A Year for the Coast

With considerable work and cooperation, and perhaps more than a little luck, 1997 could become a landmark year in the protection and restoration of California’s coastal and marine resources.

Gov. Pete Wilson opened the year with a modest coastal initiative that included wetlands renewal and incentives for local governments--Los Angeles County, for one--to finally complete their coastal development plans, required by law since 1976.

Since January, Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature have introduced scores of bills designed to halt the degradation of coastal waters, restore depleted fisheries, create marine sanctuaries and attack other coastal and marine problems. Environmental groups and sport and commercial fishing organizations have formed a broad coalition to support many of those bills.

The issue gets further attention today with the opening in San Diego of what is described as the largest ocean conference ever held in the state. The meeting was intended to showcase Wilson’s coastal plan, but the agenda has expanded to include more than 250 lectures and papers on marine matters.

In recent years, there has been an extraordinary outpouring of concern over the condition of the coast and adjoining waters. The public wants action. More than a few legislators won election last year at least in part by campaigning for coastal protection.

Not just among those living along the coast is coastal protection a popular environmental issue. Millions of inland residents are within an hour or two of the ocean and see the coast as vital to their recreational and economic lives. All this enthusiasm does not directly translate into a comprehensive coastal protection program, however. The various parts need to be fitted carefully into a package that effectively addresses the worst problems.

Environmentalists have properly complained that Wilson’s plan, with only $13 million in new money, is underfinanced. But any new program must survive rigid fiscal scrutiny if it is to win legislative and gubernatorial approval. Within those strictures, there is much that can be done, and this seems the year to do it.