Organizing a National Ocean Effort 



827 



In previous chapters of this report, the 

 Commission has recommended specific ac- 

 tions to advance national capabilities to de- 

 velop marine resources; to maintain the 

 quality of the coastal zone; and to explore, 

 monitor, and predict the global ocean and 

 atmospheric environment. 



Organization is required to carry out the 

 Commission's recommended national ocean 

 program. As an essential first step, tlie Fed- 

 eral Government must mobilize its forces to 

 provide leadership, incentives, and support. 



Federal Organization for Marine Affairs 



Present Federal marine activities have 

 grown over the years largely without plan to 

 meet specific situations and problems and are 

 scattered among many Federal agencies. 

 Such a scattering of effort in Government re- 

 flects a more general disarray. Imbedded 

 within many Federal departments are im- 

 portant activities which relate only margin- 

 ally to the central missions of the department. 



There is general concern whether modern 

 government, as now constituted, has become 

 unmanageable and unaccountable. In devel- 

 oping a plan for management, the Commis- 

 sion has attempted not only to advance the 

 national marine program but also to design 

 an organization which can easily fit into a 

 more fundamental restructuring of the Fed- 

 eral Government. 



Within Federal agencies, strong elements 

 do exist for carrying out marine activities. 

 Some of them should maintain their identi- 

 ties and be strengthened further as essential 

 contribvitors to the national marine effort. 

 Others should be combined with weaker ele- 

 ments to provide a new central focus of 

 strength. 



The U.S. Xavy necessarily must be directly 

 involved in many aspects of marine science 

 and engineering in support of its mission. 

 B^ause of farsighted recognition of the in- 



// the S'ation'n haste goal of 

 maximum cffcrtivc use of the xea to 

 meet I'.S. needs and purposes is to tie 

 achieved, the Federal Government 

 must mobiH:c its forces to provide 

 leadership, incentives, and support. 



fluence of the total marine environment on 

 naval operations, the Navy has been the 

 principal supporter of ocean science and 

 technology. Its laboratories and test facil- 

 ities represent the strongest existing element 

 in the program for marine technological 

 development. 



The National Science Foundation supports 

 marine and atmospheric science as a part of 

 its basic mission to foster the Nation's scien- 

 tific endeavors. It has funded the develop- 

 ment of marine and atmospheric research 

 facilities, including oceanographic ships, has 

 sponsored a broad spectrum of research 

 activities, and has supported the education 

 of environmental scientists of all kinds. 

 The Foundation's discipline-oriented marine 

 science and education programs are insep- 

 arable from its programs in other scientific 

 fields, and they represent a primary resource 

 in developing the capability for a national 

 ocean program. 



The Department of the Interior, respon- 

 sible for many of the Nation's resources, has 

 taken constructive action in many program 

 areas impinging on marine development. It 

 has made great strides in recent years in de- 

 veloping a comprehensive program for fresh 

 water management, one of the Department's 

 primary concerns. Its efficient, dedicated na- 

 tional park and wildlife services have pre- 

 served many miles of seashore for recreation 

 and conservation of wildlife habitats. Interior 

 also is responsible for management of the 

 Nation's mineral resources and has in the 

 U.S. Geological Survey one of the Federal 

 Government's most competent scientific 

 groups, which supports mineral and other 

 resource investigations. 



The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, be- 

 cause of the needs of its civil works program 

 and its responsibilities for protection and 

 maintenance of the coast and waterways, has 

 developed the Nation's primary competence 



