When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast last year, New Orleans' residents with the least resources were often the hardest hit. We all saw television images
of the elderly and disabled on rooftops trying to escape the floodwaters, of women carrying children to emergency shelters through waist-deep water, and of families separated while trying to go for help.
Katrina shone a light on the need for public policies for our coastal zone that are related to social and environmental justice.
The Delaware Coastal Program is taking on many of these challenges in developing a groundbreaking Special Area Management Plan, or SAMP, to help redevelop the inner city of South Wilmington.
In this edition of Coastal Services, you can read about Delaware's inclusive efforts to help bring about physical, environmental, social, and economic revitalization to this underserved waterfront community.
Also in this edition, our writers explore a Michigan Supreme Court ruling that cited the Public Trust Doctrine as giving the public the right to walk along Michigan's 3,288 miles of shoreline.
This decision could influence legal decisions in other Great Lakes states that are struggling to judicially define public and private rights along our nation's inland seashores.
Other articles take a look at how the smart growth groundwork laid by coastal resource managers in Mississippi paid off as the state began its recovery from last year's devastating hurricane season, and how researchers in Hawaii are using a new weapon in their battle to protect coral reefs against invasive algae.
We hope that you find these articles interesting and useful. We believe that Coastal Services is an excellent tool for coastal managers interested in information about coastal resource management issues and successful management programs.
Now is your chance to tell us if we are right. If you have received a survey for either Coastal Services or its sister publication, Coastal Connections, please fill it out and tell us how our publications can better meet your needs.
-- Margaret A. Davidson
