necessary in Chesapeake Bay. Galveston Bay remains a relatively healthy and productive estuary, 
but the early warning signs of future problems are clear. Now is the time to establish the policies and 
goals to guide the bay's future. In Galveston Bay we certainly have a case where "an ounce of 
prevention is worth a pound of cure." 
The issues, problems and conflicts presented in this paper, and throughout this symposium, are 
symptomatic of the cumulative strain being placed on the estuary's resources. The fragility of our 
opportunity to manage this system successfully is reflected in the short time we have to make the 
right decisions and, where needed, to generate the necessary information. Our options will lessen 
with time and decisions will have to be made, either by us or, through inactivity, they will be made 
for us. 
As resource managers, we are in a race to not only find answers, but to ask the right questions. 
To do this we must tap the resources of our scientific community and work with one another as 
managers. In this estuary we have a resource of national importance. It is deserving of our best efforts 
to maintain its health, because we cannot afford to lose one of this nation's most valuable resources 
— Galveston Bay. 
87 
