LEG Al 



TIDES 



other and to nature — and that humans are only 

 one part of life on earth. 



Clark and Kalo see a common 

 denominator between fact and fiction 



— remedies to environmental problems can be 

 found in individual choices, as well as broader 

 policy decisions. 



They are no strangers to the 

 environmental policy decisionmaking process. 

 Clark is North Carolina Sea Grant's coastal 

 and ocean policy specialist. Kalo is UNC Law 

 School's Graham Kenan Professor of Law, who 

 concentrates on environmental, coastal and 

 ocean law. For more than two decades, they 

 have collaborated on a variety of coastal issues 



— from offshore energy exploration to ocean 

 beach nourishment. 



Now, the new North Carolina Coastal 

 Resources Law, Planning and Policy Center 

 will formalize and broaden their alliance. A 

 collaboration of North Carolina Sea Grant, 

 UNC School of Law and UNC Coastal Studies 

 Institute (CSI), the center will focus a legal lens 

 on coastal and ocean resource issues. 



Clark and Kalo are sharing the center's 

 helm: Kalo as co-director for research and 

 legal education, and Clark as co-director for 

 outreach and education. They see the center as 

 a conduit for identifying and researching issues 

 and delivering information to local and state 

 governments, businesses, nongovernmental 

 agencies and citizens. 



Nancy White, CSI director, serves as 

 liaison to identify research needs of coastal 

 communities and, in turn, link them to the 

 center's research resources. 



"The center is a natural marriage of 

 expertise," says Clark. "We combine the 

 research capabilities of the law school and the 

 university with Sea Grant's well-established 

 outreach network." 



"With the intensity of coastal 

 development, a number of issues — both legal 

 and scientific in nature — are coming to the 

 forefront," Kalo observes. 



And as more people crowd onto the coast, 

 more legal and policy information will be 

 needed, Clark adds. "Issues will become more 

 profound — and new issues will arise." 



A PILOT PROJECT 



It's one such emerging issue — the 

 proliferation of multislip boat-docking facilities 

 — that has Clark and Kalo heading for 

 Morehead City. They'll meet with an advisory 

 committee they have assembled to examine 

 North Carolina's marina policy and its long- 

 term implications for water quality. 



Funded by the N.C. Division of Water 

 Quality, the new center's first project provides 

 an opportunity for third-year law student 

 Lauren Pogue to use her legal skills to 

 investigate coastal and ocean issues. 



Pogue is conducting the background 

 research to lay the foundation for a 

 "white paper" that will outline a set of 

 recommendations to improve marina 

 management and protect water quality. 



"It's interesting to be researching a topic 

 with real-world applications," says Pogue. "We 

 have just begun to scratch the surface, and I 

 look forward to continuing on the project. . . 

 You can see how its outcome can make a 

 difference." 



Student involvement with the center 

 has many benefits. For one, the experience is 

 sparking Pogue's interest in coastal policy and 

 public service as a career path. The Mount 

 Tabor native is contemplating pursuing the 

 National Sea Grant-sponsored Dean John A. 

 Knauss Fellowship. Selected students spend 

 a year in the nation's capital learning about 

 federal policy-making processes. 



Also, working as part of a committee 

 of professionals from a number of state and 

 federal agencies, Pogue is learning first-hand 

 that it's impossible to do research on legal 

 issues in isolation — and that sound science is 

 the foundation of law and policy. 



For any environmental law or policy, the 

 test is simple: Is it reasonable, is it defensible? 



CONVERGING CURRENTS 



The launch of the North Carolina Coastal 

 Resources Law, Planning and Policy Center 

 comes at a critical time for the state and the 

 nation, Clark says. 



Financial support from the North Carolina 

 Sea Grant program coincides with the National 



CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Nancy White, 

 director of the UNC Coastal Studies Institute 

 based in Manteo, points out local water quality 

 issues to Sea Grant's Walter Clark. • UNC Law 

 School's Joseph Kalo and research assistant Lauren 

 Pogue pinpoint coastal areas under pressure of 

 development. • Traditional beach cottages are being 

 crowded out by so-called "McMansions" along the 

 Outer Banks. • Clark and Gloria Putnam, of the 

 N.C. Division of Water Quality, compare notes on 

 the state's marina policy. 



Sea Grant's demonstrated interest in social 

 science and law with the establishment of the 

 National Sea Grant Law Center, headquartered 

 at Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant. 



In addition, the Sea Grant Network has 

 launched two new initiatives focusing on 



26 HIGH SEASON 2005 



