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Evaluating all potential uses 



Better techniques must be developed for evaluating all potential 

 uses and combinations of uses for a given estuarine area in terms of 

 optimum longrun social as well as economic benefits and including 

 esthetic and recreational values. Certainly natural science will con- 

 tinue to be an important area of investigation, but the social and hu- 

 manitarian aspects of the natural environment also will have to be 

 evaluated. This will require definitive economic base studies to define 

 values and uses at all levels in common terms which will permit option 

 of various use alternatives. 



While various uses amenable to benefit/cost analysis should be 

 evaluated in a comparable manner to determine the economic impact 

 of various combinations of such uses, uses not subject to the usual bene- 

 fit/cost analysis such as fish and wildlife habitat, open space, esthetics, 

 and natural beauty should, nevertheless, be fully considered as an im- 

 portant aspect of any plan for estuarine development. Criteria with 

 which to judge these sorts of values must be developed and applied 

 equitably along with criteria for the more readily evaluated charac- 

 teristics. Commercial developments considered essential and which are 

 locationally dependent on estuaries should be planned so as to pre- 

 vent or mitigate damages to all other public values. The responsible 

 unit of government should require adequate protective measures as a 

 condition of approval of any development plans. As in the establish- 

 ment of water quality standards, the determination should be justi- 

 fied in terms of overall public or social value rather than solely 

 through conventional benefit/cost analysis. The various techniques 

 and criteria on which these sorts of values will be based will require 

 research of a novel and specialized kind, perhaps abandoning tradi- 

 tional attitudes. 



Conserving and enhancing estuarine ecosystems 



Estuarine areas must be managed conservatively, leaving adequate 

 margins of safety for protection for miscalculation, political error, 

 or extreme natural variations. At the present time, there is widespread 

 awareness that we can no longer afford to neglect and destroy estuarine 

 systems which cannot be replaced. The question now is how to accom- 

 lish and provide for a sufficient measure of protection for these areas. 



Future development of estuarine areas should provide the environ- 

 mental niches needed by the inhabitants of the estuary and for the use 

 of the estuary as a nursery ground for marine life. Special precautions 

 must be taken not to impair the desirable hydrology of the estuary. 

 Efficient flushing characteristics and innocuous sedimentation patterns 

 must be retained or achieved. This need is consonant with all the other 

 beneficial uses of natural waters except the receipt of waste. Estuarine 

 areas in a state of neglect and poor use should be restored to functional 

 status within the concept of an integrated ecosystem of the whole 

 in-shore region. Methods should be developed for reestablishing the 

 areas of the estuarine zone where desired values have been lost. Special 

 attention must be given to the effect of man upon the water quality 

 of the estuary, for this is the most easily controlled of all the factors 

 in the estuarine economy and yet is one which will most seriously effect 

 the esthetic, recreational, economic, and habitat value of the estuary 

 during periods of extreme environmental stress. 



