technical advisory sources closely coupled to each level in the manage- 

 ment hierarchy including local, State, and Federal echelons. The basis for 

 these recommendations follows. 



THE PROBLEM 



It is widely recognized that the coastal zone problem is first and fore- 

 most a management problem, and that the crux of the management 

 problem is jurisdictional. 



This is not to say that the other elements typifying a management prob- 

 lem are all in hand. The Stratton Commission, for example, mentioned 

 several, including the neglect accorded marine affairs by State govern- 

 ments at that time and their failure to develop and implement long- 

 range plans. Furthermore, there is a continuing and undesirable gap 

 between those responsible for coastal zone decisions and the technical and 

 scientific expertise needed to help them assess the consequences of their de- 

 cisions before they are made. 



But the last few years ha\'e seen a growing awareness of the impor- 

 tance of the problem and a broad consensus regarding the major goals. 

 These were described by Lawrence, the Executive Director of the Strat- 

 ton Commission, during the 1969 Hearings on the Coastal Zone, as in- 

 cluding: 



". . . the urgent need to halt the deterioration of the Great Lakes and estuaries, 

 provide more adequate seaside recreational opportunities, improve our ports, 

 accommodate expanding industries seeking shoreline space, capitalize on oppor- 

 tunities to make more effective use of the waterfronts of coastal cities, and pro- 

 tect our coastlines from accidental oil spills and other forms of pollution." * 



It is our conviction that all these goals can be met. The plans to do 

 so must be drawn up in such a way as to take advantage of the full 

 range of possibilities represented by the coastal zone as a whole, adjusting 

 local plans to keep within the guidelines derived from the larger con- 

 text. For this, resolving the jurisdictional problem is mandatory. 



To see why this is so, consider the ownership of the coastline for ex- 

 ample. Excluding Alaska** about 70 percent (26,000 miles) of the 37,000 

 miles of U.S. shoreline is in private hands, 12 percent (5,000 miles) is 



* "Coastal Zone Management Conference," Hearings before the Subcommittee on 

 Oceanography of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of 

 Representatives, 91st Congress, October 28-29, 1969. 



** Prior to the recently approved Alaska Native Lands Claims Settlement Act, the 

 extent of whose impact on land ownership in the coastal zone is not yet known, 

 only 1 percent of Alaska's 47,000 miles of shoreline was privately owned. Most 

 of it (88 percent qr 41,000 miles) is owned by the Federal Government, and the 

 rest (11 percent or 10,000 miles) by State and local governments. Less than one- 

 fifth is in any way developed, and more than half of that is used for recreation. 

 In "the lower 48" plus Hawaii, more than 40 percent is developed, two-thirds of 

 which is used for recreation. "Report on the National Shoreline Study," De- 

 partment of Army, Corps of Engineers, August 1971. 



32 



