35 



competition for the resources of the estuarine zone, and environmental 

 damage. The primary objective of technical management is to achieve 

 the best possible combination of uses to serve the needs of society while 

 protecting, preserving, and enhancing the biophysical environment 

 for the continuing benefit of present and future generations. 



The uses of the estuarine zone grew and changed in consonance with 

 population growth and industrial development. Not until recent years 

 was a concerted attempt made to understand and resolve the conflicts 

 that arose in the competition to use and exploit these land and water 

 resources. During the past 300 years of growth and industrial expan- 

 sion with its emphasis on economic growth and direct monetary gain, 

 large parts of the estuarine zone were preempted or usurped to serve 

 the individual needs of commercial enterprises. The net result has been 

 less a conflict in existing uses than an exclusion of some uses. 



Nearly all estuarine uses involve both land and water, either directly 

 or indirectly. For example, the construction of a manufacturing plant 

 on the shore of an estuarine system may not involve any direct use of 

 the water (even for waste disposal), yet it limits access by its occupa- 

 tion of the shoreline and so may interfere with other uses. Conversely, 

 the disposal of liquid wastes into the water may not use any appreci- 

 able space but may make the shoreline unusable for recreation as well 

 as making the water itself unsafe. 



The impact of one estuarine use on another may be either "prohibi- 

 tive" or "restrictive" depending on the kind of use and sometimes on 

 the manner in which it is carried out. 



Prohibitive impacts involve permanent changes in the environment 

 and thereby prohibit all uses unable to cope with such changes. The 

 geographical range of such impacts may be from the limited area in 

 which they occur to an entire estuarine system, depending on the 

 nature and size of the change. The impact may be temporary, if it is 

 possible to return the environment to its original form, or it may be 

 permanent. 



Any use or activity requiring physical modification of the shore- 

 line, marshes, or bottom of an estuarine system may have a prohibitive 

 impact. Modification of water circulation also tends to be prohibitive 

 when it has any conflicting impact. Examples of estuarine uses and 

 activities generally having prohibitive impacts are navigation dredg- 

 ing, other dredging and filling, solid waste disposal, construction of 

 bridges, dikes, jetties, and other structures, shoreline development, 

 mining from the estuarine bottom, and flow regulation. 



Some estuarine uses may restrict estuarine use for other purposes 

 but do not automatically exclude other uses. These are those activities 

 which do not require a permanent modification of the estuarine sys- 

 tem; they generally include those uses directly involved with the es- 

 tuarine waters and other renewable resources. 



Restrictive impacts may involve damage to water quality, living 

 organisms, or aesthetic quality ; such impacts may also result from the 

 exclusive appropriation of space. The key feature of uses which cause 

 restrictive impacts is that they may, with proper management, be 

 carried out simultaneously with other uses. 



Any kind of municipal or industrial waste discharge may have a 

 restrictive impact and often does. Commercial fishing, recreation, and 



