147 



Middle Atlantic region, particularly in the New York area. Distribu- 

 tion of manufacturing types amon^ the biophysical regions shows 

 regional differences related to historical development as well as raw 

 material and market availability. 



Over half of all plants in the coastal counties and one-fifth of all 

 manufacturing plants in the United States are located in the Middle 

 Atlantic biophysical region, which was the historical center of the 

 Nation's industrial growth and is still one of the major market areas. 

 The Pacific Southwest is the major industrial center of the Pacific 

 coast, and its tidal shoreline now has the same intensity of develop- 

 ment as that of the Middle Atlantic region. Some industrial develop- 

 ment in other regions tends to follow historical or present raw material 

 availability. Leather product plants are clustered in the North Atlantic 

 region, and lumber manufacturing plants are most plentiful in the 

 Pacific Northwest. Food processing plants, however, follow closely the 

 distribution of population. 



Wliile much of the industrial development located in coastal counties 

 affects the estuarine zone indirectly through use of adjacent land, some 

 of the water-using industries have an impact on the estuarine zone far 

 beyond their numbers. The paper, chemical, petroleum, and primary 

 metals industries are the major water users among manufacturing 

 establishments; these are listed separately in table IV.3.2 to show how 

 universally these industries are distributed throughout the estuarine 

 zone. The brackish estuarine waters msij become an increasingly im- 

 portant source of water supply for industries, and for municipalities 

 as desalting technology improves. 



LAND OWNERSHIP 



Out of the millions of acres of land contiguous to the estuarine zone, 

 only a relatively small amount is relegated to urban development and 

 farmland. A considerable portion is in the form of unused or undevel- 

 oped land, the ownership of which has an important bearing on future 

 use of the estuarine environment. Privately owned land is subject to 

 possible industrial or real estate development which could add sig- 

 nificantly to water quality problems. Publicly owned land, on the 

 other hand, represents the potential for development of a broad-based 

 public use with proper controls. It also indicates the potential for pub- 

 lic access to the water. Table IV.3.3 summarizes land ownership in the 

 coastal counties within each biophysical estuarine region. Except for 

 Alaska, the great preponderance of estuarine zone land is in private 

 ownership. The North Atlantic, Middle Atlantic, and Chesapeake Bay 

 regions in particular have little land in these counties still remaining 

 under public ownership. Detailed information on actual or potential 

 use of these privately owned lands is not available ; it is certain, how- 

 ever, that some commercial or residential use exists or is intended in 

 most cases. 



