Jul-Aug 2000 Atlantic Coast Watch Newsletter

8/9/2019 Jul-Aug 2000 Atlantic Coast Watch Newsletter

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Erosion Facts and Threats

Recently the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and

the Environment issued a detailed evaluation of coastal erosion’s econom ichazards. The study, comm issioned by the Federal Emergency ManagementAgency (FEMA), covers the entire US coastline. Wi thin it are some chill ingnuggets of inform ation for Atlantic coastal property ow ners:

v Of 170,000 structures along the 2,300-mile Atlantic coastline that are

outside citi es but located with in 500 feet of the shore, 53,000 are on land expectedto be lost to erosion over the next 60 years. In all of the US, 87,000 houses fall

wi thin the 60-year Erosion Hazard Area (EHA).

v Property values shrink as the shore grow s closer. According to dataderived from an exhaustive 10,000-house survey, says the report, “ a house that is100 feet from the shoreline, but expected to reach the w ater in 50 years, is esti-mated to be worth about 90% of an identical house also located 100 feet from theshoreline, but expected to reach the water in 200 years. Simi larly, a house esti-mated to be w ithin 10 to 20 years of an eroding shore is worth 80% of one located200 years away.” Applying these numbers to the 53,000 Atlanti c coastal houseswi thin the 60-year EHA, the Heinz Center attributes a current loss in propertyvalues to those owners of between $1.7 bill ion and $2.7 bill ion.

v Shoreline erosion causes average annual casualty losses of $320 mil lionto current property ow ners along the Atlanti c coast. Equivalent figures are $50

mi llion for the Gulf coast, $110 mill ion fo r the Pacific coast, and $50 mi llion for theGreat Lakes.

v As for the nation as a whole, erosion is likely to claim one in four A tlantic

coastal homes over the next 60 years. (The dangers are high even along the rockyMaine coast, where according to one geolog ist erosion proceeds at the fastest clipin the last several thousand years.)

Broadly, the Heinz Center study concludes that erosion th reats areinsufficientl y factored in to insurance rates under FEMA’s National Flood InsuranceProgram, and that poli cyholders in areas not prone to erosion w ill increasinglyhave to subsidi ze erosion losses unless the program changes. The study warns,moreover, that additional developm ent in erosion-prone areas, coupled wi thaccelerating sea-level rise, may w orsen the problem. URL: www.heinzcenter.org

Halifax Greening Up

For decades, torrents of pollution have been flow ing in to the busy harborof Halifax, Nova Scotia. According to one recent estimate, some 187 mi llion litersof raw sewage a day form part of this unsavory soup. But after all the years ofneglect, the city and its region are now m aking what local researcher and environ-mentalist Ron Colman calls “ some real effort to consider environm ental i ssuesmore seriously.”

(Continued, p. 6)

JULY-AUGUST 2000

News For Coastal Advocates

Erosion Costs

Greener Halifax

Sayings

Key Chesapeake Decision

Boat Sales Boom

Boston Harbor Eco-Tours

Publications

Hudson Valley Threats

Angling Guidelines

Halibut Farming

Defining an Eco-Port

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Recurring:

People; Species & Habitats;Restorations; Report Cards;

Products; Funding; Job Open-

ings; Upcoming Events

Atlantic CoastWatch

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Atlantic CoastWatch is a bimonthlynonprofit newsletter, free of charge,

for those interested in theenvironmentally sound develop-

ment of the coastline from the Gulfof M aine to the Eastern Caribbean.

The newsletter is available on paperand at www.susdev.org



Sayings

(The comment that follows was sent by Cynthia Valencic , vice president for

programs at the nonprofit Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation (LEAF)in Tallahassee)

Despite compelling evidence from its ow n files that deep well inj ection has

been a 20-year-old failed experim ent, EPA has proposed a rule that w ill legalizecontamination of Florida’s drinking water with sewage. For 20 years, deep injectionwells that cause movement of injected flui d (sewage) into underground sources ofdrinking water have been prohib ited. Yet, for 20 years, governm ent has allow edthese kinds of w ells to operate.

Now, EPA is trying to fi x the prob lem by l egalizing it . EPA is basing its ruleon a num ber of flawed considerations:

v EPA claims that the injected waste will be treated so that it w ill no t beharmful. Yet the proposed treatment w ill not account for all contaminants likely tobe injected. Viruses and pathogens, along w ith toxi c materials, are of particularconcern.

v EPA says the ru le is needed to address existing w astewater disposalneeds. Yet, the number of existing faciliti es qualifying for the rule has increasedfrom 3 to 42 in the two years since EPA fir st released its draft rul e.

v EPA says that there are no alternatives to deep wells, because of the needto prot ect surface waters. Given that the proposed rule would exempt 24 countiesin Florida from the federal Safe Water Drinking Act, it fails to recognize the efforts ofthe remaining 43 counties in the state and m any others throughout the country thatrely on alternatives to deep well in jection.

The day of reckoning is upon EPA. It must put its efforts into solving theproblem of w astewater disposal in Florida and stop tryi ng to hide the problemunder the shell of the earth. URL: ww w.leaf-envirol aw.org

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(In a recent letter to the Baltimore Sun, Lee Epstein , director of the l ands program

for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation , offered the following succinct definition of what is meant by “ Smart Growth” )

Smart Growth is about putting growth in the right place, near existingdevelopm ent and infrastructure and not eating up the farms and forests and streamvalleys that people love. It’s about increasing density, w ithou t overwhelm ingneighborhoods with wildly out-of-scale buildings or homes. It’s also about gooddesign and diversity.

Attention to good design can provi de adequate privacy as well as a nicehom e and lo t, local ameni ties such as parks for kids and easier (dare I say car-less?)

comm utes and errands. Diversity involves diversity of land use, so stores and evensome offices can be close-by. It also means diversity of housing type and pri ce, sothe new or “ in-filled” communi ty doesn’t just shut its doors to its own teachers,office-workers, poli cemen and librarians. And, of course, we hope there is alsodiversity of race and culture. (Continued, p. 3)

Appeal

Fully tax-deductible contribut ions to t he Sustainable DevelopmentInstitute, earm arked for Atlantic CoastWatch, are urgently needed. They

may be sent t o us at 3 12 1 South St., N W, Washington, DC, 2 0 0 07.

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Atlantic CoastWatch

Vol. 4 , No. 4

A project of the Sustainable

Development Institute, which seeksto heighten the environm ental qualityof economic development efforts, in

coastal and in forest regions, bycommunicating inform ation aboutbetter poli cies and practices. SDI isclassified as a 501(c)(3) organization,exempt from federal income tax.

Board of D irectors

Robert J. Geniesse, Chairm anRoger D. Stone, PresidentHart Fessenden, TreasurerHassanali M ehran, SecretaryEdith A. CecilDavid P. Hunt

Freeborn G. Jewett, Jr.Gay P. Lord

Advisers

Willi am H. Draper IIIJoan Martin-Brown

Scientific A dvisory Council

Gary HartshornStephen P. Leatherm anJerry R. SchubelChristopher Uhl

Staff

Roger D. Stone, Director & PresidentShaw Thacher, Project ManagerRobert C. Nicholas III, Contributing

EditorLaura W. Roper, CorrespondentLisa Shooner, Assistant

200 0 M ajor Donors

Avenir FoundationThe Fair Play Foundation

The M.O. & M.E. Hoffman FoundationMad River FoundationThe Moore Charitable FoundationThe Curtis & Edith M unson Foundation

Sponsored Projects

Trees for DCEnvironm ental Film Festival in the

Nation’s Capital

Printed by Ecoprint on 20% postconsum er waste paper

using vegetable oil based inks free of toxic m etals.



Site 104 Dumped

Late in June, Mary land Governor Parris Glendening ended a spiritedmulti-year debate by halting plans to dum p dredge spoils (mud) from shippingchannels into a stretch of open water near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

Proponents of using this area, known as Site 104, had stressed the rela-tively low cost of open water dum ping in the Bay, the economic need to keep theport of Baltim ore competitive, and the lack of scientifi c evidence that using the sitewould harm oysters, fish, and other marine life.

But this year, asked to re-evaluate previous find ings that the dredgedmaterial would do no such harm, the US Army Corps of Engineers cited recenttests that showed traces of toxins in m ud from the shipping channels. With thisevidence in hand and the ink scarcely dry on the new ten-year interstate pact onBay im provement targets (Atlantic CoastWatch May/June 2000), Glendening m adehis move.

“ We wil l not do anything that w ould have a negative impact on the bay,” hesaid. “ We will find alternatives that will p rotect the future of the port withoutcompromising the health of the Bay.”

Environm ental activists, many of w hom had toiled long and hard to get thestate to dump Site 104, heralded the decision as a major triumph. Less clear is howthe state will m anage to dispose of the 4 milli on or so cubic yards of mud that mustbe removed each year to keep Baltim ore’s port open. URL: www.bayjournal.com

Boom for Boat Builders

New boat sales have soared, reports the National M arine M anufactur-

ers Association. Since the 10% luxury tax on large yachts was rescinded in 1993,after 3 years of a slack market and intensive lobbying , annual sales have climbed49% for power boats and a whopping 183% for sailboats. The increases apply

across the board—to small and large vessels alike.

A variety of factors have contr ibuted to the boom , says the association.Foremost, of course, is the general strength o f the economy. Psychologically, eventhough the luxury tax applied only to the more expensive yachts, its removal was aplus.

Boat financing through banks has become far easier and more com mon-place. The sailing i ndustry contracted duri ng the 1980s, and the result has been asmaller num ber of stronger sailboat builders; one reason the percentage jump is soimpressive is that it began from a very low base.

Sayings, Continued from p. 2

There are would-be neighbors and neighborhoods that fight anyth ingdifferent. Some merely fear change. Som e fear loss of “quality of life”. Somereally do fear adverse environm ental impact. But it wou ld be wrong to characterizethis as a prevailing view. And it w ould be wrong to think that they might not justcome around, given the opportunity to see how grow th can be done right.

I am conv inced that people oppose denser development because theyhave seen little grow th to like—and don’t trust their local governments to ever sayno to more and m ore again after that. The alternative to Smart Growth is uncon-trolled sprawl that w ill continue to gobble up open land and cause more trafficcongestion and the decline of towns and inner suburbs. URL: www . cbf.org

People

Among environmental organizationsnaming new leadership is Scenic

Hudson of Poughkeepsie, NY, whichannounced the election of businessleader M arjorie L. Hart as its BoardChair. New President of the New

Jersey Conservation Foundation inFar Hills is Princeton attorney andphilanthropist Samuel L. Lambert III.URL: www.scenichudson.org,www.njconservation.org

After seven years as the keeper of theNeuse River in North Carolina, Rick

Dove has resigned to becom e a staffmember of the fast-grow ing, New Yorkbased Water Keeper Alliance.Atlantic CoastWatch readers (Febru-ary 1998) may recall Dove’s pioneer-ing init iative to recruit recreationalsmall-plane pilots as volunteerpollution watchers. Replacing Dove asNeuse River Keeper, based in NewBern, i s environmental scientist Tom

Jones, who comes to the task after 13years of service at the state’s Depart-

ment of Environment and NaturalResources. URL:www.neuseriver.org

NOAA has named Sonja Fordham ,a shark conservation specialist andfisheries project manager at theCenter for M arine Conservation inWashington, DC, as an “ EnvironmentalHero.” Fordham has worked at CMC

for 9 years. URL: www.cmc-ocean.org

Frank B. Mat her, a founder andemeritus director of the NationalCoalition for M arine Conservation

(NCMC) died at the age of 89. Back inthe mid-1960s Mather fi rst becameconcerned about overexploi tation ofbluefin tuna stocks, helping convincethe US Congress that the US should

join the International Convention forthe Conservation of Atlantic Tunas(ICCAT). Lament ing i n NCMC’s Marine

Bulletin that Mather had never been

properly recognized, the organization’schairman Chris Weld went on to notehis “ uncanny ability to spot the exactpoin t where scientifi c reality endedand bureaucratic obfuscation tookover.” URL: ww w.savethefish.org

Bill Rice, a leading coastal conserva-tion advocate from Onslow County,NC, died at age 87. He was movingoysters to cleaner waters when alarge yacht’s wake capsized his boat.

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Species & Habitats

Of 21 seabird species that nest in theWest Indies, reports the Society of

Caribbean Ornithology, more thanhalf are “of conservation concern”with 6 listed as “ critically endan-gered.” Am ong the species in trouble

are all 6 endemic to the region (foundnow here else): the black-capped andthe Jamaican petrel, Audubon ’sshearwater, white-tailed tropicbird,brow n pelican, and Cayenne tern.Among the reasons for the decline,the Society noted, is the irony that“ while West Indian seabird colonieshave become attractions for theregion’s ecotourism industry, this inturn is contributing to their rapiddemise.” [email protected]

The Puerto Rican parrot, a speciesonce so abundant that fl ocks darkenedthe sky, is now reduced to some 40individuals living in the wild. Habitatdestruction from storms and develop-ment, hunt ing, and the pet trade haveall contribu ted to the near-extinction ofthis bird, now among the world’s tenmost endangered bird species. Formany years, the US Fish andWildlife Service, the US Forest

Service, and the Puerto RicoDepartment of N atural and

Environmental Resources havecollaborated on a captive breedingprogram that currently supports some120 birds. From this stock, for the firsttime in history, reports Environmen-

tal News Network , ten birds wererecently released into the wil d of whatis know n as El Yunque—the CaribbeanNational Forest of Puerto Rico. Thecarefully prepared release is the firststep in w hat is hoped will be anincrease in the bird’s wild populationto at least 100 individuals over thecoming decade. URL: www.enn.com

Restorations

At the University of Delaware’sHalophyte Biotechnology Center,reports Delaw are Sea Grant ,botanist Jack Gallagher is coming upwith a new way to block the spread ofthe invasive species Phragmites australis into saltmarsh areas.Norm ally, wetlands managers zapthese reeds with herbicide in the fall,then burn dead cane in the spring.

Publications

Subdivide and Conquer , by Jeff Gersh and Chelsea Congdon, is atidy v ideo exploration o f the causes and consequences of sprawl and an excellentway to launch a comm unity or classroom d iscussion of the issues. Set in the USWest, the program explores themes that are widely pertinent and well suited to theneeds and interests of Atlantic coastal viewers. 27 and 57 minute versions areavailable from Bullfrog Films. URL: www .bullfrogfilms.com

Another such video is Living Waters: Exploring Watersheds and Stream Ecology of M ontgomery County and t he Chesapeake Bay Region

by Ginny Barnes. Produced for the Audubon Naturalist Society and the GlenPreservation Foundation. In 30 minutes, this straightforw ard production pro-vides succinct inform ation about the im portance of careful watershed m anagementand what can be done to achieve this. Once again, the significance of this filmextends well beyond i ts ow n geographical lim its. Tel. (301) 652-9188.

Anyone who thinks of the state as all smokestacks and rundow n cities,reports the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, would be well advised tolook through New Jersey: The Nat ural Stat e (Rutgers University Press 2000) byphotographer Dw ight Hiscano. Capturing the diversity of this small state in whatreviewer M ichele S. Byers called “ stunning phot ography,” Hiscano reminds usboth of how much there still is to preserve there and of how rapidly those valuescan be destroyed.

In The Enduring Shore: A History of Cape Cod, M art ha’s Vineyard,

and Nantucket (A John M acrae Book/Henry Holt & Company 2000), author Paul

Schneider whisks the reader on a brisk tour across tim e, from geolog ical prehis-tory to the recent predations of ubiqui tous McMansion homebuilders. Writing upthe book for New York Times Book Review, the often grum py Paul Theroux foundSchneider ’s coverage “engrossing.” Among a few qu ibbles, the reviewer questionswhether the fast-degrading Cape and Islands region is quite as “enduring” as theauthor ’s title suggests.

Red tides, brown tides, mahogany tides, Pfiesteria , ciguatera. With moreand more public attention devoted to algae and what happens when they bloom ordie, and how they affect people, a tim ely appearance is that of Algae: ASourcebook for Teaching About Harmful A lgal Blooms by Norman D.Anderson and Harriett S. Stubbs (Kendall/Hunt 2000). The book is the seventhpubli cation in the Changes in the Environm ent Series produced by the Sci-LinkGlobe-Net Proj ects at Nort h Carolina State University. Tel. Kendall-Hunt at (800)542-6657.

Heartbeats in the Muck : A D ramatic Look at the History, Sea Life,and Environment of New York Harbor (Lyons Press 1999) offers a fascinatingpotpourri of info rmation about this neglected, recovering body of water. Theauthoritative author is fisherman and icthyologist John Waldman of the Hudson

River Foundat ion. “ Life in New York Harbor, stressed but resilient, overlooked but

omn ipresent, eternal yet surpr ising, goes on and on,” he concludes.

Eco-Touring Boston Harbor

Once a “ contaminated embarrassment,” says EPA New England admin-istrator M indy Lubber, Boston Harbor has become “one of New England’s greatrecreational treasures.” In 1996 the 30 small islands in the vastly cleaner harborbecame part of the national park system. Gradually expanding ferry service fromLong Wharf, adjacent to the down town New England Aquarium, is beginning toprov ide public access to these long-hidden wonders.

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Sometim es, how ever, the Phragmites

manage to recoloni ze, thus fur therpostponing wetlands restorationefforts. Currently, wi th support fromSea Grant and f rom Public Service

Electric and Gas, Gallagher andcolleagues are experimenting withseveral prospective “ Phrag

blockers” —tough-rooted marsh

plants, such as the black needle rush,that can arrest the migration ofPhragmites back into zones where itcan crowd out grasses far m oreimportant for w ildlife food and habitat.URL: ww w.ocean.udel.edu/seagrant/

Report Cards

Interviewed by Soundings , atmo-spheric scientist William Gray ofColorado Stat e University fore-casted an “ active” hurri cane seasonthis year. The average season, hesaid, brings 9 named storm s, 6hurr icanes, and 2 intense hurr icanes.This year, he predicted, there wil l be12 named storm s, 8 hurr icanes, and 4intense hurricanes. His team seesmore storm s than usual makinglandfall this year, and estimates a 71%chance that the US coast w ill get h it byat least one major hurr icane. URL:www.soundings.com

Data compiled by the Massachusetts

Public Int erest Research Group

confirm that more of the state’s

beaches are “ now open for swimm ingmore often” than 20 years ago. Evenso, a Mass-PIRG report cont inues,since 1991 there have been at least828 beach closings or advisor ies in thestate. Discharges of untreated orpartially t reated sewage continue atmore than 1.1 billion gallons a year.According to a 1998 Massachusetts

Department of EnvironmentalProtection study, M ass-PIRG contin-ues, 77% of the state’s river m iles,57% of its coastal waters, and 89% ofits lakes are often unsafe for swim-

ming. The solution the group advo-cates: more comprehensivebeachwater-quality testing programs.URL: www.pirg .org/masspirg

Products

Sailor s cruising in w arm places suchas the Caribbean and south Floridahave often encountered suddenoutbreaks of a neurological illness

Hudson Valley Endangered Again

Decades of spirited effort to im prove the environm ental quality of theHudson River Valley, sharply declining during the 1960s, seemed to have beenworking. Con Edison was defeated at Storm King. Fines levied on Exxon, caughtflushing tanker water tanks in m id-river, benefitted the river environm ent.

Currentl y, reports the New York Times , after decades of debate, EPA isedging close to a decision to require General Electric to remove accumulations oftoxic PCB’s from the river bottom near Albany. Swim mers, water skiiers, andresurging fish populations attest to water quality im provements in many parts ofthe ecosystem.

Still, reported the Nat ional Trust for Historic Preservation this year,the 125 mi le stretch of the Hudson Valley from New York City to Albany is threat-ened by a new “ tidal wave of industrial development and sprawl” and merits aplace on its annual list of most endangered places. It is the fir st such designation forthe region since 1988, when the Trust began com piling it s annual lists. The newtroub le, said the Trust, stems from a burst of reindustr ialization including half adozen proposed new power plants and factories, suburban sprawl and a prolifera-tion of m ega-stores, and loss of open space. Groups including Scenic Hudson hadencouraged the Trust to declare the valley as an endangered site. “Al though thedesignation does not bring m oney,” reported the New York Times , “ it does bringrenewed public attention to the issue of overdevelopm ent.”

A new threat for the ri ver, reported Ni na F. Caraco in the April 1 issue ofEnvironmental Science and Technology, is the zebra mussel. The small Eurasianmollusk arrived in the Great Lakes in the 1980s aboard oceangoing ships, and wasfirst found in the Hudson in 1991. Billions of these creatures now reside there andhave been accused of disrupting water supplies by clogging pipes and consumingsmall plants called phytoplankton that feed many other marine species.

Now , Caraco and her colleagues at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies

in M illb rook, NY have found, the filter-feeding zebra mussels are also guilty of

sucking up so much dissolved oxygen from the water that other species may becompelled to flee or die in some places along the river. The danger peaks during thesumm er when higher temperatures accelerate the mussels’ activi ty and generallylow er oxygen levels prevail. So if the mussels make the river look somewhatbetter by clarifying its water through their feeding, they in fact represent yetanother new danger for the ecosystem’s stability. URLs: ww w.nationaltrust.org ;www.ecostudies.org

Guidelines for Ethical Anglers

Seven cardinal points compr ise a new code of angling ethi cs now beingpromo ted by BoatU.S. and the Nat ional M arine Fisheries Service. Those taking

the pledge state that “ I’m an Ethical Angler. I:

Avoid spilling and never dump gasoline, oil or other pollutants—on land or in thewater.

Never leave trash behind, includ ing w orn li ne, old hooks and bait, and practicerecycling.

Gain knowledge about Aquatic Nuisance Species and how to prevent their spread.Learn and abide by all fishing regu lations and boating laws.Educate fellow ang lers and especially new participants about fishing ethics.Respect private property and the rights of other anglers and outdoor recreation ists.Save fish for tom orrow by practicing conservation and learning proper catch-and-

release techniques.”

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Products

called ciguatera that causes nausea,vom iting , muscle pain, and assortedother discomforts. The ailment resultsfrom eating even very fresh fishafflicted by a microscopic dinoflagel-late, Gambierdiscus toxicus , that iseaten by small herbiverous reef fishand then afflicts carniverous specieshigher up the food chain. Now, reportsSail magazine, a Honolulu -basedcompany called Oceanit Test Sys-tems has come up w ith a simp le, user-friendly “ Cigua-Check” test kit that“ could save you some grief.” URL:www.cigua.com

Severe hurricanes routinely do m uchdamage simply by blow ing away theroofs of houses and exposing theirinteriors to wind and rain. Now,reports the Miam i Herald , comes

evidence that m uch such dam age canbe avoided if builders use ribbed nailscalled ring shanks. At an extra cost ofsome $15 per house, these nails aretw ice as resistant to upli ft pressuresas conventional nails. They are w idelyavailable at build ing-supply stores andcan be applied by a standard nail gun.

Manufacturers of Personal Watercraft(PWC) have begun to respond tocitizen complaints about theseubiquitous machines. Installed onmany of th is year’s Bombardier

Recreational Products’ Sea-Doomodels is the D-Sea-Bel no ise reduc-tion system that makes them 50%quieter. Some of the peppier Sea-Doos, says Soundings , also carry anRPM lim iting device called the Learn-ing Key that prevents the boat fromspeeding past 34 mph and puts it into“ an idle circling mode when the driverfalls off.” URL: www .seadoo.com

Funding

In 1998 New Jersey’s voters resound-

ingly approved a ballot m easureauthori zing $98 mi llion a year infunding to preserve wetlands andother kinds of environm entallyimportant open space. So far, a totalof about 125,000 acres have beenacquired under the program, whosegoal is to set aside one mi llion acres.Recently, reported The Press of

Atlanti c City , the effort got a niceboost from an unexpected source: theSouth Jersey Transportation

Halibut Farming Next?

This spring, equipped with special government perm its, Maine fishermencarefully captured 31 Atlanti c halibut over 36 inches long. This large flatfish, whosestocks have been reduced because of overfishing , is now sub ject to harvestingrestrictions. Valued more high ly than salmon in the comm ercial market, the halibutis a prim e candidate for aquaculture. The Maine halibut caught experimentally thisspring w ere placed in tanks at the University of Maine. Only two had died as of theend of July. Further testing wi ll establish whether this captive population can becultured from egg to market size. If so, though captive populations exist in Canadaand in Europe, it wi ll be a first for the eastern US.

Def ining an Eco-Port

At a recent gathering to d iscuss harbor dredging and related issues,Janine Bauer, director of the Tri-Stat e Transportat ion Cam paign in New YorkCity, set forth a succinct list of Green Port Objectives. Bauer’s target was the Port ofNew York/New Jersey, but the goals apply far m ore broadly:

v Reduce port-related truck miles traveled.

v Boost the rail and barge share of cargo entering and leaving the port.

v Reduce emissions from on-port vehicles through the use of alternativefuels and zero emissions vehicles.

v Provide convenient transit for employees to most port work sites.

v Fill no additional wetlands or open waters.

v Use as little land as possible in expansion, instead increase terminalthrough-put efficiency.

v Revitalize surrounding “ brown fields” for port, freight, and industrial useand ensure that remaining“ greenfields” are not used as the site of port-related warehouses or highway interchanges.

v Maintain sediment and habit at able to sustain sensitive aquatic life.

v Require the design of por t term inals and other structures to be energyconserving and context sensitive.

v Prov ide publi c access to waterfronts.URL: ww w.tstc.org

Halifax, Continued from p . 1

Two examples help make the point. For one thing, the 23-member HalifaxRegional Council recently voted by a resounding 17-6 in favor of banning m ostcommon ly used farm and garden chemicals. The move, said to be widely popularamong Haligonians, is scheduled to phase in over a four-year period and beaccompanied by a major m unicipal campaign to educate citizens about alternativeways to control w eeds and nourish lawns. No US city has any such program .

This summ er Colm an’s nonprofit research organization, GPI Atlantic,

publ ished a report stating that cleaning up the harbor would net 1.4 bill ion Cana-dian dollars for Halifax over a 60-year period . The organization, wh ich incorporatessocial and environmental considerations in i ts analyses of costs and benefits, saidthat the gains wou ld com e from increased tour ism and shellfish harvesting, higherproperty values, and lower costs for health care. GPI’s harbor sewage study, part oa larger report on overall water quality, is one of many factors encouraging theregional council to embark on a major harbor cleanup project. Though neither NovaScotia province nor Ottawa has comm itted funds, the council has already agreed toput up tw o thirds of the $315 mi llion (Canadian) cost of the initi ative and, saysColm an, regards this cost as an investment. URL: www.gpiatlantic.org

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Authority. It announced the donationof 467 acres of marshy Great Island,previously acquired to replacewetlands lost w hen an expresswayparking lo t was built, as well as 305acres of pinelands within the perim -eter of the Atlantic City InternationalAirport. Conservation ists noted that itwas the biggest donation of land to

date from a state agency - and at that,one not usually known for its environ-mental sensiti vity. URL:www.pressplus.com

In December 1997 Atlantic CoastWatch

noted the largest oil spill in RhodeIsland’s history. It took place after thebarge North Cape ran aground offMatunuck in a storm and leaked some828,000 gallons of hom e heating oil.After a criminal investigation, theowner p reviously paid $9.5 million infines. This year the state announced a

civil settlement with several partiesrequiring them to implement aprogram to restore the depletedlobster population and pay $8 mi llionto natural resource trustees who w illthen carry out several wild life restora-tion and conservation projects. RIGovernor Lincoln A lmond calledthe new filing “ the final chapter in afour-year struggle to restore theresources damaged during the North Cape oil spill.” URL:www.riag.state.ri.us

Not that long ago, author SebastianJunger made his living primarily byprun ing trees. Now , his pocketsdeepened by returns from the printand film versions of The Perfect Storm ,

he has establi shed The PerfectStorm Foundation to benefit thechildren of people working in thecomm ercial fishing industry. URL:www.perfectstorm.org

Job Openings

The Island Institut e, Rockland,

Maine, seeks a comm unications-publicrelations director and a comm unityiniti atives assistant. E-mail:[email protected].

The New Jersey Conservation

Foundation has the followingpositions: conservation leadershipcoordinator, urban parks coordinator,regional land trust representative, andhighlands coordinator. E-mail:

[email protected]

With Appreciation

We would especially li ke to recognize the generous support recentlyreceived from the Avenir Foundation.

Without voluntary contributions of smaller amounts from among ourreaders as well as larger grants, we could not publ ish this newsletter and make itavailable free of charge. Our warm est thanks go to these donors of tax-deductiblecontributions from June 29 through July 20, 2000:

Boston Harbor, Continued from p. 4

Twice a day this sum mer—at 10:00 AM and again at 2:00 PM, the ferry toGeorge’s Island w ill have aboard a park ranger to conduct a narrated eco-tour ofthe harbor. Discussion items include the cultural and natural history of the harborand the islands, and a descript ion of the cleanup and restoration effor ts of recentyears.

Funding for the narrated tours comes from a 13-group public-privatepartnership w hose members include EPA, the Nat ional Park Service, andBoston Harbor Cruises. It’s a simp le idea worthy of replication in m any otherports. URL: ww w.bostonislands.com

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Decatur H. and Sally S. MillerLeigh M. MillerJames E. MoltzFrani Blount MuserWil liam V.P. New linRobert C. Nicholas IIIPaul H. Nitze and Elisabeth S. PorterCarol NoyesRalph E. Ogden FoundationFrederick H. Osborn IIIA. Wright Palmer

Hope C.W. PattersonFrank PearlHerschel PostFrederic C. RichWilliam D. RogersRoy RowanHamilton Robinson Jr.Dan H. SamuelJohn A. SargentEdith N. SchaferS. Buford ScottJohn A.H. ShoberConstantine and Anne Sidamon-EristoffEllen B. StanifordA. Ann StoneDonald B. Straus

Kenneth B. TateAlexander C. Tom linsonSally WardwellWilli am W. WarnerThe Whitehead FoundationGertrude DeG WilmersRobert G. WilmersAnna O’D WilsonTimothy and Wren WirthWorld Wildlife FundHenry S. Ziegler

Walter W. ArensbergGayle BauerJames W.B. BenkardHuntington T. BlockJanet T. BohlenIsabella G. BreckinridgeNicholas BrownElla Poe BurlingDavid J. CallardKather ine L.F. CaryThe Casey Family Foundation

Chesapeake Bay FoundationLawrence CoolidgeThomas J. DevineHelen C. EvartsAlexander and Patricia Farman-farmaianElinor K. FarquharThe Folger FundJohn and Lynn FosterFlorence B. FowlkesJ. Winston Fowlkes IIIAlbert Francke IIINelse L. GreenwayMrs. Arthur A. Houghton, Jr.Mr. and Mrs. Edward L. HoytDavid P. HuntSarah Barlow Ittmann

Elizabeth B. JewettPeter and Beverly JostStephen L. KassBarron U. KiddJoan F. KovenJonathan LedeckyRob and Peggy LeesonHunter LewisPeter and Lucy LowenthalCaroline MacomberPeter and Maria MatthiessenDavid and Cindy McGrath



Upcoming Events

September 1. Nat ional Fisheries Conservation Cent er (NFCC) will host a

moderated online discussion on industry restructuring. URL: nfcc-fisheries.org

September 10 -15. The Sixt h International Conference and Workshop onLobster Biology and M anagement , Key West, FL. URL: ww w.odu.edu/~biology/ lobsters.

September 17-22 . “ Coastal Zone Canada 20 00 : Fourth International

Conference” in St. John, NB. URL www.sybertooth .ca/czczcc2000

September 19-21. The Fourth Bay of Fundy Science Workshop: Opportuni-ties and Challenges for Protecting, Restoring and Enhancing Coastal

Habitats in t he Bay of Fundy” wi ll be held in St. John, NB. URL:www.auracom.com/~bofep/workshop.htm

October 1-2. First Annual Southern New England Aquaculture Confer-ence. Newport, RI. E-mail: [email protected].

October 1-5. 19t h Annual International Submerged Lands M anagementConference ,” Newport, RI. URL: ww w.narrabay.com/CONF/subland.htm l

October 11-13. Nut rient Over-Enrichment in Coastal Waters: Global

Patterns of Cause and Effect . A National Academies Scientific Commi ttee onOceanic Research symposium in Washington, DC. E-mai l: [email protected].

October 24 -27. The “Fourth Workshop on Salt M arsh Management Re-search,” Vero Beach, FL. URL: ww w.i fas.ufl.edu/verow eb

Non Profit Org.

US Postage

Paid

Permit #1400

Silver Spring, MD

Atlantic CoastWatch

Sustainable Development Institute3121 South St., NW

Washington, D.C. 20007

Tel: (202) 338-1017

E-mail: [email protected]

URL: www.susdev.org

The Chesapeake BiologicalLaboratory at the University ofMaryland Center for Environm entalScience seeks a fisheries scientist.URL: http://ww w.cbl.um ces.edu

The School for Field Studies

Center f or M arine ResourceStudies, South Caicos, Turks &Caicos Islands, BWI has two facultypositions in tropical marine environ-mental policy and tropical marineecology. URL: www .fieldstudies.org

The River Netw ork, based inPortland, Oregon seeks a watershedprog ram m anager in Washing ton, DC .URL: ww w.rivernetwork.org

The Natural Resources DefenseCouncil seeks an associate directorof com munications in New York.Contact Johnston & Co., Fax: (310)410-3906.

Am erican Rivers has a few employ-ment opportuni ties: capital campaignassociate, mem bership developm entassociate, exhib it coordinator, andassociate director of com mun ications.URL: http://ww w.amrivers.org

Documents

Jul-Aug 2000 Atlantic Coast Watch Newsletter