Evaluation of manatee habitat systems on the northwestern Florida coast

Abstract

Threats to the survival of West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) vary throughout their range so that protection of this endangered species requires careful planning on a regional and local basis. The importance and vulnerability of various components of manatee habitats in the Crystal River area of northwestern Florida were assessed, using an ordinal‐combination mapping technique similar to procedures practiced in urban and regional planning. Habitat components were mapped and evaluated in juxtaposition with relevant characteristics of human use of the area, to identify areas of existing and potential manatee/human conflicts in need of reconciliation. Areas evaluated as the most important manatee habitats within this region include Crystal Bay and River, Homosassa River, and the Suwannee River estuary. Existing overlap of human activities with important manatee habitats is most critical near the urban communities of Crystal River and, to a lesser degree, Homosassa Springs. The need for integration of this ecological information into coastal land‐use planning is discussed.     

State ocean policy initiatives in Florida

Abstract

A territorial sea comprising 6.7 million acres of offshore lands extending three geographic miles into the Atlantic Ocean three marine leagues (nine geographic miles) into the Gulf of Mexico makes Florida the second largest “oceanowning”; state in the contiguous United States. Florida's history, climate, economic development, and worldwide reputation have evolved from the state's relationship with the sea. The state is now becoming aware that aggressive management of its ocean resources is necessary to preserve the future of that relationship. The purpose of this article is to present some of Florida's recent legal and policy initiatives that have been directed toward better understanding and management of ocean resources and uses.     

Origins,Management, and Measurement of Stress on the Coast of Southern Spain

A series of boater compliance studies was performed between 1995 and 1998 in order to assess the effectiveness of existing speed zones designed to protect manatees in two Florida counties (Sarasota County and Lee County). Surveys involved teams of boat- or land-based observers positioned along speed-restricted waterways. Vessel characteristics were recorded along with observed speed. Multiple survey sites were sampled within each county. A total of 26,000 vessels was observed and evaluated. Overall boater compliance was 63% in Sarasota County and 58% in Lee County. Compliance varied significantly with vessel type and size. Differences in compliance among survey sites were also significant and were related to travel patterns, traffic volume, vessel composition, sign placement, level of speed restriction, and law enforcement presence. From a management perspective, it is recommended that speed zones for the protection of manatees be evaluated on a site-by-site basis to identify specific areas of concern.     

Power plant siting on Wisconsin's coasts: A case study of a displaceable use

Abstract

The issue of whether power plants should be located on Wisconsin's Lake Michigan shore or inland is addressed in this article. It is quite likely that sites for several large power plants will be needed before the year 2000. Available evidence on the comparative costs of condenser cooling indicates that there may or may not be substantial economies from locating these plants at lakeshore sites depending on site characteristics, fuel costs, and other variables. Environmental impacts of coastal and inland siting are surveyed and also appear to be highly site‐specific. Important issues arise with respect to the intense competition for coastal land and the aquatic impacts at both coastal and inland sites. A third alternative, that of utilizing sites that are in the coastal zone but set back from the water's edge, has some promising aspects, but data on costs are scarce and inconclusive. Conclusions center on the importance of not ruling out either coastal or inland locations in future efforts to identify suitable power plant sites, the need to review current water‐quality measures, and the need for further research on institutions to facilitate sound siting decisions.     

Factors Influencing Behavior in a Boating Speed Zone

The greatest source of human-related mortality for endangered Florida manatees is collisions with watercraft. Regulation of boat speeds is the principal management tool to minimize this threat. Demands on law enforcement limit their ability to monitor boater behavior and managers seek alternative strategies to increase compliance. The purposes of this study were to: (1) explore the effectiveness of an on-site sign to enhance boater compliance in a boating speed zone, and (2) examine the environmental and boating characteristics that influence the probability of compliance. Signs designed to increase compliance were posted halfway through the 18-week study period. The signs were not related to compliance level. Logistic regression models showed that only time of day and boat type were significantly related to compliance. Results suggest that passive methods of persuasion may not be an effective means of influencing boater behavior.     

Conservation and development in Oregon's coastal zone

Abstract

Coastal zone management in Oregon is based on the state's general land‐use law. This body of law is designed to deal with population increase, urbanization, and preservation of agricultural land, as well as with other problems throughout the state. Early planning and policy recommendations for the coast were in the hands of a commission having predominantly local membership. This commission produced an extensive series of studies, policies, and recommendations which were assembled as a proposed management tool for natural resources. Staff of the commission was then absorbed into the state land‐management agency, which developed final goals and guidelines for compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act. Adoption of the coastal goals in December 1976 has triggered deadlines for local government compliance within the coastal zone. The management program is now undergoing federal review.     

Risk assessment: An introduction and critique

Abstract

Risk assessment is a methodology which has been used to evaluate the safety of major public projects, notably aerospace programs, liquefied natural gas import facilities, and nuclear power plants.

This article begins with a review of public attitudes toward risk and then describes the basic components of a risk assessment. Subsequent critical analysis suggests the pitfalls inherent in the technique, especially in regard to the establishing of a criterion of safety against which the results of a risk assessment will be compared. The author identifies three such criteria and rejects two of them, including the one most commonly used in federal government agency decision‐making, as unreliable or philosophically unacceptable.

The article concludes with comments on the applicability of risk assessment in coastal zone management.     

Identification and assessment of aquatic resources for power plant sites on Maryland's Eastern shore

Abstract

A power plant siting procedure which accounts for the protection and preservation of aquatic resources, defined as sensitive life forms and life stages of economically valuable species of finfish and shellfish, is presented as it was executed on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Negative effects of power plant development and operation are generated principally by the cooling water intake and discharge system. The site‐selection procedure is thus presented as a two‐faceted process, termed regional screening, requiring the separate but simultaneous identification of land‐based sites and cooling systems. Criteria included in regional screening for cooling systems reflected life‐sustaining processes essential to the maintenance of aquatic resources. Major sources of effects of power plants on aquatic resources and siting principles as they affect aquatic resources are defined. Information‐gathering techniques included extensive interviews with key research scientists, state personnel, and numerous Chesapeake Bay watermen.     

Artificial Reefs as Restoration Tools: A Case Study on the West Florida Shelf

Artificial reefs are one of a number of tools that should be considered by scientists and managers when planning coastal zone restoration and/or mitigation projects. In this article, the details of one project from the West Florida Shelf are presented. Two types of artificial reefs were used to mitigate pipeline construction impacts on natural hardbottom ledges in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The project's primary objective was to avoid the paradigm of building artificial reefs as fish attraction devices, and to instead implement a design that would mimic, not augment, natural hardbottom conditions. Fish assemblage parameters (species richness and commercial fish abundances) were compared between the artificial habitats and natural hardbottom reference sites. Results indicate that species richness trends are similar among artificial and natural reefs, while certain commercial fish abundances are significantly higher on the artificial reefs. Recommendations for future restoration/mitigation projects using artificial reefs are discussed.     

船舶SOFC燃料电池与汽轮机联合动力装置能效分析(英文)

Strong restrictions on emissions from marine power plants(particularly SOx,NOx)will probably be adopted in the near future.In this paper,a combined solid oxide fuel cell(SOFC)and steam turbine fuelled by natural gas is proposed as an attractive option to limit the environmental impact of the marine sector.The analyzed variant of the combined cycle includes a SOFC operated with natural gas fuel and a steam turbine with a single-pressure waste heat boiler.The calculations were performed for two types of tubular and planar SOFCs,each with an output power of 18 MW.This paper includes a detailed energy analysis of the combined system.Mass and energy balances are performed not only for the whole plant but also for each component in order to evaluate the thermal efficiency of the combined cycle.In addition,the effects of using natural gas as a fuel on the fuel cell voltage and performance are investigated.It has been found that a high overall efficiency approaching 60%may be achieved with an optimum configuration using the SOFC system.The hybrid system would also reduce emissions,fuel consumption,and improve the total system efficiency.     

Coastal land management in New Zealand

Abstract

Although New Zealand has a population of 3 million and a coastline of about 10,000 miles there are already heavy pressures on some parts of it. Historically, subdivisions of less than 10 acres require the setting aside of a one‐chain esplanade reserve as part of a general reserve contribution. Some national and regional parks also include significant areas of coast. Recently the Lands and Survey Department has commenced a detailed study of the coastline. Another very recent development is the requirement of an Environmental Impact Report for all major government works. The Waitemata Harbour has been the subject of a detailed study and the reports are now beginning to appear. There has been a heavy demand for shallow bays and estuaries for sanitary land fill, as well as for dredge fill. The main pressure on the coast at present is for holiday cottage sites and some legislative changes may be necessary. In the future new marinas will probably be considered particularly in relation to the extent they provide for the general public rather than a selected few. Industry is only just beginning to make an impact upon the coast. New power stations, natural gas or thermonuclear, are likely to be located on the coastline and this would bring some environmental problems. Recently, it has been argued that to ensure wise use of the coastline there should be national, rather than local or regional, control by a specially appointed Coastal Commission.     

Sewering the coast: Bane or blessing to marine water quality

Abstract

local wastewater management policies can be important tools for protecting marine water quality when coordinated with sound land use and environmental planning. that relationship is examined through a review of the point and nonpoint source pollution issues associated with centralized versus decentralized wastewater management approaches, sewerage extension and plant expansion effects, and sewerage management practices. we use information provided by 161 local jurisdictions in coastal regions of the southeastern united states and various secondary regions of the southeastern united states and various secondary sources. the article concludes with a discussion of policy implications and recommendations to improve the coordination of local sewerage extension/expansion practices and land use planning.     

Cooperative tourism and the coastal zone

Abstract

Most tourist development takes place in the coastal zone. Concentrated tourist use continues in spite of opposition by groups who feel that any tourism, especially international, threatens both the natural environment and local values. Although shorelines and “coastscapes”; belong to all, decisions regarding them are made by relatively few. The number of community organizations involved in coastal zone management decisions varies from almost none in some Third World countries to dozens in places like Hawaii or California. Constructive use of coastal zones requires an understanding of the interactions between biophysical and social systems. Planning tourism in this context requires that all groups with an interest in the coastal zone join in a new “cooperative tourism”; in which all contribute to decisions and face ultimate responsibilities.     

Sociocultural Effects of a Market-Based Fishery Management Program in the Florida Keys

Spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) represents one of the most lucrative fisheries in the State of Florida, and a majority of the catch is landed in the Florida Keys. Over the past three decades, the industry grew significantly, and by the end of the 1980s, state fishery managers agreed that the fishery was overextended. In 1991, the Florida Legislature passed the Spiny Lobster Trap Certificate Program (LTC), created to stabilize the industry by reducing the total number of traps while allowing fishers to transfer trap certificates in a market-based system akin to individual transferable quotas. Data from a survey study suggest that a majority of the respondents are dissatisfied with the LTC, which they view as transitory and unsustainable. The fishers' negative views are motivated by sociocultural changes in the fishing community. Managers need to consider modifications to the LTC and other such marketbased programs to minimize sociocultural impacts and retain small-scale fisher participation in such fisheries.     

滨海核电站防洪体系的设计优化研究

目前我国已在核电站选址及防洪要求方面初步建立起了法规和标准体系,今年发生在日本的福岛核事故再次凸显了滨海核电站防洪设施的重要性.以国内、外几个核电站工程为例,针对进一步加强滨海核电站防洪设计、优化综合性防洪措施、建立防洪预警系统和防洪应急程序等方面的技术问题进行深入探讨,提出相关见解和对今后工作的建议.     

核电站取水口海生物驱赶消杀技术研究

近年来,国内多座滨海核电站海生物频繁入侵,可能引发冷源取水口堵塞、核电站跳堆事故,严重影响核电站的安全可靠运行。本文对国内外核电站冷源防护技术进行了广泛调研,介绍了多种海生物驱赶消杀技术,分析了各种技术的作用原理,论述了各种技术的优缺点,给出了工程指导建议。结合核电站取水口立体纵深防护原则,提出了一种海生物驱赶消杀综合系统模型,为核电站改造以及新建核电站规划设计提供了参考。     

Coastal Zone Management: Using No-Build Areas to Protect the Shorefront

Five coastal counties in Florida were studied to assess the effect of state-mandated local comprehensive plan policies on hurricane evacuation clearance times and public shelter demand. Numbers of residential units in 2002 and at the time of plan approval were estimated from property parcel data. Abbreviated transportation models were used to calculate 2002 evacuation times and shelter demand and to ascertain the impacts of post-plan residential growth within hurricane hazard areas. Calculated increases in clearance times and shelter demand are not in concert with the state's mandate to maintain or reduce clearance times. State law currently limits the leverage of the state planning agency to compel local governments to implement the required comprehensive plan policies. We recommend a concurrency management strategy that parallels the state's requirement to provide adequate transportation facilities to accommodate the impacts of future residential growth. Such a policy could be employed in other states as well.     

Applying the Value-Belief-Norm Theory to Marine Contexts: Implications for Encouraging Pro-Environmental Behavior

Encouraging pro-environmental behavior among protected area visitors and other stakeholders has become a priority for marine resource managers. However, there exists a lack of understanding of the human dimensions of resource management regarding the perceptions and attitudes of stakeholders. Using the value-belief-norm theory of environmentalism (VBN) as a framework, the purposes of this investigation were to: 1) test a model of variables that influence stakeholders' intentions to adopt pro-environmental behavior in two marine protected areas (i.e., the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary); and 2) using the relevant literature and information gleaned from the model, suggest techniques that managers can use to encourage pro-environmental intentions. Acceptable goodness-of-fit indices for both of the structural equation models (one for each protected area) provided empirical support for the usefulness of the VBN framework to guide both research in marine contexts and marine protected area management efforts to encourage stakeholders' intentions to engage in pro-environmental behavior. Specific suggestions include increasing stakeholders. knowledge about impacts via environmental education strategies, increasing their awareness of their impacts and their efficacy in mitigating those impacts (e.g., workshops), and developing interpersonal relationships among managers and stakeholders (e.g., implementation intention and follow-up strategies).     

Democratization of Coastal Zone Decision Making for Indigenous Australians: Insights from Stakeholder Analysis

Community participation has become something of an orthodoxy within natural resource management. In the absence of an explicit strategy for democratization and capacity-building the notion of community participation is potentially meaningless and its application likely to mask decisions made in the interests of elite groups. This article examines the shortcomings of participatory processes in coastal resource management and seeks to identify and overcome constraints to democratization and capacity-building for Indigenous Australians. Using two coastal catchments in Central Queensland as a case study, we explore relations of power among stakeholders using Stakeholder Analysis to provide a platform for more effective deliberative participation by this group of stakeholders. Discussion of the specific barriers to participation identified by Aboriginal stakeholders will demonstrate the need to adopt notions of capacity-building that focus not only on the attributes of the individual stakeholder that might facilitate their participation, but on the characteristics also of the decision-making environment.     

The Elliott Bay/Duwamish restoration program: A status report

Injuries to natural resources from the release of hazardous substances into aquatic environments have led to hundreds of millions of dollars in compensatory damages awarded under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and other legislation. The institutional mechanisms for negotiating and carrying out the terms of CERCLA natural resource settlements are still in their infancy, and each case has a unique set of injuries, assigned damages, payout schedules, trustee council membership and operating procedures, and environmental conditions and constraints. One of the settlements that has made significant progress toward large‐scale habitat enhancement has occurred in Elliott Bay, a busy, seriously impacted urban harbor in Washington State. The Elliott Bay case is unique among natural resource injury settlements because of the active involvement of two local governments, the City of Seattle, and Metro, who were named as defendants in a lawsuit brought by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on behalf of the natural resource trustees of Elliott Bay. Both local governments have maintained, and continue to operate, outfalls that discharge into Elliott Bay, and both entities were subject to attempts to recover damages under CERCLA. Following the filing of the lawsuit over injuries to the natural resources of the estuary, alleged to have resulted from the operation of these outfalls, the parties involved negotiated a consent decree settlement. The Elliott Bay/Duwamish Restoration Program has established a process to redress some of the injuries that were attributed to the operation of these outfalls.