In This Issue:

• Coastal Calendar
• FEATURE: A Perfect Moment for Mid-Atlantic Sea Change
• Waging War Against Invasive Species
• Statewide Grant Program Successfully Shores Up Marina Industry
• A Natural Tourism Alternative
• Preparing Future Science Teachers for Service

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The Jersey Shoreline

A Perfect Moment for Mid-Atlantic Sea Change

by Jay Odell, The Nature Conservancy

Sandy Hook Bay, New Jersey

     Imagine a world without land use planning. Perhaps your kids would go to a school in an industrial zone. On vacations you could probably still go to Disneyland, but there wouldn’t be many National Parks or National Forests to choose from. Back in your hometown the local parks, ball fields, and trails for hiking and biking might be replaced with pavement. There would be a lot fewer wetlands and a lot less wildlife. The air and water would not be as clean and the quality of life would be greatly diminished. Over the past decades we’ve learned to do a pretty good job of developing policies and plans to reduce conflicts and balance competing interests for economic growth, cultural and aesthetic values, and environmental protection—on land.
     But what about the other 71 percent of the planet? When it comes to sea planning we have some catching up to do, and we need to do it quickly, because the ability of the ocean to continue to provide the material and aesthetic bounty that coastal communities and our Nation depend upon is seriously threatened.
     The ocean’s mounting challenges include habitat damage and loss, diminished fishing opportunities, increased pollution threats, loss of marine biodiversity, and global climate change impacts such as increased water temperatures, ocean acidification, and sea-level rise. While scholars and others can argue about the importance and severity of each of these problems, there is increasingly broad recognition that a business-as-usual approach is unsustainable. If we want our grandchildren and great-grandchildren to inherit an ocean that inspires, nourishes, and provides the services that keep us alive, it’s time for some fresh approaches.

Seaside Salt Marshes, Virginia's Eastern Shore ©Joseph Scalf, The Nature Conservancy

Transition Time for Ocean Management
     Planning and management for America’s ocean spaces has been stymied by a fragmented approach. The authority and responsibility for stewardship of ocean resources is divided into sector-specific “silos”– energy, fisheries, military, transportation, recreation and other marine resource uses. At least 20 federal agencies implement a patchwork of over 140 laws¹ to regulate these sectors, laws that were largely created one-by-one in reaction to specific challenges and crises.
     Add in the need to coordinate these federal authorities with those of the states’, and the level of complexity grows exponentially. Each coastal state has its own complement of divided agencies, laws, and regulations for management of state waters—the highly productive and intensively used portion of the ocean that extends from the beach out to three miles offshore.
     Ocean management has improved over the past thirty years, but still has a lot further to go. During the past few decades we have seen substantial improvements in coastal and marine conservation and restoration by many hard-working agencies and people working in the trenches. However, about five years ago it was clear that a new vision was needed to meet 21st century challenges. Two special commissions, the Pew Oceans Commission² and the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy³ both issued reports with thoughtful analysis based on extensive research and public dialogue. Both blue ribbon panels highlighted the urgent need to address the problems of fragmented governance and the declining condition of America’s ocean ecosystems using Ecosystem Based Management (EBM) approaches.
     Why is now the perfect time to move from analysis and theory to actually implementing a more thoughtful, forward-looking and integrated ocean management system for the Mid-Atlantic? There are at least five reasons.