Michael Orbach of the Duke University Marine 

 Lab brought a social science perspective to 

 early NOAA efforts. 



to meet the public's expectations to do all things 

 faster, cheaper and more effectively with the 

 latest technology." 



Robert F. Goodwin, coastal services 

 specialist with Washington Sea Grant, is 

 president of the TCS Cascadia Regional Chapter 

 — the first regional chapter. 



'TCS is thriving and growing both here 

 and nationally. We have a new student chapter at 

 the University of Washington, modeled after the 

 one at Duke. That speaks to the interest of the 

 next generation of coastal managers in 

 sustaining a vital international professional 

 organization." 



Goodwin adds, 'TCS is the only 

 membership organization that serves the 

 interests of the coastal management academic, 

 practitioner and involved citizens — and builds 

 bridges among them, celebrates their successes, 

 and honors their leaders. TCS is a true coastal 

 fellowship that has sustained the spirit of the 

 Coastal Zone Management Act through some 

 dauntingly adverse political periods over the past 

 quarter century." 



A Holistic Future 



The 2002 TCS conference, "Converging 

 Currents: Science, Culture and Policy at the 

 Coast," (May 19-22) is being played out against 

 the backdrop of prospective change. As members 

 gather in Galveston, the U.S. Commission on 

 Ocean Policy continues a series of national 

 meetings that could set the agenda for the 21st- 

 century ocean policy. At the same time, the Pew 

 Oceans Commission, created by the Pew 

 Charitable Trust, is completing a series of national 

 studies on a litany of coastal and marine topics. 



TCS members expect to hear from the U.S. 

 Commission on Ocean Policy. And, likewise, 

 Clark is hopeful that members of the commission 

 might learn some things from the TCS approach 

 to regional problem-solving. 



"We'll be examining the scientific and 

 management challenges of the Gulf of Mexico," 

 Clark notes. "The Gulf is a semi-closed body of 

 water that touches many countries and jurisdic- 

 tions. We'll have a chance to hear about what 

 they are doing that could become a model in other 

 regions, especially related to governance issues." 



Sessions are to focus on regional approaches 

 to ecosystem-based management, including 

 physical, ecological, cultural, political and 

 economic perspectives. 



The conference as a whole is a time and 

 place to synthesize a host of issues, Clark says. 

 "It brings together a lot of good minds into one 

 forum for sharing good work from specialized 

 sciences." 



Discussion topics include strategies for 

 addressing issues at the land-water interface, as 

 well as post-Sept. 1 1 security issues for ports and 

 harbors. As expected, North Carolina will be well 

 represented at the table. 



ECU's King leads a panel attempting to 

 shed light on "Understanding Change, Designing 

 Coastal Policy." The panel considers the changes 

 and their impacts on social and natural resources. 



"Population change is short-hand for 

 increased pressures on the coast and its resources. 

 ... But demography is not destiny," King says. 



Jack Thigpen, North Carolina Sea Grant 

 extension director and coastal communities 

 specialist, is part of the panel. He targets coastal 

 land-use planners, government agencies and those 



charged with decision making. 



Not surprising, King and Thigpen are 

 collaborating on a Sea Grant-funded project 

 looking at policy issues that local communities 

 tackle, especially those involving coastal resource 

 issues. While the focus is on North Carolina 

 coastal communities, they hope the project will 

 aid other states in managing growth challenges. 



In another TCS presentation, King outlines a 

 framework for understanding the political context 

 within which fisheries managers must work. He 

 recommends training strategies for prospective 

 coastal resources managers. 



The 2002 TCS conference, 

 "Converging Currents: Science, Culture 

 and Policy at the Coast," (May 1 9-22) is 

 being played out against the backdrop of 

 prospective change. As members gather in 

 Galveston, the U.S. Commission on Ocean 



Policy continues a series of national 

 meetings that could set the agenda for the 

 21 st century ocean policy. At the same time, 



the Pew Oceans Commission, created 

 by the Pew Charitable Trust, is completing 

 a series of national studies on a litany 

 of coastal and marine topics. 



In other words, TCS members don't stop at 

 stating obvious problems, but rather they offer 

 solutions. 



Clark is optimistic about the future of coastal 

 and ocean stewardship. 



He says his optimism is not unfounded. "It's 

 not all doom and gloom out there," Clark says. "It 

 may seem like the problems are insurmountable, 

 but look at history. Since the 1970s, the state of 

 the environment and the quality of coastal waters 

 have improved." 



He's hedging his bet on holistic, integrated 

 management. "It holds the key to wise steward- 

 ship of our coastal and marine environments. 

 We've got to understand the relationship between 

 human action and environmental response — and 

 to learn how to effectively guide our activities. We 

 are, in effect, the trustees of the environment. 



"Like TCS, collective environmental 

 stewardship is greater than the sum of its parts," 

 says Clark. □ 



20 EARLY SUMMER 2002 



