IV-503 



may be severely limited by external factors and it may therefore be 

 necessary to forego some uses because of the small size of the estuarine 

 resource available for use. 



RESOLUTION OF PROHIBITIVE USE CONFLICTS 



Those uses which exclude other uses generally involve modification of 

 the shoreline, marshes, or bottoms by dredging, filling, or the building 

 of a permanent structure. Such activities may not only immediately 

 affect the estuarine morphology and habitat, but they may also cause 

 widespread, long-range changes in the ecosystem. 



The evaluation of the effects of prohibitive uses on the estuarine environ- 

 ment is probably the most difficult problem currently facing technical 

 management. The immediate and obvious effects of the habitat loss 

 associated with such uses can be measured and described fairly easily, 

 but the ultimate results of the modification of water movement patterns 

 and flushing characteristics can only be estimated in general terms. 

 The need for research on such problems is discussed in Part VI, Chapter 3; 

 until a sufficient amount of knowledge is accumulated, however, the only 

 useful guide is comparison with occurrences in similar systems. 



In nearly every problem associated with prohibitive use conflicts, how- 

 ever, the area of primary concern is the effect on the estuarine ecosystem 



