368 



of the area. Within the limits of the authorities and resources avail- 

 able these remain well directed toward their objectives and are 

 reasonably effective. 



THE CURRENT ROLE 



The role of the Federal Government in brief continues to be one of 

 support and technical assistance, of regulatory activities within current 

 law, and of the provision of normal Federal services, such as, naviga- 

 tion aids, channel and harbor maintenance, protective works, and 

 weather service. The Federal Government continues to promote and 

 encourage cooperation among the States in interstate estuaries. It par- 

 ticipates in broad studies and inventories particularly as directed by 

 Congress in specific acts. Land acquisition in the estuarine zone con- 

 tinues under the various current laws, and research goes forward. 



Augmentation 



Even though the Federal programs cooperate reasonably within 

 their statutory authority the accomplishments when combined with 

 State and local activity are not enough as yet to really slow down the 

 loss of valuable estuarine zones. The conflicting demands on the re- 

 sources of the estuarine zone increase at a rather rapid rate. Unplanned 

 and unregulated alteration and modification of the area, mostly as the 

 result of activities by the private sector continues with a consequent 

 loss of wildlife habitat and a decreasing availability of open space 

 for public use. The cause is in part rapid urban and suburban devel- 

 opment, heavy industrial growth and increased population. Develop- 

 ment in the estuaries is necessary and will continue, but it should be 

 done in a planned and regulated way designed to provide the most 

 beneficial use. To do so, integrated and coordinated management and 

 planning is needed. This will require more technical assistance of all 

 kinds, more knowledge to be gathered through research and data col- 

 lection. Not in the least, it will require more effective use of current 

 programs and authorities. This simply means more money and more 

 people. As has been pointed out before in this chapter, the Corps of 

 Engineers does not have the overall facilities and personnel to admin- 

 ister its permit program in the most effective manner. In cooperation 

 with the States, land acquisition by the Federal Government directly 

 and through grants-in-aid programs proceeds at too slow a pace. There 

 is in particular no grant-in-aid program which concentrates its activ- 

 ities in the estuarine zone and which could assist the States in develop- 

 ing that type of State organization that could prepare and implement 

 an integrated and comprehensive plan for its overall estuarine zone. 



Coordination 



In terms of coordination it is relatively easy to point out that the 

 strongest coordination of the Federal programs takes place at the 

 State level, that is, that it is accomplished to the greatest extent by 

 working closely with the States. As noted, the weakness of this is 

 generally the lack of a single strong State organization to deal with. 



There have been noted many other means of coordination. All appear 

 to work fairly well, but not well enough to provide an effective and 

 comprehensive program of management in the estuarine zone. There 

 is no single policy and no national policy which would provide for the 



