The Coastal Dilemma "yet each man kills the thing he loves...."-Oscar Wilde In our eagerness to enjoy the The rapture of the lonely shore is increasingly difficult to find in summer as swarms of urban residents battle each other in long weekend skeins of traffic to reach the fresh breezes of the coast. In this issue, EPA Journal examines some of the problems of this increasingly threatened vulnerable part of our environment. An excerpt from a fine book, The Thin Edge, by Anne Simon helps put the coastal dilemma in perspective. Administrator Douglas M. Costle describes some government actions to protect and restore wetlands and shorelines. Deputy Administrator Barbara Blum outlines the World Conservation Strategy. Two Congressmen, Senator Ernest Hollings and U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds, discuss legislative solutions for coastal ills. Bill Painter, Director of the Coast Alliance, explains plans to celebrate the Year of the Coast which his organization is sponsoring. Truman Temple, EPA Journal Associate Editor, describes EPA research activities designed to help preserve Chesapeake Bay. A photo essay shows what a magnet the shore has become to builders. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the California Coastal Commission provide reports on actions to encourage shoreline protection. Madonna F. McGrath, Director of EPA's Great Lakes National Choosing a Course 10 Congressman Gerry Studds looks at several major concerns relating to our Nation's shoreline and opportunities for the future. Alliance for the Coast Alliance Director Bill Painter outlines some of the many activities planned to celebrate the Year of the Coast. Managing the The Federal effort to encourage shoreline protection is described in this piece by Michael Glazer, NOAA Assistant Administrator for Coastal Zone Management. A Gull's View 16 A pictorial sampler of human The Chesapeake: 18 Truman Temple describes EPA research activities in the Tidewater region. Update 34 People 38 Cover: These bathers, jammed together on Jones Beach, an ocean shore on Long Island near New York City, illustrate the intensive use which is damaging many coastal areas. (See article on P 4) Opposite: Wildflowers flourish on the cliffs along California's Big Sur Coast. (See article on P 25) Photo Credits: Bert Miller/Black Star, Ed Cooper, Steven Foss, U.S. Coast Guard, Dick Rowan*, Georgia Dept. of Industry and Trade (Tourist Div.), Pat Weill/Coast Alliance, NOAA/Ted Butts, Md. Fisheries Extension Service, Chesapeake Bay |