122 
population, leisure, income, and mobility, the demands for shoreline 
recreation should triple before the turn of the century. Such an increase 
is staggering when we consider that our public coastal facilities are 
already filled to capacity, while there is no room left for expansion 
through acquisition and development since the remainder of the 
shoreline has already been sold! Each summer we feel the pinch of 
this disproportionate situation of shoreline supply and demand as 
hordes of recreationists crowd the beaches, especially near the cities, 
along the entire perimeter of the nation. 
The preceding discussions on the great social significance of outdoor 
recreation and the fantastic demands that we now see for shoreline 
activities point to the unique and intrinsic value of our coastal zone 
as a recreational resource. This value has been pomted out by the 
ORRRC: 
Of the many outdoor recreation ‘‘environments,’’ mountains, seacoasts, deserts, 
and woodlands, the shoreline appears to have an unusually strong appeal for 
Americans.*4 
This is true because of the wide variety of easy, active forms of 
recreational activity that the shoreline affords. This wide variety 
includes swimming, skindiving, beachcombing, motor boating, sailing, 
canoeing, waterskiing, and fishing. Many activities, such as picnicking, 
camping, sunbathing, and walking are greatly enhanced by proximity 
to the ocean. Beach shoreline, in most cases, offers the cheapest and 
most enjoyable recreation uses for large numbers of people. 
Going into the surf is fun whether one swims or not. It is not necessary to be a 
mountain climber to take walks along the beach, and beachcombing is an activity 
that appeals to everyone from toddler to octogenerian . . . here, land, and water 
are easily accessible; the violence of breaking surfs and the warm safety of relaxing 
sands are but a step apart; the stimulation of the foreign environment of the 
water and the relaxation of sunbathing are nowhere else so easy of choice. Physical 
sport and mental relaxation are equally available.* 
An additional use of coastal areas, and probably the most wide- 
spread, is for esthetic enjoyment, especially along bluff shoreline. 
Tourists from the interior states are always eager to view such sights as ships 
coming under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco Bay, the lovely solitude 
of Fort Sumter as it rests seemingly impregnable in Charleston Harbor, and the 
parade of ships in and out of New York Harbor. Attractive scenic vistas are not 
for the tourists alone, but hold a certain magnetism for residents of the coastal 
cities as well. One has only to scan the real estate advertisements to realize the 
premium value on waterfront or waterview lots.% 
All these values of the shoreline are magnified by its accessibility 
to large populations. “This unique combination of available resources 
in close proximity to large population centers offers an unparalleled 
recreational opportunity for many people who could not afford to 
travel far from their homes,” *’ and as such is an invaluable asset of 
this nation. 
The coastline has great value in another important sense. Although 
man is a social being, performing social activities such as recreation, 
he is also a biological organism, ‘‘one species among many who depend 
upon each other and upon the natural environment for their organic 
needs . . . his very survival depends upon the intricately complex, 
34 Thid., reference 2; p. 3. 
36 Tbid., reference 2; p. 4. 
36 Tbid., reference 1; vol. II, pt. IV, p. 116. 
37 Tpid., reference 1; vol. I, pt. II, p. 32. 
