§ 72-R — Adopt-a-beach stewardship program

§ 72-r. Adopt-a-beach stewardship program. 1. The governing body of\nany municipality may enter into stewardship agreements with any person\nor persons for the purposes of preserving, maintaining, or enhancing its\npublicly-owned beach, shoreline area or portion thereof in accordance\nwith the policies of this section.\n 2. The stewardship agreement shall provide that the beach or shoreline\narea be preserved and maintained in its natural state or managed to\nenhance or restore the natural values they provide. Activities may\ninclude: remediating vandalism and storm damage, picking up litter and\ntrash, establishing or maintaining access or nature trails, providing\ninterpretive services for school groups and other citizens, and\notherwise providing positive benefits to the beach or shoreline area.\n 3. Stewardship agreement with any person or persons may provide for\nassistance of personnel, facilities and supplies of the municipality for\nthe purposes of supporting appropriate activities under such stewardship\nagreement.\n 4. The municipality shall establish procedures by which a person or\npersons may apply for a stewardship agreement, and shall be responsible\nfor working with such persons to identify specific sections of a\npublicly-owned beach or shoreline area and specific activities deemed\nappropriate for such stewardship agreement. The municipality may\nconsider factors such as safety, environmental sensitivity, need, cost\nand other factors deemed relevant in determining which beach or\nshoreline area or activities may be eligible or appropriate for a\nstewardship agreement.\n 5. The municipality shall provide recognition of the stewardship\nactivities by appropriate signage on or near the adopted beach or\nshoreline area, and may provide recognition by such other measures as it\nmay determine to be appropriate, including but not limited to press\nreleases, certificates, and newsletters.\n 6. The stewardship agreement may be modified in scope or altered in\nany other manner at the sole discretion of the municipality, not\ninconsistent with the provisions of this section. The person or persons\nshall have the option of renewing the agreement subject to the approval\nof the municipality and the continuation by the municipality of the\nadopt-a-beach stewardship program. The municipality may immediately\nremove the signs and it may terminate the agreement upon thirty days\nnotice, if in its sole judgment it finds and determines that the person\nor persons are not meeting the terms and conditions of the agreement.\n 7. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, the municipality\nwhich has entered into a stewardship agreement and its employees shall\nnot be liable for damages suffered by any person resulting from the\nactions or activities of such volunteers.\n