The document summarizes key legal issues related to shoreline protection in Rhode Island. It discusses how changing shorelines impact expectations of private property owners and state interests. It outlines that the state owns all tidal lands under the public trust doctrine and that the Coastal Resources Management Council has jurisdiction below the mean high tide line. It also reviews how the common law "common enemy" doctrine has been replaced by the reasonable use test regarding water flow, and discusses some cases related to legal challenges of seawalls.