The Coastal Zone 



An increasing population and increasing economic activities, poured into the 

 attractive but confined space of tiie coastal zone, give rise to a host of con- 

 flicts and problems because of the incompatibilities of unrationalized multiple 

 uses. The coastal zone is exceedingly complex naturally, socially, and economi- 

 cally, and every aspect of planning, negotiation, understanding, agreement, and 

 implementation seems to involve many levels of government. As a result the 

 management aspects of the coastal zone take on greater significance than is 

 usual where an intimate mix of institutional and scientific activity is required. 

 NACOA finds that prompt action on coastal zone management problems is urgently 

 needed. These needs have already been pointed out in many reports including 

 the milestone Stratton Commission Report issued three and a half years ago. 

 NACOA is disturbed at the lack of definitive progress by the Federal Government 

 on this matter, and the findings strongly underscore the need for action. State 

 governments are already moving in this area, and the public is calling for action. 

 NACOA recommends prompt enactment of coastal zone legislation. 



THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION 



Pressure is building in the coastal areas of the United States. Increasing 

 population and increasing economic activity, crammed into a confined 

 space, mean myriad conflicts which result from incompatabilities of un- 

 wise and unconstrained multiple uses. 



The coastal zone is a pressure cooker precisely because its bounds are 

 limited. Yet because it is the interface between land and sea it is a zone 

 which is more complex naturally, socially, and economically than the 

 continental interior. In addition, it is a zone in which every aspect of 

 planning, negotiation, understanding, agreement, and implementation 

 seems to involve more levels of government than any other zone. 



There is ample evidence that the public is impatient with the lack of 

 meaningful progress in this area and is demanding much more than a 

 token commitment on the part of its government. The problems of the 

 coastal zone now have too direct an impact on too many people for its 



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