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information of demographic, social, and economic significance. Knowl- 

 edge of the uses and values of estuarine resources is also a requirement 

 of this data base. We must also be fully cognizant of the institutional 

 arrangements operating in the estuarine zone, for any management 

 program must operate within the legal and political framework appli- 

 cable to the specific estuary under consideration. 



A full and adequate knowledge of these three broad categories of 

 information — technical, socioeconomic, and political — is inextricably 

 related to establishing goals and assigning uses for individual estuaries 

 or estuarine regions. The assignation of desired uses of a natural re- 

 source is a basic management decision which requires the kinds of in- 

 formation discussed above. 



The overall purpose of applied research and study is to provide the 

 knowledge required to estaiblish and implement and effective compre- 

 hensive management program which will achieve optimum beneficial 

 uses of the Nation's estuaries. This, of course, calls for a sequence of 

 intermediate steps. The verj^ first thing that must be done is to collate 

 the currently known biological, chemical, and physical conditions of 

 each portion of the estuarine zone. This assemblage of information 

 should also indicate the current uses of the estuarine zone, its resources, 

 the management situation currently in effect, and the problems and 

 dangers that exist. This body of knowledge, the initial data base, is 

 essentially the content of the National Estuar'ine Inventory (NEI) dis- 

 cussed at length in chapters 1 and 2 of part VI. 



The National Estuarine Inventory is based on a series of handbooks 

 which will fully describe each segment of the estuarine zone. Informa- 

 tion is recorded under the following classifications : 

 ( 1 ) Identification of estuarine register area. 

 ^2) Area description. 



(3) Managing entities. 



(4) Hydrology. 



(5) Stage of development. 



(6) Physical oceanography. 



(7) Water quality. 



(8) Sediments and sedimentation. 



(9) Uses.. 



(10) Sources of pollution. 



(11) tJse damages. 



(12) Immediate, pollution control needs. 



(13) Water quality standards. 



(14) Past and current studies. 



Based on this assemblage of present knowledge, we develop a pro- 

 posed comprehensive plan of management and designate desired goals 

 and uses. This, of course, frames the questions of feasibility of such 



foals and uses. Reference again to our known data base identifies the 

 nowledge gaps — the knowledge we must have to make proper deci- 

 sions on uses and the knowledge which is needed for effective technical 

 management to provide for the desired uses. Identification of these 



