PART III. ECOLOGICAL PROBLEMS OF COASTAL LAND 
USE 
We have come to realize in recent years that pressures of develop- 
ment on our coastal lands have resulted in critical strains upon many 
of the unique and limited resources these lands provide. The proximity 
of coastal lands to the resources of the sea and to convenient water 
transportation have historically generated early concentrations of 
population along the coasts of our Nation. Low-cost transportation for 
industry, recreational values for individuals, and the indefinable 
er ea of the sea have nurtured the massive development we see 
today. 
Multitudes of coastal dwellers have been prodigal users of the unique 
resources of the land. They have used the estuaries and the sea as 
garbage dumps and filled the marshlands to increase industrial acreage. 
Now the consequences are becoming evident. Life cycles of valuable 
fish and wildlife have been disrupted by pollution, dredging, and filling. 
Access to clean beaches and unpolluted water is far short of public 
demand. 
The critical situation of our coastal lands is now widely appreciated 
and attention is being given to emergency measures at all levels of 
government. The situation can be instructive, however, because it 
demonstrates the volution of a crisis in land use, a crisis which might 
have been averted with an appreciation of the limits of the resource 
and with thoughtful, comprehensive planning for its highest use. 
Consideration of the Bee pris situation should raise the question 
of what other classes of lands—perhaps less easily defined and recog- 
nized—may also be in critical supply. What other scarce land resources 
are we currently putting to inferior uses today? 
The group of papers in this part were prepared by students working 
with Dr. John Teal of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 
Woods Hole, Mass. They describe some aspects of the importance of 
estuarine areas and the relation of land use practices to the estuaries. 
They also demonstrate the complexity of the problems which arise 
when ecological considerations have been ignored in the development 
of land for narrow purposes. 
OVERVIEW 
(By Prof. John M. Teal, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) 
Some sort of sensible land use policy for the United States is clearly 
necessary. To decide what shall be done with our supply on Jand only 
on the basis of how the owner can make the most money is no longer 
suitable, if it ever was. This is true of all of our land but particularly so 
of the limited land associated with our coastline. For example, it makes 
a great difference to people throughout the country whether or not the 
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