Department of Transportation. 

 Coast Guard. 



Conducts research and development leading to improved systems 

 for marine search and rescue, merchant marine and recreational 

 boating safety, pollution, and polar transportation. 

 Atomic Energy Commission: Conducts and supports programs related to 



the effects of atomic energy matters on the marine environment. 

 National Science Foundation: Supports research programs to increase our 

 basic and applied knowledge of the oceans through the National Sea 

 Grant Program, supports coastal zone research in scientific, engineering, 

 and social aspects, training and dissemination of information. 

 National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Conducts and supports 



programs to improve our ability in remote sensing of the environment. 

 Smithsonian Institution: Conducts research on basic oceanography and 



ecology. 

 Agencies that are not members of the Council, but have major responsibili- 

 ties relating to land and other resources of the coastal zone, include the 

 Departments of Agriculture, and Housing and Urban Development. 

 Most Federal agencies conduct or sponsor activities in the coastal area. 



Initiatives To Meet Needs of Coastal Development 



In recognition of both gravity and urgency, the administration's five-point 

 program to strengthen the Nation's marine science activities includes three 

 areas-coastal zone management, undertaking coastal zone research, and 

 lake restoration — which are directly concerned with coastal zone problems. 

 The other two, the International Decade of Ocean Exploration, the Arctic 

 studies have many elements which bear on these problems. 



Coastal Zone Management 



Increasing urbanization, a growing population with higher incomes and 

 leisure time for recreation, and expanding industrial development have 

 imposed greater demands for use of the coastal margin and Great Lakes. 

 Without planned and controlled development, aided by better knowl- 

 edge of the ecological impact of development, the natural coastal environ- 

 ment may be jeopardized and future options foreclosed. There is a manifest 

 national interest in the effective management, beneficial use, protection, 

 and development of the land and water resources of the Nation's estuarine 

 and coastal zone for the following reasons : 



1. The pressures of population growth and economic development im- 

 pose an increasing number of conflicting demands upon the finite re- 

 sources of the coastal zone. 



2. Estuaries, marshlands, and other parts of the coastal zone contain ex- 

 tremely valuable habitats for fish and wildlife which move beyond State 

 boundaries; such areas are vital to the life support of a major part of the Na- 

 tion's commercial and sport fisheries harvest; such areas, particularly the 



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