Estuarine and Coastal Management: tools of the trade. Proceedings of tenth national conference, October 12-15th, 1986 in New Orleans, LA.
Date
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The Coastal Society held its 10th National Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, 12-15 October, 1986. The theme of the conference "Estuaries and Coastal Management - Tools of the Trade" reflects the maturation of estuarine and coastal management efforts in this country. In the early 1970's, the concept of land and water management in the critical coastal zone for the purpose of conserving coastal resources was in its infancy. Initially we were theorists developing new principles and practices as we went along. Much of our effort was expended and delineating the area which we wished to influence through coastal management and defining and describing the resources and processes we needed to affect. We have come a long way since those early days. Our "profession" has matured. We have more confidence in what we wish to accomplish, and we have, through a complex combination of trial and error, careful planning and experimentation, serendipity and just plain luck, developed valuable knowledge and experience in how to manage coastal areas and resources. These proceedings reflect the increasing sophistication in our approaches to management, science and technology, and planning and regulation in the nation's coastal and estuarine areas. We hope that new practitioners of our professions find this compilation useful in guiding their work as they join us in coastal activities. A particularly interesting result of the Conference being held in New Orleans was the thorough discussions of the problems and management approaches associated with the Mississippi drainage basin and Louisiana's extensive coastal marshes. This extensive review of the host region's problems and solutions expands the coverage of regional issues reflected in previous conference proceedings, reinforcing the desirability of rotating conference sites to different coastal regions.