SUMMARY 



The roast?! waters and estuaries of Northwest Florida have been seriously 

 altered by industrial, residential, and commercial developments, partly 

 because of the lack of consideration for the integrity of the natural environ- 

 ment. The design of these developments has been imposed by an economic system 

 that largely invests in uses that promise high profits rather than protection 

 of the natural environment. 



The development of institutional procedures for responding to the fail- 

 ures of the market system to consider environmental planning is indeed a 

 difficult task. Enforcing regulations to control or reduce environmental 

 damage may appear to be prohibitively expensive, but ultimately protection of 

 the natural environment is imperative. 



The trade-offs between the economy and the environment will depend on 

 society's evaluation of the need for maintaining viable coastal and estuarine 

 ecosystems as opposed to further residential , commercial , and industrial 

 development. Local government zoning commissions may become instrumental in 

 developing balances among needs. This may be especially true if offshore oil 

 and gas finds are of such magnitude that they require onshore facilities and 

 services. 



The topic of multiple-use conflicts is broad and does not lend itself to 

 clearly defined sets of data. Several issues addressed in this paper were 

 based upon a limited amount of information drawn from a variety of sources. 

 Most needed is accurate land use data that reflect the type and intensity of 

 development, value of land, and value of improvements. Assessments of the 

 impacts of development on the environment would be more accurate if there were 

 better information on industrial pollution and costs for pollution control. 



The subjects selected for discussion in this chapter were chosen because 

 they were areas of special concern in Northwest Florida. The Apalachicola 

 River, St. George Island, Panama City Beaches, East Bay, and Escambia Bay 

 have felt the effects of various types of expanding onshore development. As a 

 result of environmental concerns and controversies, portions of the Apalachi- 

 cola River and Bay system have been designated a National Estuarine Sanctuary; 

 portions of it are State aquatic preserves; upland areas of the river have 

 been acquired by the State as environmentally endangered lands; and additional 

 areas have been named for protection under the Florida Conservation and 

 Recreation Lands program and the Save Our Rivers program. These actions were 

 possible because of the relatively high abundance of environmental data avail- 

 able about the areas concerned. Environmental research in all coastal waters 

 of Northwest Florida must be expanded to demonstrate environmental values in 

 multiple-use conflicts. 



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