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339 M MANAGEMENT AND REGULATION JOHN UGORETZ AND TONY WARRINGTON California Department of Fish and Game The intertidal zone is rich with biodiversity and contains many fragile habitats and species. At the same time, the intertidal zone is the most accessible marine habitat to humans. The coast provides a scenic setting for recreation on sandy beaches and exploration of rocky-intertidal habitats . Marine intertidal resources also attract recreational anglers and commercial fishermen. Because of these characteristics , the marine intertidal zone is particularly vulnerable to human impacts. Effective management of the marine intertidal zone is essential to protect and preserve the functional and aesthetic characteristics of this important transition between land and sea. MANAGEMENT GOALS In the United States, most activity in the marine intertidal zone is managed by individual states, which generally have authority over the resources within three nautical miles seaward of their mainland and island shores. Individual states may delegate the responsibility for management of the marine intertidal zone to a resources agency, which contains a department of wildlife or fisheries. These departments tend to focus on regulating particular human activities such as hunting and fishing and, in special cases, access to important areas. More recently, the departments have broadened their missions to include conservation of ecosystems and the services they provide. In California, for example, the Department of Fish and Game’s mission for managing marine ecosystems is “to protect, maintain, enhance, and restore California’s marine ecosystems for their ecological values and their use and enjoyment by the public.” To achieve their goals, state agencies and departments maintain a diverse staff, including policy experts, biologists, and enforcement personnel. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK Both state and federal laws and regulations govern marine intertidal resources in the United States. Although individual states govern most resource use, some regions are designated as national seashores, national parks, national marine sanctuaries, or national estuarine research reserves, which have additional federal regulations . State regulations must also be consistent with and may be more conservative than federal laws. In some regions, federal agencies have worked together with state partners to increase protection for marine intertidal habitats. For example, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which overlaps state waters in central California, worked with state and other federal agencies to reduce the input of agricultural and other pollutants that were carried in rivers, streams, and runoff to the ocean. Another example of partnership in marine management between state and federal agencies is the Channel Islands National Park and Marine Sanctuary, which overlap with state waters around California’s five northern Channel Islands. The state Department of Fish and Game worked with these federal agencies to form a recommendation on marine protected areas around the Channel Islands. After the state established these protected areas, the agencies continued to partner on enforcement and monitoring. State legislatures create laws that govern marine intertidal habitats or delegate regulatory authority to appointed commissions. State marine resource regulations generally focus on individual species or species groups. Recent legislation (such as California’s Marine Life Management Act of and Marine Life Protection Act of ), however, has shifted this focus of management to an ecosystem approach that considers all species and their habitats. In the United States, state and federal regulatory processes encourage public participation. Proposed new regulations and proposed changes to existing regulations must be announced to the public, and regulatory authority must allow ample time for public comment. Existing regulations must be reviewed regularly, and the review process must include opportunities for public participation. The state departments of wildlife must gather data on targeted species and habitats for several purposes. The departments must understand how human activities are impacting the resources they manage. The departments must be able to provide useful scientific data to decision makers who regulate resource use. REGULATION OF INTERTIDAL RESOURCES The intertidal zone must be defined to create and enforce regulations on resource use. In California, for example, the intertidal zone is usually defined for the purpose of regulation as the area between the high tide mark (Mean Higher High Water) and feet seaward and lateral to the low tide mark (Mean Lower Low Water). In some municipalities, regulations are not speci fic to the intertidal zone, and those species found in the intertidal are managed under the same regulations for other areas. Regulations can be subdivided into recreational regulations and commercial regulations. Regulations generally protect intertidal organisms with exceptions for those that are used for commercial or recreational purposes. The exceptions are intended to...
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