ABSTRACT
The report concluded that the uses to which the coastal zone was being put had outrun the abilities of the local governments, which alone had the responsibilities for planning and developing resolutions for planning and developing resolutions to any problems that arose.2 There was division as to responsibilities among several jurisdictions and no central mechanism existed for formulating sound decisions affecting the coastal zone. In its report, the Stratton Commission put the burden for effective management on the coastal states by saying that:
According to the Commission, the states were a "central link joining many participants in coastal zone affairs, but the states lacked the machinery for setting up an efficient management mechanism. Therefore, the Commission recommended that the states set up coastal zone authorities with the Federal Government providing one-half of the operating costs. These coastal zone authorities would then regulate, plan and aoquire lands and develop public facilities."4
