PROBLEMS THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED

While we have made great improvements in issues such as water quality, wildlife and public access in the NMS waters, there continue to be issues that are detrimental to optimal man/nature interaction and general enjoyment of the waters included in the NMS.

Some issues are non-contentious and have almost universal support, but simply are not making meaningful headway, while other issues, on the face of it, may be contentious. Often, even the issues that may appear to be contentious still have a common goal, but there is disagreement about the methods.

Contentious debate is unpleasant and therefore the debate is often avoided, but this does not make the issue go away. Only debate and analysis in a proper forum provides the chance that optimal solutions will be developed. 

At present no such forum exists. A structure like an NMS makes it more difficult for the issue of concern to be ignored, and by keeping it on the table over a long period of time, adjustments can be made. Very often the issue does not need to be regulated, but instead improved education resolves the issue. 

This is a list of issues that have been raised by various stake holders. These issues have not been vetted as right or wrong, they are simply concerns that have been raised and that, if resolved, will result in improvements that benefit everybody.

1. Lack of general boater courtesy
2. Lack of awareness with regard to river and bay wildlife and river quality issues
3. Lack of awareness with regard to NMS recreational and commercial opportunities  
4. Reductions in recreational boating interest
5. Storm runoff water quality issues
6. Lack of native oysters
7. Lack of spartina grasses
8. Lack of edible species awareness
9. Clamming restrictions (check out the neat graphic)
10. Dissolved oxygen deficiencies
11. Ineffective bulkheading
12. Ineffective river scaping
13. Poor land side trash management
14. Bridge replacements issues
15. Land side impervious surface issues
16. Lack of dredging
17. Limits in NMS access
18. Inadequate ecosystem man/nature sustainable education
19. Lack of protection of culturally significant NMS activities such as boat racing, hunting, fishing and port facilities
20. Overall poor and non-optimized fisheries yield
21. Local fish to table inadequacies
22. Poor feeder creek conditions
23. Fertilizer overloading
24. Poor insecticide practices
25. PCB's and other industrial residue
26. River and bay bottom degradation
27. Silting
28. Lack of existing regulation (law) enforcement

This is a long list and is sure to grow, but if a mechanism can be developed where, as a local community, we make slow headway on most of them, the future will be much brighter. The vast majority of these issues do not need a huge investment to achieve improvements, but they do require general awareness by all stake holders and constant attention. 

An NMS will provide a forum. None of this can be solved through special interest pressure, it can only be solved if the bay and rivers are presented as a valid common stake holder.

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