Removing Sand and Stones from Massachusetts Beaches is a Big No

Massachusetts folks are gearing up for beach season. The unofficial kickoff to summer will be here this Memorial Day weekend. Some folks may already be enjoying beach weather, but the season will be in full swing very soon.

Catching some rays and relaxing in the sand awaits you. I bet you can picture it right now. You may even be dreaming about it.

Growing up, I loved making sand castles and going out as far into the ocean as I could before getting beeped at by the lifeguard. I was a bit of a water rebel in that way. I just loved getting as far out in the water as possible. I remember one summer, a friend and I went to the beach, dug a hole, and I jumped in. Needless to say, he buried me all the way up to my neck. It reminded me of that story 'Something to Tide You Over" in the movie Creepshow with Leslie Nielsen and Ted Danson.

Now and then, when I went to the beach as a kid, I would bring home some stones as kind of a collector's item, but did you know that in Massachusetts, you're technically not supposed to remove sand, stones, gravel, etc. from the beach? This law seems to apply more to heavy digging. I highly doubt you are going to be penalized for taking home a couple of stones for souvenirs.

What is the Penalty for Removing Materials from Massachusetts Beaches?

According to mass.gov, the penalty is a fine, which can be anywhere from $20 - $200. Below is the official law.

Section 30. If it appears to the department that the digging or removal of stones, gravel, sand or other material, upon or from any beach, shore, bluff, headland, island or bar, in or bordering on tide waters, or the destruction of any trees, shrubs, grass or other vegetation growing thereon, is, or is likely to prove, injurious to any harbor or other navigable tide waters, the department may, by written notice, prohibit such digging or removal, or the doing of any acts injurious to such trees or other vegetation, upon or from any such beach or other place aforesaid specified in such notice. Whoever, after receiving such notice, wilfully does any act or thing prohibited therein, and which is authorized to be so prohibited by this section, or, being the owner or having the control of any land specified in such notice, wilfully suffers or permits such act or thing to be done thereon, shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty nor more than two hundred dollars.

Enjoy the beach this summer, and Happy Memorial Day.