Do private beaches, signs, and security guards on Florida beaches motivate you to get involved? Do you want to be part of the solution to free our beaches?
With your efforts, we have successfully witnessed the repel of HB631. Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB1622 into law on June 24, 2025. See full story HERE. Thank you for all your hard work! Nonetheless, the battle to free our beaches is far from over and your help continues to be needed.
What our new beach law does according to state law:
- Provides a way when none existed to create public beach through renourishment
- Respects the property rights of beachfront property owners
- Does not reverse prior legal settlements
The next items remain the responsibility of Walton County:
- Code enforcement
- Signage rules
- Security guards
- Beach renourishment application, funding & completion as soon as practical (approximately 19 miles of our 26 miles of beach have been identified as substantially eroded). Learn more about this issue by listening to the Eroded podcast HERE.
- Retaining the best legal counsel available to address items
- Completion of the beach survey which includes data points, creating an app that is downloadable to GPS units we can all purchase, allowing us to determine where we can sit on the beach
What can you do, both locally and statewide:
- It’s time to seek a Florida constitutional amendment to free all beaches. Learn more HERE!
- Actively lobby the Florida Governor, Florida Senators, and Florida House of Representatives members. Click HERE to download their email addresses.
- Contact Florida media, including newspapers, television, radio, and social media outlets, to share this effort. Click HERE for a link to media outlet contacts.
- Take videos of misdeeds/misapplication of the rules
- Make positive suggestions toward affirmative change
- Work to understand the current system and how to make it better
- Acting locally and statewide, participate in county workshops
- Study the standard operating procedures of your local sheriff’s office & police departments, beach vendors, and beach ambassadors, offering input for improvement
- Request information, correspondence and videos under the Freedom of Information Act
- Publish your findings on social media seeking to be part of the solution
- Join our Facebook group to stay updated and contribute
What can beach front owners do?
- Support beach renourishment projects throughout Florida to protect landward property and prevent loss of life.
- Reduce Signage
- Restrict vendors from setting up chairs and umbrellas on wet sand constitutionally protected public beach
- Restrain overzealous beach vendors
- Encourage a peaceful beach experience for all
Help Us Lobby for a Constitutional Amendment by Contacting Florida Government Officials
While efforts toward beach renourishment are happening, we believe that an overall solution to freeing Florida’s beaches is a constitutional amendment. You can make a difference by reaching out to those in power in the State of Florida with the proper messaging. Click HERE to learn more.
Click to download the following spreadsheets and PDF’s so that you can copy and paste them into your email. By sending the entire list as a Bcc (blind carbon copy), each recipient will see an email just sent to them.
Florida Government Officials: EXCEL, PDF
To make sending emails easier, we recommend copying and pasting email addresses into the BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) field. You can copy and paste groups of emails at the same time. There is no need to copy and send individual emails to each recipient. You need to include your email address in the “to” field and then all recipients using the BCC field. This will hide recipients from each other, ensuring privacy. Complete with the subject line and body of your email and hit send.
Contact Florida Media Outlets
Contacting Florida media outlets, including newspapers, television, radio, and social media, to let them know about the efforts to seek a constitutional amendment to save Florida’s beaches is a great way to get involved. To make this as easy as possible, we have updated our list of Florida media outlets. Click to download the Excel spreadsheet you want to contact. Downloading the Excel spreadsheet lets you copy and paste emails very easily. By sending the entire list as a Bcc (blind carbon copy), each recipient will see only the email sent to them.
Educate Yourself and Vote in Upcoming Elections
Florida is holding an election for governor and lieutenant governor on November 3, 2026. The primary is August 18, 2026. Noteworthy candidates for governor include the following:
- Lt. Governor Jay Collins (R)
- Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings (D)
- U.S. Representative Byron Donalds (R)
- James Fishback (R)
- David Jolly (D)
- State Senator Jason Pizzo (No Party Affiliation)
- Former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner (R)
Florida is holding an election for attorney general on November 3, 2026. The primary is August 18, 2026. The candidates for this position are the following:
- Jose Javier Rodriguez (D)
- James Uthmeler (R), Incumbent
Learn more about the Surfrider Foundation
According to their website, “40 years ago a group of surfers from Malibu, California, were concerned about the health risks associated with environmental threats posed by escalating coastal development at their favorite surf spot. They took action. Not even they could have envisioned the history they were making when they succeeded in protecting their beloved surf spot.
Since its inception in 1984, the Surfrider Foundation has evolved into one of the largest non-profit grassroots organizations with a volunteer-activist network dedicated to protecting and enjoying the world’s oceans, waves, and beaches.”
The Surfrider Foundation has supported the fight to keep Florida beaches open to the public. Learn more about them by visiting their website HERE.
Contact Your Local Beach Code Compliance
If you live in Walton County:
You can report infractions to Walton County Code Compliance online at this LINK or by calling (850) 622-0000.
You can also send an email to Compliance Director, Tony Cornman: tony.cornman@mywaltonfl.gov
It is critical to inform code Infractions. Following up is essential until you are assured that your notification has been appropriately addressed.
Sign our Petition
Our petition has thousands of signatures. Would you consider adding yours? Click HERE.
Let Your Voice Be Heard at Local County Meetings
If you live in Walton County, continuing to attend Walton County Board of Commissioners meetings shows this issue isn’t being forgotten. Even just one or two members of this group taking the floor during the public comment section is critical. Click HERE to be redirected to the Walton County website for meeting dates. If you live elsewhere in Florida, getting involved at the local level is critical for this issue.
Educate Yourself & Your Neighbors
Reviewing the history page of this site, and reading the linked materials will give you a solid basis of knowledge on this topic. Please share this information with your family, friends, and neighbors. Continue to stay informed of new events and meetings (check out our Event Calendar on the home page) and make sure you are voting if you are a Florida resident. The effort to regain our beaches is a long-term one, and we need the numbers behind this movement to grow. It’s time to see a Florida constitutional amendment to save Florida Beaches!
