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irreplacable national coastlines and Great Lakes areas. Witli Maine's 

 4.052 miles of shoreline, we will be one of the many States directly 

 beneiitino^ from the long-rang-e planning found in this act. However, 

 all Americans will profit from the national policy established in this 

 legislation, creating management programs to protect and wisely 

 develop the water resources and adjacent lands of our country. 



It is almost a truism to state that our population is most heavily 

 concentrated near waterways and bodies of water, thereby placing the 

 most intense pressures on these areas through industrial, recreational, 

 and housing uses. This trend will continue in the future, making it 

 imperative that special guidelines and programs be established now 

 by the affected States, with the assistance of the Federal Government, 

 to insure that our shorelines and Great Lakes areas are used in the most 

 effective way possible. This means to protect, preserve, and restore the 

 beauty of our coasts, in addition to insuring their most efficient use 

 by all sectors of our economy. 



This act also covers two areas often neglected by other legislation : 

 Estuariiies and marshlands. These valuable sanctuaries for nurseries 

 and spawning grounds must be protected to insure adequate marine 

 resources for the future, because it is estimated that TO percent of the 

 conmiercial fishing in the United States is done in coastal waters. This 

 industry has already suffered greatly in recent yeare, a fact well known 

 in Maiiie and the rest of New England, due to pollution and contami- 

 nation in breeding waters. 



Our national coastline totals more than 88,000 miles, and we must 

 enact this legislation — which was pressed by the Senate without a 

 dissenting vote — to insure that all future generations of Americans 

 will be able to enjoy this most valued national resource. 



Mr. Steele, ilr. Chairman, I wish to express my support of the 

 coastal zone management bill. This environment legislation encour- 

 ages States to meet the urgent problems of their coastal areas. The 

 Federal Government offers funds to cover 66% percent of the States' 

 expenses and establishes guiding criteria for those States electing to 

 conserve, regulate, plan, and develop coastal regions. The initiative 

 and authority to contend with the web of demands upon the coastal 

 zone remain with the States. 



About 75 percent of the American people today reside in the 30 

 States bordering the oceans and the Great Lakes. Increasingly, we 

 turn to the border waters for our recreation needs. Our commercial 

 fishermen concentrate 70 percent of their efforts in coastal waters. Our 

 industrial plants, oil wells, powerplants, and shipping increasingly 

 utilize our coastal lands and waters. 



Yet todaj'' vre lack the technical information crucial to successful 

 coastal management decisions. We know little about the impact of 

 man's acti\'ities or of natural processes on the ecology of the coastal 

 area. The coastal zone management bill's general principles, and espe- 

 cially its estuarine sanctuaries provision, will support the kind of 

 scientific studies necessary to wisely plan and protect the Nation's 

 coastal regions. 



Our immediate need for imaginative State research and manage- 

 ment programs is clear if we are to successfully conserve and optimally 

 utilize this invaluable resource. 



