The Stake-holders:

With sunny weather around the corner, tourists and residents will be competing to find their spot in the sand. But, sometimes competition can be tough.

Last summer, an Atlanta tourist was arrested for trespassing in a private beach in Walton County. With a mixture of public and private shorelines, and tourism increasing in the Panhandle, it can be a battle for the beaches.

"I think with the volume of people coming to the area, the development, that people are wanting to preserve their oasis," said Tracy Louthain,director of Public Relations for the Beaches of South Walton Tourist Development Council.

Those who are not new to Walton are aware of the on-going controversy between property owners who hold a deed to part of the shore, and others who say the Gulf should belong to everyone.

"I spend as much time as I can out here on this deck... my wife and I, watching the sunset," said Emmitt Hildreth, who has owned shore property in Walton for 8 years.

"We like our privacy because we paid a high price for the property and we pay high taxes," he said.

He owns the land right up to what's called the Mean High Water Line, a line determined by land surveys, roughly where the wet sand stops. He says like many landowners, he's willing to maintain and protect it.

"That's our backyard," said Hildreth, "and we choose to maintain our backyard."

But, Ella Caro is the president of the South Walton Community Council, pushing county leaders to help open the beaches.

"The fact that you can't sit in a beach chair in front of some body's house just seems ridiculous to me," said Caro.

She says the signs that litter the beach accesses marking "private" or "no trespassing" are an eye-sore.

"I have never seen any place where signs have proliferated at such a rate, keep off and threatening arrest and so forth," said Caro, "It's just not what Walton County ever was or ever wants to be."

While Walton has 7 regional beach accesses on their 26 miles of coastline, Caro says it's not enough.

"You can't walk to the right or the left," said Caro, "you can't fish you can't do anything."

The Legal Issue:

Caro says customary use and previous court rulings allow public use of the entire shore, and argues that tax dollars pay to maintain many beaches, even those marked private.

Now, a Florida Surpreme Court Case could change everything...

Virginia Mosely is the Vice President of Save Our Beaches INC., involved in the lawsuit to determine who owns the sand once it's re-nourished.

"Our title says, 'to the Gulf of Mexico,'" said Mosely, who owns a beach condo in Destin. She also says she'd be willing to pay for maintenance.

"Rather than to have the state take it and make it public beaches, yes we will pay for our own re-nourishment," said Mosely.

But, until the verdict comes in, county officials are handling disputes case-by-case, and continuing current re-nourishment projects.

"We're encouraging people to use our wonderful public state parks and public beach accesses," said Louthain.

The Lines:

The rules are different for different sections of the Gulf Coast. In parts of Okaloosa, visitors are allowed to set up 20 feet inland from the mean high water line, as long as they are not creating a disturbance.

In Gulf and Franklin Counties, all Gulf-side beaches are open to the public.

Panama City Beach uses the "Erosion Control Line," which is a line determined 11 years ago as the Mean High Water Line. The rule of thumb is still where the wet sand stops.