grams be increased in size and number and tied to State participation in coastal zone management." (p. 35)

"The Committee recommends an 'evolutionary,' middle course approach to future coastal zone management as the most desirable and feasible at this time." (p. 36)

"Although an effective coastal zone management program cannot be quickly and easily developed without controversy, experience to date suggests that important changes are needed to strengthen the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972. This report as well as future Committee documents address that need." (pp. 37-38)

Introduction

Most observers agree that demands upon the Nation's coastal areas have increased during the 1970's. Energy facility siting, oil spills, coastal recreation, offshore oil and gas exploration, marine pollution, deep water ports, and other issues have heightened public awareness since the passage of the Coastal Zone Management Act in 1972. Indeed, the need for coastal zone management to deal with the increasing number of coastal problems and conflicting regulations is greater today than it was then.

The Act encourages States to develop general purpose programs to insure effective management of coastal resources. It also requires Federal agencies to cooperate in the implementation of State management programs. These programs are designed to adjust to the dynamics of the coastal zone and the political process. State programs are an ongoing planning and decision-making procedure and as such provide a forum in which difficult choices can be made. In a word, the management programs of the 30 States and five Territories participating in coastal zone management may influence how America's four coastlines are developed, protected, and restored.

The implementation of the Coastal Zone Management Act occurred in a period when energy and economic issues came to the forefront of the nation's agenda. There is little doubt that the political environment of 1978 is quite different from that of 1972 when the Federal law was passed. How have new needs and shifting national concerns affected coastal zone management? These are priority issues in the Federal Government and constitute an important part of the Committee's mandate. This report, therefore, addresses the implications of the changing environment in which coastal zone management occurs.

The objective of this inquiry is to examine the depth and breadth of

the coastal zone management constituency.* This constituency is significant since coastal zone programs will ultimately be judged in the political arena. The attitudes and actions of legislators, administrators, interest group representatives, and concerned citizens will be important in determining the number and quality of State programs. A substantial degree of public support is necessary if coastal management is to become a reality in the United States. The nature of civic interest in these programs can also illuminate many other policy issues such as the effectiveness of programs, intergovernmental relations, funding levels, and so on. As a panel of private citizens representing a variety of occupations and coastal regions, the Committee is in a unique position to address the coastal zone management constituency issue.

In order to examine this constituency, two important participants in coastal management-the States, which prepare management programs, and Federal agencies, which review and whose actions must be consistent with those programs were included in the study. Original information was gathered from the following three sources: (1) structured interviews with a cross-section of concerned businesspeople, environmentalists, elected and appointed public officials, and private citizens in selected states; (2) headquarters personnel representing Federal agencies involved in coastal policy; and (3) testimony from guest speakers and panelists at Committee meetings. In addition, numerous official documents, State and Federal statutes, coastal maps, newspaper articles, organization charts, and research papers were examined.

Although this analysis is based on original data, the information reported and the strategies for change suggested are not necessarily novel. The fact remains, however, that many of the issues identified in earlier studies have not been fully dealt with. It is hoped that this report will contribute to a renewed discussion of the Nation's coastal zone and its management. Specifically, the Committee recommends that the Department of Commerce commit itself to effective action regarding the recommendations in this report.

This study identifies and analyzes problems in the management of coastal resources and makes a number of policy recommendations. The Committee also intends to assist policy-makers by (1) forming a task force to monitor proposed changes in the Federal Act, (2) providing advice on the issues discussed in this study, (3) suggesting appropriate amendatory language to the law, and (4) conferring with officials at

* Webster defines the term constituency as a necessary element or component part of a larger whole. For the purposes of this study, important constitutents in the coastal zone management process include the States and Federal agencies (see below).

regular intervals during the controversy over the future of coastal management in the next year.

An important part of this debate will be the effort to identify just what coastal zone management means. Is it, for instance, embodied in the Federal statute, the administration of the law in Washington, D. C., or State programs around the nation? The Committee believes that coastal zone management is, unavoidably, all of these. Most importantly, however, the management of coastal resources can only be what people perceive it to be in light of law and practice. It is these perceptions that are reported in this study.

Several other current examinations of coastal zone management issues should be noted. The Department of Commerce, at the request of the President, recently concluded a Comprehensive Oceans Policy Study. This report included an assessment of coastal problems based upon existing government documents and data. In response to a directive from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Commerce will also conduct an evaluation of coastal management in late 1978. The Office of Technology Assessment will finish an in-depth feasibility study of energy facility siting in the summer of 1978. It will include a discussion of coastal issues. The Office of Coastal Zone Management is presently completing a review of the accomplishments of State programs and the effects of Federal funding. The General Accounting Office recently announced that it will review the administration of the Coastal Zone Management Act by the Office of Coastal Zone Management during 1978. Finally, Congress began its National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration oversight hearings this spring. These hearings will include an examination of coastal zone management. The Coastal Zone Management Advisory Committee study is the only one conducted by a large group of non-Federal employees. It is also the only systematic effort to include candid, private views from users and protectors of the coastal zone.

The next two parts of the study report, in summary fashion, the views of responsible people in States and in Federal agencies. The findings discussed represent the attitudes of those individuals. The implications of the findings and the Committee's views are presented in section four. There is a brief concluding section at the end of the report.