611 



for narrowly defined economic purposes, and the value of natural areas 

 such as estuaries is threatened or destroyed forever, due to i^oring 

 sound ecological practices. This approach does not depreciate the 

 essentiality of any discipline, for many of the solutions to biological 

 problems can be achieved only through engineering expertise. The very 

 framework within which all estuarme uses occur is the institutional 

 arrangements of the law. It is only the economist who can recognize 

 market and nonmarket values and supj)ly administrators this informa- 

 tion so necessary for resource evaluation and allocation. 



A part of the implementation of key management roles is training 

 people in estuarine management. The need for answers to the complex 

 problems of the present is great, and will become even more critical 

 in the near future. Research projects such as estuarine pollution studies 

 must provide for supporting new, high-caliber personnel specifically 

 trained for the difficult tasks ahead. Manpower deficiencies exist at all 

 levels of estuarine scientists, engineers, economists, and planners. The 

 lack of funding for training of personnel will be a prime deterrent to 

 getting the more difficult research underway expeditiously. Unless such 

 provisions are included in any management program, complex research 

 programs will move at a frustratingly slow pace, if at all. 



The need for an informed public 



There must be an informed puhlic willing to support policies and 

 costs leading to the sound technical management of our estuarine and 

 coastal zones. The techniques of informing the public on problems of 

 natural resource management are not as well known as may be assumed 

 by the glib presentations with which we are faced so frequently. 

 Research programs designed toward understanding the public's need 

 and desire to preserve its natural heritage of a beneficial environment 

 are essential. The values, the problems, the achievements of the estu- 

 aries must be presented to the public in terms which are meaningful 

 to the electorate. A repetition of cries of panic and destruction and 

 impending doom serves only to attract the attention of those people 

 who are already interested and concerned. We must achieve better 

 methods of educating the public and preparing them to accept the 

 policies and costs required to maintain a high quality environmenjt 

 for them and their future generations. 



Study of these 10 principles reveals the most important objectives 

 of a coordinated program of research and study. The fact that the 

 appropriate management unit is the total ecosystem demands that we 

 fully understand the ecology of estuarines and appreciate the need for 

 multidisciplinary studies. Maximum effort must be directed toward 

 implementing the multiple-use concept in the estuarine zone. It fol- 

 lows from this, that all potential uses must be evaluated. Special effort 

 must be made to assess nonmarket values in terms compatible with 

 benefit/cost analysis. Estuarine areas must be conserved and enhanced ; 

 damaged areas should toe reconstituted; water quality must not be 

 degraded; and habitats should not be destroyed. Natural preserves 

 should be established for study and research. 



The various agencies and institutions working in estuaries should 

 coordinate their activities ; results of research should be widely dis- 

 seminated. The national program for estuarine study should be devel- 



42-847 O — 70 1 



