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Taking the Middle Road 



Extending Knowledge to the Coastal Community 



When you think of protecting the 

 coastal environment, it's hard not to take 

 sides. 



But to Walter Clark, Sea Grant's ocean 

 and coastal law specialist, not taking sides 

 is a special calling. 



Clark is an expert whose job demands 

 that he maintain a middle-of-the-road 

 posture. 



"I can give people information on the 

 law, what the law says about public trust, 

 riparian rights, things like that," Clark says. 

 "But I can't represent them." 



Clark, one of the few Sea Grant 

 coastal law specialists in the nation, is 

 always in demand as a purveyor of 

 information. And most of that is in the 

 form of advice. 



"I always tell people to get involved 

 in the lawmaking process," he says. 



In North Carolina, various commis- 

 sions are charged with adopting and 

 modifying regulations. During the process 

 of changing these regulations, public 

 hearings must be held. These hearings are 

 an ideal place for an individual to affect 

 change and to be heard, Clark says. 



/ always tell people to get involved 

 in the lawmaking process. 



"The best thing a person can do in 

 this situation is to do their homework," he 

 says. "They should go into a hearing 

 prepared. They should follow the proce- 

 dures set up by the commission that's 

 holding the hearing. And they should 

 make their point calmly and clearly and 

 back up their point with information." 



In what coastal issues are people 

 getting involved? 



Clark sees at least four major issues 

 affecting North Carolina's shoreline: the 

 quality of coastal water, the increasing 

 conflict between users of the state's 

 waterways, wetlands protection — 

 particularly freshwater wetlands — and 

 increasing pressures on oceanfront 

 development from eroding shorelines. 



The best thing a person can do 

 in this situation 

 is to do their homework. 



"Water quality is the number one 

 issue," he says. "And there's particular 

 interest in identifying non-point sources of 

 pollution. 



"Over the years, we've gotten a fairly 

 good handle on point-source, but the non- 

 points are harder to deal with. Solutions to 

 the non-point source problem will include 

 stricter regulations on land-use practices. 



"Then there's the public trust issue," 

 he says. "As the coast gets more crowded, 

 tension develops between users of the 

 public waters — fishemien, boaters, 

 swimmers — and owners of private 

 property adjacent to the public waters. 

 New rules and regulations will likely be 

 enacted." 



As for oceanfront development, Clark 

 sees greater activity as more development 

 becomes endangered by eroding shore- 

 lines. This will test the strength of our 

 coastal management program's oceanfront 

 regulations, he predicts. 



"The wetlands issue is very impor- 

 tant," Clark says. "In North Carolina, we 

 have developed a management program 

 for identifying and protecting saltwater 

 wetlands. We are struggling now with 

 doing the same thing for freshwater 

 wetlands." 



Walter Clark 



Finding a balance with these and 

 other issues is difficult, but seeking ways 

 to achieve the balance is Clark's job. 



People in government and 

 academia aren 't supposed to be 

 influenced by one side or the other. 

 We're in search of the truth. 



"People in government and academia 

 aren't supposed to be influenced by one 

 side or the other. We're in search of the 

 truth," he says. 



Sometimes that truth may support a 

 particular point of view, Clark says. Still, 

 he must walk a straight line and not get 

 personally involved. 



"At times," he says, "it's a hard line to 

 walk." 



C.R. Edgerton 



16 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1991 



