While the topography from state to state may vary, many of the issues facing coastal resource managers are the same.
The challenges of increasing development, erosion, making the best use of volunteers, and data management are facts of the business for most of us. Resource managers must also learn to maximize new technology, deal with failing septic systems, handle exotic species and curb non-point source pollution, and it all must be done in an often-changing political climate.
Obviously, there is a lot we can learn from each other. Coastal Services wants to be a catalyst for this information exchange. Our goal is to become the trade publication for the coastal resource management community, the place where coastal managers can share ideas about what does and does not work in the field of coastal resource management.
Several articles in this issue focus on beach access. We look at a new program in Massachusetts that uses mediation and free legal aid to help people reach a consensus on beach access issues.
Michigan is working hard to make their beaches more accessible to the disabled. New vinyl docks get wheelchair-bound citizens to the hard sand beach.
In Oregon, we explore and applaud the historical dedication to access this state has shown. Policies created in the late 1800s continue to protect against many unwise development trends.
We look with pride and satisfaction at Georgia's joining the ranks of federally authorized coastal zone management programs. In January, Georgia became the 32nd state or territory to participate in the program.
While the NOAA Coastal Services Center is not the focus of this publication, we do want to keep you informed about projects and products on which we are working. One such project is laser beach mapping. Its innovative method of measuring shoreline change should interest anyone who lives or works along the coast.
I hope readers will find in these pages ideas they can use. Please answer our request for story ideas and feedback so that we can provide you with the news you desire. This publication is yours. Help us mold it to your needs.
-- Margaret A. Davidson
