Can Banish People From Entire Neighborhoods. Police Can Arrest Them if They Come Back. |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/st-louis-can-banish-people-from-entire-neighborhoods |access-date=2022-12-02 |website=ProPublica |language=en}}</ref> Here are some specific state and local policies:

* [[California]]'s California Coastal Act provides a similar right for its beaches, and the [[Surfrider Foundation]] has been successful suing littoral property owners who try to use trespassing laws to restrict public access to the public portions of a beach.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.surfrider.org/initiatives/beach-access |title=Beach Access |publisher=Surfrider Foundation |language=en}}</ref> The California Coastal Act outlines the mission and authority of the [[California Coastal Commission|California Coastal Commission]], which enforces the act. 
* [[Florida]]'s state constitution establishes a [[public trust doctrine|public trust]] of "sovereignty lands", including wet beaches "below mean high water lines ... for all the people," respecting a freedom to roam there, regardless of any private neighboring dry beach. Local ordinances typically limit this freedom strictly to roaming on foot, and prohibit driving motor vehicles or beaching boats.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?submenu=3#A10S11 |title=Florida Constitution |publisher=State of Florida |language=en}}
Article X, Section 11.</ref>
* The [[State of Hawaii]] grants beach and coastal access to local residents and visitors. These ''beach transit corridors'' are considered public property defined as the "areas extending seaward of the shoreline". Coastal land owners are also required to maintain vegetation that would inhibit beach access as there are many varieties of fast growing coastal plants that can easily limit public access.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-08-02 |title=Beach Access |url=https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/occl/beach-access/ |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Maine]] allows access to any outdoor property unless posted. Posting requires clearly marking with complying signs or paint. Signs must indicate that access is prohibited, that access is prohibited without permission of the landowner or the landowner's agent, or that access for a particular purpose is prohibited.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/17-A/title17-Asec402.html | title=Title 17-A: Maine Criminal Code, Part 2: Substantive Offenses, Chapter 17: Burglary and criminal trespass| access-date=2021-02-26}}</ref>
* In [[St. Louis|St. Louis, Missouri]], the government bans many [[Homelessness|homeless people]] from large areas of the city. Those who violate the orders have been [[Incarceration in the United States|jailed]] for months.<ref name="st-louis-banishment"/>
* [[New Hampshire]] [[common law]] gives members of the public the right to access unposted land.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/hunting-nh/landowner-relations-program/landowner-and-hunter-faqs#:~:text=that%27s%20not%20posted%3F-,Yes.,the%20centuries%20by%20case%20law. | title=Landowner and Hunter FAQs }}</ref>
* The [[Oregon Beach Bill]] was a piece of landmark legislation in the U.S. state of Oregon, passed by the 1967 session of the Oregon Legislature. It established public ownership of land along the Oregon Coast from the water up to sixteen vertical feet above the low tide mark.<ref name="State of Oregon: State Archives 2020">{{cite web | title=Oregon Beach Bill Records | website=State of Oregon: State Archives | date=2020-11-22 | url=https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/Pages/records/landmark-beach.aspx | access-date=2020-11-22}}</ref>
* In [[Pennsylvania]], the 1966 Recreational Use of Land and Water Act (RULWA) limits landowners' liability for personal injury and property damage if they make their land available to the public for recreation. The statute encourages landowners to open their undeveloped land for recreational use.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://conservationtools.org/guides/81-Recreational-Use-of-Land-and-Water-Act |title=Guide to Pennsylvania's Recreational Use of Land and Water Act |publisher=WeConservePA}}</ref>
* The constitution of [[Rhode Island]] protects shore access, including swimming and gathering of seaweed.<ref>Constitution of the State of Rhode Island (1986), Article I, Section 17</ref><ref>[https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/08/12/metro/shore-subjects-ri-limited-beach-access-right-collect-seaweed/ Shore subjects in R.I.: Limited beach access and the right to collect seaweed]</ref> The 1982 Rhode Island Supreme Court decision in ''State v. Ibbison''<ref>{{cite web |title=State v. James Ibbison III et al. 448 A.2d 728 (1982) |author=[[Supreme Court of Rhode Island]] |date=July 20, 1982 |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/rhode-island/supreme-court/1982/448-a-2d-728.html}}</ref><ref>[https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/11/18/metro/we-will-get-access-study-commission-hears-riers-shoreline-rights/ ‘We will get access’: Study commission hears from R.I.’ers on shoreline rights]</ref> defines the end of private land as the mean high tide line, which is difficult to determine in day-to-day activities, and has resulted in beach access conflicts.<ref>[https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/10/14/metro/drawing-line-why-shore-access-ri-might-be-even-more-limited-than-it-appears/ Drawing a line: Why shore access in R.I. might be even more limited than it appears]</ref> Underfunding of the [[Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council]] has resulted in lax enforcement against encroachment on public access and building of illegal structures.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/12/08/metro/water-woes-wash-over-ocean-state/ |title=Water woes wash over the Ocean State |author=Brian Amaral |publisher=[[Boston Globe]] |date=December 8, 2021}}</ref>
* [[Vermont|Vermont's]] constitution allows the public the right to hunt, fish and trap on open private land.<ref name="Fornarola 2019">{{cite web | last=Fornarola | first=Isaac | title=How Vermont law creates tension between landowners and hunters | website=Burlington Free Press | date=2019-12-03 | url=https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2019/12/03/hunting-private-property-posting-signs-vermont-law-hunters-landowners/2575563001/ | access-date=2020-11-22}}</ref> A landowner who does not want to allow this access has a legal right to post signs that restrict this right.<ref name="VT">{{cite web |title=What Posting Means |url=https://vtfishandwildlife.com/node/278 |website=Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department |publisher=State of Vermont}}</ref>