Urban Sprawl Threatens the Coasts, Panel Told

Urban growth and sprawl are threatening both the East and West coasts, along with waste runoff from watersheds that need better management, members of a national commission were told Wednesday.

A two-day workshop for environmentalists and coastal management experts concluded with a broad range of recommendations to improve coastal planning, limit growth and protect the marine ecosystem.

The workshop began with a dire prediction about the future of coastal areas, which are home to nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population.

“In most places, the rate of land conversion is growing five times faster than the population growth,” said Jane Lubchenco, an Oregon State University marine biologist.

“In other words, for every additional person, there is a fivefold increase in the land utilized. If you do the numbers, people are horrified.”

The growth in coastal states shows no signs of slowing, added David Conrad of the National Wildlife Federation.

The result is coastal pollution and marine habitat damage, which the Pew Oceans Commission is hoping to find ways to limit and possibly even reverse.

The commission was formed last year with a $4.5-million grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts. Its 19 members include Lubchenco, Gov. Tony Knowles of Alaska and Gov. George Pataki of New York.

The Pew Oceans Commission is headed by former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Leon E. Panetta, who expects the panel to report next fall on coastal issues that include marine pollution, urban development, fishing, aquaculture and climate change.

The full commission plans to meet next month in New York to begin drafting formal recommendations to present to Congress next year.

Lubchenco met with fellow commissioners Pietro Parravano, a commercial fisherman, and Julie Packard, founder and executive director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, to talk about preserving the remaining natural coastal habitat.

They heard a number of suggestions, including a recommendation that coastal states buy up farmland near the ocean to restore it to its natural state.

“When the agricultural economy is weak, as it is now, that’s when opportunities exist,” said Sara Vickerman, director of the West Coast office for Defenders of Wildlife.