11-74 



all of these activities. The economic pressures of these diverse and 



often conflicting uses have often resulted 1n a preemption of the estu- 



arine resource for Individually profitable uses to the limitation or 

 exclusion of other valuable, but much less quantifiable, uses. 



The natural aesthetic and habitat qualities of the estuarine and coastal 

 environment enhance its value for many economic uses and also make it a 

 recreational resource of great commercial, as well as social, value. It 

 is the value of the estuarine zone as a fish and wildlife habitat, a 

 recreational resource, and an aesthetic attraction that make the estuarine 

 zone a unique feature of the human environment, yet it is these very values 

 that have been generally ignored in satisfying the immediate social and 

 economic needs of civilization. The overall value of the estuarine zone 

 for commerce, navigation, and transportation has been detailed in this 

 report to the extent that definitive economic data are available. The 

 values of the estuarine zone as a fish and wildlife habitat, as a recre- 

 ational facility, and as an aesthetic experience are probablv greater 

 than they are for commercial exploitation but, unfortunately, we have not 

 yet developed the ability to adequately express these social and humanistic 

 values in quantitative terms. 



The pressures of population growth and economic development associated 

 with increasing urbanization and industrialization in the estuarine zone 



