168 



served on numerous occasions when the coast will experience sleet 

 or rain while it will be snowing and drifting some miles inland. 



(2) Open space. Open space serves a number of purposes in 

 and around urban areas, all of which are difficult to quantify. 

 There is no doubt, however, that the upper bay and Providence 

 River north of Conimicut Point, as well as the Barrington and 

 Warren Rivers, provide the surrounding communities with open 

 space which they otherwise would have had to provide in the form 

 of parks or other open areas in order to keep the kind of environ- 

 mental quality now given free by these waters. The open space 

 provided by the bay also serves as low-level flight space for ap- 

 proach and takeoff at the Quonset Point Naval Air Station, saving 

 the community a great deal of noise pollution and a resultant drop 

 in property values. 

 The general effect of open space on residence values has been ob- 

 served frequently. It is commonly accepted that property values in- 

 crease markedly as a park or other open area is approached. The same 

 is the case as one approaches the shoreline, even if the water itself is 

 not usable at that particular location. If higher prices are paid for 

 property on a shore which is not suitable for either boating or swim- 

 ming, then this value must be caused by the marine environment in 

 general. 



The discussion of Narragansett Bay has been almost entirely from 

 an economic viewpoint. Such discussions are necessarily limited to 

 calculations based on individual values, and cannot consider the value 

 of the general marine environment. This can be established only from 

 the attitudes of an entire community to the estuarine resource. 



APALACHICOLA BAY (IV-3-2 ) 



Apalachicola Bay, located in Florida off the Gulf of Mexico, pro- 

 vides a direct contrast with Narragansett Bay. This is important not 

 only in illustrating the diversity of uses to which estuaries currently 

 are put, but also inproviding a basis for evaluating an estuary's socio- 

 economic situation on a different, and possibly more meaningful, basis. 



Apalachicola Bay, unlike Narragansett Bay, is not a berthing place 

 for military vessels and, accordingly, does not have the type of economy 

 which is a significant military complex engenders. Nor is the coastal 

 estuary a commercial port of importance. Rather, studies have shown 

 the present and potential importance of commercial fishing, recreation, 

 and tourism to this estuary. 



Commercial fisheries 



The economic base of Franklin County, Fla., the land area upon 

 which the bay is located, is unusually narrow. Dependence on commer- 

 cial fishing and on the processing and export of seafood from the 

 county is so great that serious pollution would be disastrous to its in- 

 habitants. In November 1963, for example, about 62 percent of the 

 employment in Franklin County was related directly or indirectly to 

 the oyster industry. Direct employment is made up of jobs as ton^ers 

 and workers in shore installations, while indirect employment consists 

 of a variety of middleman functions related to the industry. This is 

 only a partial view, however, of the importance of unpolluted water 



