JOINT RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE NEARSHORE COASTAL RESOURCES REPORT

WHEREAS,  the State of Maine is privileged to have more than 5,000 miles and over 2,000,000 acres of public, submerged lands and coastal waters, which together form one of the most productive and rich ecosystems of the world; and

WHEREAS,  Maine's coastal waters and the lands beneath them have historically sustained a variety of uses, including providing food, transportation, commerce, recreation, artistic inspiration and spiritual sustenance; and

WHEREAS,  Maine's coastal resources belong to all people of Maine and are held in trust by the State for the benefit of current and future generations; and

WHEREAS,  Maine's coastal waters and coastal resources are an important component of the State's natural resource-based economy; and

WHEREAS,  the long-term sustainability of the coastal marine environment and the uses that depend upon it rely upon the maintenance and enhancement of the integrity of its ecological systems; and

WHEREAS,  the uses that our society makes of Maine's coastal resources are changing, diversifying and intensifying and, as a result, ecological and human communities are under increased stress; and

WHEREAS,  current coastal management is unable to respond to increasing challenges, including cumulative impacts and emerging uses, whose management is distributed over numerous local, state and federal authorities and is therefore not well integrated; and

WHEREAS,  effective, coordinated management and active citizen stewardship is needed to achieve a careful balance between conservation and development that ensures the sustained use and enjoyment of coastal resources by current and future generations; and

WHEREAS,  integrated management of Maine's coastal waters and coastal resources can be achieved following combined principles of ecological protection, resource management and shared governance; and

WHEREAS,  the Land and Water Resources Council, as authorized by the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 3331, undertook a 2-year study to explore and document potential new and innovative concepts for the management of Maine's embayments and generated important recommendations that should be implemented to achieve the well-coordinated, efficient management of Maine's coastal resources and ensure their continued sustainable productivity into the future; therefore, be it

That We, the Members of the One Hundred and Twenty-third Legislature now assembled in the First Regular Session, take this occasion to recognize the immeasurable value of Maine’s incredible coastal resources and to support the entire Nearshore Coastal Resources report.