11-67 



An estuarine management unit, therefore, should consist not only of 

 the estuarine waters, bottoms, and associated marshlands; but it 

 should also include all of the shoreline surrounding the estuarine 

 waters themselves and as much of the adjoining land as is necessary 

 to regulate the discharge of wastes into estuarine waters. 



Allocation of part of the estuarine resource for an exclusive 

 single-purpose use is a necessary fact of estuarine management. The 

 shoreline is a necessary location for shinping docks and for swimming 

 beaches, but they cannot both occupy the same place on the shoreline. 

 Similarly, frequently dredged channels and oyster beds cannot occupy 

 the same space at the same time. Resolution of such conflicts can 

 be achieved by allocation of adequate space to each use through 

 whatever institutional mechanism is established. 



The evaluation of the effects of prohibitive uses on the estuarine 

 environment is probably the most difficult problem currently facing 

 technical management. The immediate and obvious effects of the 

 habitat loss associated with such uses can be measured and described 

 fairly easily, but the ultimate results of the modification of water 

 movement patterns and flushing characteristics can only be estimated 

 in general terms. 



In nearly every problem associated with prohibitive use conflicts, 

 however, the area of primary concern is the effect on the estuarine 

 ecosystem of any physical modifications proposed; the limitations of 



