The Walton County, Florida government and its so-called leadership—the County Commissioners and Sheriff—have turned a blind eye to the blatant assault on public rights along the shoreline of Dune Allen Beach. In a stunning display of spinelessness, they’ve allowed a handful of self-important sandcastle owners to set up their personal beach security, like little kings guarding their moats. These “sand guards”—patrolling the shores as if dry sand were gold dust—are nothing more than hired muscle, enforcing an invisible line that says, “Y’all trespassing.”

And where’s the Sheriff in all this? Sitting comfortably, teaching in Tallahassee, while public beachgoers are pushed away like trespassers on their own land. The Sheriff knows exactly what’s happening, but there’s been zero effort to rein in the sand tyrants or protect the public’s legal right to access these shores. It’s as if the Sheriff’s office has decided that the rich deserve their private dry and wet sand, and the rest of us should stick to the scraps. Meanwhile, the County Commissioners, in their infinite wisdom, sit back and allow this charade to continue, failing to uphold their duty to the public.

The audacity of these beachfront owners, demanding total control of the shoreline—whether it’s dry sand or wet sand—is almost comical if it weren’t so infuriating. They don’t want you on “their” beach, not even within sight of their precious view, as though owning property near the water grants them ownership of the sea itself. Walton County’s government has failed its people, letting a few sandcastle kings run the beach while the rest of us are left wondering whose interests the County really serves. Spoiler: it’s not the public.

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