The Coastal Zone 



— request for FY 1970 funds to modify a Coast Guard tender to serve 



part time as an oceanographic research platform for scientists from 



Great Lakes universities and other institutions. 



Also, P.L. 90-419 gives the consent of Congress to the eight-state Great 



Lakes Basin Compact, established to promote the "orderly, integrated, and 



comprehensive development, use, and conservation of the water resources of 



the Great Lakes Basin." 



Multiple Use of the Chesapeake Bay 



Since early 1967 the Council has been making a case study of the Chesa- 

 peake Bay, as it may furnish guidance for dealing with similar problems 

 in other coastal waters. Multi-disciplinary research activities have been 

 focused around a laboratory authorized for the Corps of Engineers for hy- 

 draulic and ecological studies that will employ a three-dimensional model of 

 the Bay on a horizontal scale of 1 : 1 ,000. Figure I V-5 describes the geo- 

 graphical coverage and field stations that are planned. The model, supple- 

 mented by mathematical models and critical analysis, should improve and 

 extend understanding of the physical and biological characteristics of the 

 Bay and the effects of man's activities on the Bay environment. Of particular 

 interest will be understanding of the capacity of the Potomac estuary to 

 absorb pollutants. Projections will be made of the demands that increased 

 population, economic, and industrial pressures will make on the land-water 

 system of the Bay area. 



At the same time it has been recognized that a more effective inter- 

 governmental management system is needed to translate results of research 

 and analysis into meaningful programs to permit orderly development of the 

 Bay area without further degradation of its natural resources. Therefore, the 

 Council has recommended consultations among all concerned interests at the 

 regional, State, and local levels concerning the desirability, character, and 

 composition of a possible intergovernmental commission for the Chesa- 

 peake Bay. 



Need for a Strengthened Institutional Framework 



We have noted the uniqueness of marine science affairs in the Coastal 

 Zone resulting from intense, varied human uses superimposed on an 

 intricate, delicate ecology and involving an array of governmental entities to 



77 



