I recently read Ken Ilguna's new book This Land Is Our Land: How We Lost the Right to Roam and How to Take It Back. In an extremely oversimplified nutshell, the book argues for public rights to recreate on private open land because some European countries do it and it's great. I don't necessarily agree with all the author's conclusions. However, it does present interesting questions to think about in the context of Maine law. First, what rights do Mainers have to recreate on privately owned land? Second, what rights do landowners have to enforce their rights to exclude? Lastly, what rights to landowners have in the event of damage or invasions of privacy?
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