VI-200 



While various uses amenable to benefit/cost analysis should be 

 evaluated In a comparable manner to determine the economic Impact 

 of various combinations of such uses, uses not subject to the 

 usual benefit/cost analysis such as fish and wildlife habitat, 

 open space, aesthetics, and natural beauty should, nevertheless, 

 be fully considered as an Important aspect of any plan for estuarlne 

 development. Criteria with which to judge these sorts of values 

 must be developed and applied equitably along with criteria for the 

 more readily evaluated characteristics. Commercial developments 

 considered essential and which are locatlonally dependent on estua- 

 ries should be planned so as to prevent or mitigate damages to all 

 other public values. The responsible unit of government should 

 require adequate protective measures as a condition of approval of 

 any development plans. As In the establishment of water quality 

 standards, the determination should be justified in terms of over- 

 all public or social value rather than solely through conventional 

 benefit/cost analysis. The various techniques and criteria on 

 which these sorts of values will be based will require research of 

 a novel and specialized kind, perhaps abandoning traditional 

 attitudes. 



Conserving and Enhancing Estuarlne Ecosystems 



Estuarlne areas must be managed conservatively, leaving adequate 

 margins of safety for protection from miscalculation, political 

 error, or extreme natural variations. At the present time, there 



