V-311 



Chapter 8 



SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 



GENERAL SUMMARY 



The Nation's estuan'ne and coastal resources today are seriously 

 impaired and, in some cases, have suffered impairment which is irre- 

 versible. Fundamentally, this loss is the result of unwillingness 

 or inability of the governments sharing responsibility and authority 

 for their management to do the things necessary to protect these 

 resources for all beneficial uses today and to conserve or preserve 

 their maximum future usefulness. 



The reasons for this unwillingness or inability are various and 

 highly complex. Most basic, perhaps, are four reasons: 



(1) Shortsighted, imbalanced, or otherwise inadequate 

 public policies governing the use of these resources up to 

 now necessarily have reflected the dominant values of the 

 American people. These traditionally have given a high 

 priority to economic growth and technological development 

 without adequately considering the adverse effects upon 

 the estuarine and coastal environment. 



(2) Another reason, undoubtedly, is ignorance concerning 

 the sometimes fragile and always interdependent nature of 

 the complex of resources found in the estuarine and 

 coastal zone. 



(3) Fragmentation and conflicts among governmental pro- 

 grams charged with the management of these resources have 



