He cautioned against putting more property at risk by locating new construction too close to the sea and suggested that, as properties are destroyed by storms, they should be moved back from the ocean slowly. Kelley also recommended that beach replenishment should be considered carefully, due to its cost and uncertainty as a long-term solution to erosion problems. Sandy beaches make money for all of Maine. Highly valued coastal properties produce tax revenues that support local services in coastal towns. As tourism has increased in Maine, beach visitors in the state have also increased.
Tourists flock to accessible sandy beaches all along the coast.
Although they mainly spend their dollars in the local communities, their sales and lodging taxes are used by the entire state. Maine's beaches have long attracted new residents to the state. Summer resorts along the shore are now year-round communities. During the 1990s, when the population of Maine as a whole grew by 1.2 percent, York and Sagadahoc counties in the southern section of the state grew by 5.4 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively. The influx of new residents to the shore means more people building homes and roads, and then worrying as the sea inevitably encroaches on the land.