IIG 



deepening and to coastal erosion and deposition, the life histories of 

 the organisms that populate our coastal zone, and their very complex 

 interrelationships with the highly variable coastal zone environment, 

 the basic physics of shoaling and breaking waves and of longshore and 

 rip currents, the development of inundating storm surges related to 

 intense coastal storms, the coastal runup of tsunamis, the movement 

 of hurricanes, the capability of coastal zone waters to receive wastes 

 without undesirable side effects (it is really how much of what can be 

 introduced where for how long a time without creating more problems 

 than it solves), the ocean-atmosphere interactions, and the land-sea 

 interactions. 



It is only with an understanding of the coastal zone as a highly 

 complex and highly variable ecosystem that we can predict what the 

 overall effect will be of man's proposed changes to that system. 



It does not matter if we contemplate a channel deepening for deeper 

 draft ships, bulkheading and filling for a new shipping terminal or real 

 estate development, a new causeway to an offshore island, a new 

 marina, a new powerplant to use coastal waters for cooling, a new 

 park, a wildlife refuge established, a mariculture area set aside, an 

 additional sewer outfall constructed, or any of a number of other uses 

 to which we put our coastal zone. It really does not matter what we 

 contemplate. The sine qua non for sensible value judgments for the 

 use of the coastal zone is a basic understanding of the zone itself. For 

 it is only with this understanding that we can predict the effects of 

 the changes we contemplate. 



I might add parenthetically here the need for what I would like to 

 call legal research and development, legal R. & D. In effect, this is 

 preventive maintenance. This is doing the legal research work in the 

 coastal zone now to avoid the lawsuits that could come up later on. 



I also might add that we should look at the coastal zone as a total 

 man environment system, and we must do the research work 

 relating to the interaction of man and his activities with this coastal 

 environment. 



It is to the Federal laboratories that we must look for that part of 

 this fundamental understanding that relates to the mission of the 

 agencies for which they carry out research. 



Twenty-four Federal departments, administrations, agencies, 

 bureaus, commissions, councils, and offices have, as a part of their 

 missions, responsibilities related to the coastal zone. The agencies are 

 listed by the Panel on Management and Development of the Coastal 

 Zone, in their report ("Panel Reports of the Commission on Marine 

 Science, Engineering, and Resources," vol. 1, pt. Ill, pp. III-81 to 

 III-105). 



I believe these groups should be encouraged to carry out mission- 

 relevant coastal zone research. Coordination will, of course, be neces- 

 sary to assure that research results are shared with other researchers, 

 that major problem areas do not go unstudied, and that the concentra- 

 tion of several research activities in the geographically restricted 

 coastal zone does not result in an undesirable duplication of effort. In 

 summary : 



1. Any research in the coastal zone can be considered as applicable 

 to the basic requirement of understanding the coastal zone as a complex 

 ecosystem. 



