PREFACE 



This report is one of five regional reviews, the fifth volume in a 

 series of background reports on the impacts of Outer Continental Shelf 

 (OCS) oil and gas recovery sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Office of Biological Services, and prepared by The Conservation 

 Foundation (under Contract 14-16-0008-962). The five reviews are: New 

 England, Mid and South Atlantic, Gulf Coast, California and Alaska, Washing- 

 ton and Oregon. Other volumes in the series and the overall purposes of 

 the OCS project are described in the Foreword. 



The regional reports focus on past and potential impacts on living 

 resources and on their habitats in each region. They also highlight 

 prominent coastal resource-related issues associated with proposed OCS 

 lease sales. 



The regional reports present brief overviews of the status of 

 offshore oil and gas activities and impacts for the selected regions. 

 They are meant to inform U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees and 

 other interested persons outside the subject region who wish to be 

 generally knowledgeable about the status of OCS around the country and 

 both past and anticipated effects on living resources of the region. 



The reports were prepared by analysts who are recognized for their 

 expertise in OCS impacts or coastal zone management. The contents and 

 organization of the reports are as consistent as possible given regional 

 differences in subject matter and differences in the authors' approaches. 

 Each study has five sections: 



1. The initial section of each regional report is a discussion 

 of past and present OCS production . This provides a 

 historical perspective tnat establishes a setting for the 

 remaining sections. Statistics on lease sales, production 

 and reserves are important topics in this section. 



2. The second section describes OCS development and future 

 potential , including industry activities, the present 

 leasing schedule and anticipated future projects. This 

 section varies depending upon the amount of anticipatory 

 investigation completed by public agencies and industry. 



3. The third section discusses the effects on living resources 

 of activities that accompany OCS petroleum development. A 

 majority of these concerns occur near shore or onshore, 

 where resource values and high impact potential are 

 concentrated. The relative importance of particular habitats 



