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PROPOSED
MEASURES: RECREATION & OTHER USES
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Coastal recreation
visitor-days and levels of participation in key recreational activities.
Recreation is a popular and economically important use of coasts
and oceans. (Figs. 1, 2)
The extent
of beach water quality monitoring, and the number of beaches closed
due to poor water quality. Beach closures limit the availability
of coastal areas for recreation. (Fig. 3)
The acreage
of shellfish growing areas with harvest restrictions resulting from
pollution. Such closures have an effect on shellfish harvesting,
an important economic activity, and can indicate degraded water quality.
(Fig. 4)
The proportion
of each state’s coast that is publicly owned, because most people
use public lands to gain access to coastal areas for recreation.(Fig.
5)
Visits to the four
National Lakeshores range from 2 million to 4 million per year, and
visits to the 10 National Seashores range from 18 million to 22 million
per year.
In 1998, there
were over 7,200 beach closures and advisories in coastal and Great Lakes
waters. This represents a substantial increase over previous years,
although changes in the number of closures may result from improved
monitoring and reporting procedures.
About 30 percent
of the nation’s 10 million acres of shellfish-growing areas are closed
or have other harvest restrictions.
| Visitation
at National Seashores and Lakeshores, 1980- 1998 (1) Technical
Note |
Participation
in Coastal Recreation (2) Technical
Note |
 |
 |
| Source:
National Park Service |
Source:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
| Shown
here are the numbers of people who participated in various coastal
activities in 1994. Individuals may be counted under more than one
activity, and the graph does not show the total number of times
an individual participated during the year. |
Beach
Monitoring And Closures (3)
Technical Note |
Percentage
of Shellfish Beds Restricted Because of Contamination (4) Technical
Note |
Source: Natural Resources Defense Council & U.S. EPA |
Source: NOAA,
National Ocean Service |
| This
graph shows the percentage of officially recognized ("classified")
shellfish beds that have harvest restrictions. Most closures are
a response to high levels of fecal coliform bacteria; other factors
may include proximity to known sources of pollution, toxic contaminants,
and toxins associated with "red tides." |
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Public Ownership of the Shoreline (5) Technical
Note |
 |
Restricting
public access limits the amount of beach use and concentrates impacts
in accessible areas. State laws generally allow people to walk along
private beaches below the high tide line but prohibit the crossing
of beachfront properties to get to the beach. |
| Source:NOAA |
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STATUS
OF DATA & OTHER NOTES
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No consistent
and comprehensive national information is currently available
on visitation to state, local, and private beaches. Data on visits
to National Lakeshores and Seashores are provided as examples.
Improved information on both visitor-days and coastal recreation
will be available from the 2000 National Survey on Recreation
and the Environment.
Monitoring
and public information policies differ among states, and have
changed over time, making it difficult to develop and interpret
beach closure trends. Differences among states in the number of
closures may be affected more by monitoring and closure policies
than by different pollution levels. The closures noted here may
be in effect for different lengths of time.
Some shellfish
areas may remain closed, irrespective of condition, because states
must test each area before shellfish harvesting can be allowed,
and there may be limited resources for testing.
No consistent
and comprehensive national information is available on the extent
of public access to the coast.
Please see
the Technical
Notes for additional information.
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