250 million recreation activity occasions in the area. 1/ Recrea

tion activities in the Gulf area are, of course, largely water

oriented.

Water-oriented recreation is the most popular form of out

door recreation in the United States. The warm climate of the Gulf of

Mexico makes this area very attractive to recreationists in, and

beyond, the region.

Last year's and estimated future visits to National Park Service units

1/ The above estimates for recreation use are based on data and procedures contained in A New Perspective on Recreational Use of the Ocean, National Planning Association, Winslaw and Bigler. The above estimates are included for the purpose of presenting order of magnitude data and could be subject to considerable adjustment.

2/ Public Use of the National Parks, Dec. 1972, National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

3/ From its opening through 7/73.

4/ No projections available at this time.

The Gulf of Mexico is subject to heavy shipping traffic. The seventeen major ports and harbors from Tampa to Corpus Christi handled about 517 million tons of freight and 235,000 vessel calls during 1972. These totals include almost 218 million tons of crude oil and petroleum products and over 75,000 tanker and tank barge calls. 1/

f. Military Use

Some areas of the Gulf of Mexico are designated Defense Warning Areas by branches of the U. S. Armed Forces and are to be used for military purposes. A possible constraint on the extent of future offshore oil and gas leasing involved conflicts in some areas between mineral development and high priority uses of the Department of Defense. Some adjustments in Defense Warning Areas on the OCS and/or development of adequate special oil and gas lease stipulations, where appropriate, will need to be made before mineral leasing in such areas can proceed. At this time, there are no tracts in this proposed sale the development of which would cause interference with activities in the area.

Besides applied research in petroleum geology, ocean engineering, commercial fishing, fish farming, and other fields, a

1/ Waterborne Commerce of the United States Calendar Year 1972 Part 2 Waterways and Harbors Gulf Coast, Mississippi River System and Antilles - Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers.

number of Gulf states colleges and universities are involved in basic research in the marine sciences. The shoreline and open waters of the Gulf of Mexico serve as an important outdoor laboratory. Table 3a lists colleges and universities, and degrees offered, that carry out part or all of their field education and research in the Gulf.

An example of this emphasis on field research in the Gulf involves the plans of the University of Texas Medical Center to establish Flower Garden Ocean Research Center. 1/ If the university's plans are implemented, the facility would be located in 80 feet of water about 120 nautical miles SSE of Galveston, Texas. Facilities proposed by the university consist of an offshore platform with laboratory modules, living quarters, power generators, and support facilities. On the coral reef below, there would be placed a Tektite-type undersea

habitat.

h.

Land and Water Conservation Fund

"The Land and Water Conservation Fund was established in

P.L. 88-578, as amended, to help plan for, acquire, and develop outdoor recreation resources for the benefit and enjoyment of all Americans.

Oil and gas, sulfur, and salt royalties credited to the U.S. Treasury from Outer Continental Shelf operations, together with lease rentals and bonuses from OCS lease sales are, in turn, earmarked to the Land and Water Conservation Fund in amounts authorized by the Congress."

1/Marine Biomedical Institute, University of Texas, 1971. The Texas Tektite Project: Flower Garden Ocean Research Center, Gulf of Mexico. Misc. Brochure, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston. 21 pp.

Revenue funding also comes from other sources such as motorboat fuel taxes and the sale of surplus Federal real property.

Grants-in-aid under the Fund program can be made only to the states, their cities and countries, and legal political subdivisions. The Federal money pays half the cost of statewide planning projects, land acquisition and development of facilities for public outdoor recreation. Appropriations to the Fund also pay land acquisition costs for authorized areas being added to the national system of parks, forests, wildlife refuges, wild and scenic rivers, and scenic and recreation trails.