1 11-16 



RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MEW STATE PROGRAMS AND ORGANIZATION 



Effective discharge by the States of the all-important role which they 

 occupy in achieving comprehensive and sound management of estuarine and 

 coastal resources will in many instances require legislation estab- 

 lishing new management authority and organization. 



The exact form such new authority and organization should take may well 

 vary from State to State. Each State's action in this regard will, as 

 it should, reflect its own special political and governmental tradi- 

 tions, the present organization of the State government, and the current 

 division of authority and responsibility between the State and its 

 local governmental units. Moreover, the estuaries themselves vary in 

 their nature and the uses for which each is most suited, the degree to 

 which the estuarine and coastal zone has been developed for various 

 purposes, and the dimensions and complexity of their management 

 problems. These differences, too, suggest that, as they seek more 

 effectively to manage estuarine and coastal resources, the response 

 from the States need not, and should not, be rigidly uniform. 



Indeed the innovations and experiments which the States' responses can 

 be expected to produce are regarded as a positive good and are therefore 

 encouraged. The recommendations which follow should be viewed in that 

 light and also as reflecting and drawing upon the significant improve- 

 ments which some States already have instituted in their estuarine and 

 coastal management programs. 



