V-114 



Fisheries 14 days notice to impose protective conditions on the 

 permit he issues. Hov/ever, to allow for the long-range planning 

 and optimal resource evaluation and allocation, the Massachusetts 

 Coastal Wetlands Protection Act was enacted November 23, 1965 

 (Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 130, Section 105, 1965). This law authorized 

 the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources to promulgate 

 orders regulating, restricting, or prohibiting alteration or pollution 

 of Massachusetts' coastal wetlands. Alarmed by a report (V-2-3) 

 which stated that 43 percent of the remaining wetland acreage 

 was subject to alteration and destruction in the near future, 

 the Legislature permitted these lands to remain privately owned, 

 but allowed the Commissioner to restrict their use. Such use 

 restriction orders may be adopted only after holding a public 

 hearing in the municipality in which the affected wetlands were 

 located. It is still too early to assess fully the implementation 

 of this Act but its effectiveness as a legal tool for estuarine 

 management has been widely praised (V-2-4). 



Another approach towards land use has been taken by the State 

 of Hawaii. Recognizing that land use is a policy power of the 

 State, it has not delegated this authority to its local subdivisions. 

 Rather it has adopted a zoning system to promote Statewide and 

 regional goals to protect its invaluable aesthetic and natural 

 resources. 



