Nonpoint sources as external threats to coastal water quality: Lessons from park service experience

Abstract

Program design for nonpoint source control is considered through an analogous problem, external threats to national parks. Nonpoint sources are diffuse land activities that degrade water quality, and recent federal legislation seeks to limit them in coastal areas. External threats occur outside a park boundary but affect the purposes for or resources within the park. They have been subject to federal management for many decades. Nonpoint sources are a class of external threat. Therefore, programs to limit them should consider techniques used in park protection. These park techniques include "hard approaches," which rely on power, usually through legal devices, and "soft approaches," which utilize shared values and objectives. Among the techniques presented, a linked approach, as exemplified at the Cape Cod National Seashore, appears most promising. In a linked approach, if a soft approach fails, the manager of the protected unit is empowered to take an alternative hard action to protect the resource.

When Stakeholders Choose: Process, Knowledge, and Motivation in Water Quality Decisions

“…On the other hand, Kathlene and M artin (1991) nd that agencies may be unwilling to share power, and thereby they threaten the foundation of collaborative processes. In addition, some agencies face circumstances where they have responsibility for environmenta l improvements that require voluntary cooperation of citizens but the agencies have limited authority (Burroughs 1993). The question of when and how bureaus might shift power to citizens requires special attention because it is crucial to the success of participation eOEorts.…”

Nonpoint sources

“…Brown et al (1993) reviewed federal laws and programs for controlling NPS pollution in forest areas, focusing on the Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program currently being implemented by the states and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and its subsequent amendments (now commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act). Using the Cape Cod National Seashore as a case study, Burroughs (1993) analyzed techniques for addressing external water quality threats to coastal national parks. Shuyler (1993) discussed Chesapeake Bay NPS pollution control strategies and progress to date, concluding that if voluntary cooperation does not increase significantly in the next few years, regulatory programs may be necessary.…”