Forests close to or bordering the coastal waters and 

 Great Lakes which are now partly used for 

 recreation, but neither the Defense nor the Agri- 

 culture Departments manage these areas specifi- 

 cally as marine parks or with the idea of providing 

 extensive opportunities for marine recreation. 

 Nevertheless, these coastal lands are important in 

 conserving outstanding scenic and recreation re- 

 sources, and the Defense Department has conserva- 

 tion officers attached to base installations. Recrea- 

 tion is part of the multiple-use concept for the 

 management of all National Forests, several of 

 which border the coasts. In recent years the role of 

 recreation in National Forest management has 

 been strengthened and will continue to expand. 



Other Federal Government agencies, including 

 the Corps of Engineers, Soil Conservation Service, 

 Coast Guard, and Environmental Science Services 

 Administration perform services that support 

 recreation operations. 



B. State 



State government organization for marine recre- 

 ation activity typically divides jurisdiction among 

 a number of agencies. Park, conservation, and fish 

 and game departments are most common. The 

 agency having responsibihty for State park systems 

 usually has the bulk of marine recreation func- 

 tions. 



State departments of conservation and natural 

 resources generally have non-park beach and shore- 

 hne preservation functions. They plan and operate 

 wildlife refuges, preserve wetlands, control filling 

 and dredging in some cases, and may be respon- 

 sible for State water resource functions. 



The position of park systems in governmental 

 structure of States is varied. It may be summarized 

 as follows: 



—In 14 States, parks are a subdivision of a major 

 department with a single executive head. This 

 system tends to cluster recreation and related 

 activities under an executive who has a broad view 

 of problems and can move toward integrated 

 solutions within his own department. 



—In 10 States, parks are in major departments 

 headed by boards or commissions. Members of 

 these bodies are either ex officio or are appointed 

 by the Governor and range in number from 3 to 

 13. Commissions are ordinarily thought to be less 



effective administrative devices than individual 

 executives responsible to the Governor. 



-In five States parks are administered by separate 

 agencies directly headed by boards or commis- 

 sions. 



—One State has a separate Department of State 

 Parks with a single executive head responsible to 

 the Governor. 



—In at least four States administrative supervision 

 of State parks is decentralized. Local groups or 

 commissions supervise regional or individual parks 

 in two of the four, while in a third State each park 

 is a separate administrative division. The fourth 

 State is divided into four geographical sections, 

 each with a separate administrative division. 



It appears that governmental structure in quite 

 a number of coastal States is too diffuse and 

 uncoordinated to cope adequately with the need 

 for planning and developing marine recreation 

 areas. Better internal coordination of the activities 

 of various State agencies might make for more 

 efficient planning and development of marine 

 resources. 



Although most of the coastal States have 

 incorporated shoreline parks into their State park 

 systems the efforts are spotty, and it appears that 

 many State parks departments pay relatively Uttle 

 attention to marine recreation, as evidenced not 

 only by the small amount of beach area that has 

 been preserved for public beaches, but by the 

 apparent nonavailabiUty of even basic information 

 on marine recreation facilities in State offices 

 responsible for administering such facilities. 



Each State has an outdoor recreation plan, 

 prepared largely to comply with the grant eligibil- 

 ity requirements of the Land and Water Conserva- 

 tion Fund Act, but there is in most cases little 

 continuous planning for marine recreation. Fur- 

 thermore, many of the State recreation plans are 

 not the products of State planning agencies but are 

 the results of contracts let with private consulting 

 firms. Interviews with State officials lead to the 

 conclusion that plans are not being vigorously 

 implemented and will not be until marine recreation 

 plarming is more closely related to operational 

 agencies. In general, marine recreation appears not 

 to have a high priority with State planning 

 officials. 



VII-245 



