| "We need to make a case ensuring that the renewed focus on the economy is not taken at the expense of continued protection of coastal resources." | |
| Tony MacDonald, Coastal States Organization |
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As a result of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the nation's legislative focus has shifted to defense, homeland security, and the economy. Many coastal resource managers wonder what this may mean for the environment.
"I think clearly this is going to be a year of figuring out what the ripple effects are going to be," says Tony MacDonald, executive director of the Coastal States Organization. "There does not seem to be a clear picture of where the administration is going in regard to things like current environmental regulations and protections."
MacDonald adds, "We need to make a case ensuring that the renewed focus on the economy is not taken at the expense of continued protection of coastal resources. The one real policy challenge for coastal managers is to ensure that we do not return to the days where we turn our backs on the coast."
"The first priority" of this legislative year, says Wesley Warren, senior fellow for environmental economics for the Natural Resources Defense Council and a former associate director of the Office of Management and Budget, "is making sure we live up to the promise of the CARA-lite legislation."
CARA-lite was a compromise program set up by Congress in fall 2000 as an alternative to the Conservation and Reinvestment Act, or CARA. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's piece of CARA-lite, the Coastal Impact Assistance Program, was given $150 million to distribute among seven states with offshore oil production.
Warren notes, "If we get all the money promised [in CARA-lite], that will be a great step forward." Although there was significant support behind the original CARA bill before September 11, he says it is unlikely to pass this year.
The national discussion on the need to expand domestic energy supplies also is on the minds of many coastal managers.
"I could see the argument being posed that we're in a national emergency and therefore we need to drill in the reserve for oil and gas, and having to fight that," says Peter Hoar, manager of the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Mississippi. "One of our hedges is constantly pushing the issues of energy conservation and alternative sources of energy."
"As coastal managers we have to start addressing the burning of fossil fuels because this is the source of a lot of coastal management issues," notes Christine Gault, manager of the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Massachusetts.
Patrick Galvin, director of the Alaska Division of Governmental Coordination, says their state administration supports giving oil companies access to the state's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. "We believe that drilling can occur there with minimal impact to fish and wildlife and the people who depend on them for subsistence. There's a lot of hope in this state that the current emphasis on the need for domestic energy will finally push this issue through."
Mike Donahue, president and chief executive officer of the Great Lakes Commission, notes, "In times of economic recession, there is always a tendency to relegate environmental protection and resource management programs to a lower priority. We must not forget, however, that a healthy environment and well-managed resources are the underpinnings of a strong economy."
For more information on the Coastal States Organization, point your browser to www.sso.org/. For more information on the Natural Resources Defense Council, log on to www.nrdc.org. For more information on the Reserve System, go to www.ocrm.nos.noaa.gov/nerr/. For more information on the Great Lakes Commission, type in www.glc.org.
