Americans want to live near the roar of the surf and the tang of the salt air.

More than 53 percent of the nation’s population is estimated to reside on just 17 percent of the coastal strip of the U.S. But as development soars along our coasts, so do the threats to the natural resources that drew so many originally to the shore.

The Environmental Protection Agency says in a 2001 report that the state of the environment on the nation’s coastal waters is fair to poor. The threat comes from such seemingly harmless activities as too many people overwhelming a fragile barrier beach to more dramatic events such as a tanker’s breaking and spilling oil along a coast.

Getting to the underlying causes of these problems poses challenges to journalists. Not only are these complicated issues but also it can be a struggle to engage editors and readers about how rising populations and local land use policies are harming the environment.

The Population Impact

Since the first European settlers arrived in North America more than four centuries ago, Americans have preferred settling on a 50-mile strip of land along the shore. The 1960 census found that coastal counties accounted for 17 percent of the land area of the contiguous U.S and 53 percent of the population.

Succeeding census have confirmed that trend although the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which has tracked coastal population changes has not yet completed its analysis of the 2000 Census. NOAA is projecting that coastal populations will grow by 27 million by 2015 accounting for half of the nation’s total population increase.

NOAA says that the largest increases will occur in California, Florida, Texas, and Washington. Southern California is growing at a rate of 4,000 per week; that works out to 5.6 million additional people in 20 years.

Some other numbers to consider:

• 14 of the nation’s 20 largest cities are in coastal counties;
• 17 of the 20 fastest counties are on the shore;
• 19 of the 20 most densely populated counties are on the ocean; and
• 18 of the 20 counties with the highest per capita income are coastal.

The problem is the increasing number of people living on the coast, making them more crowded. In 1960 an average of 187 people lived on each square mile of the coast, excluding Alaska. By 1994 that population density had increased to 273 people per square mile and it is projected to rise to 327 by 2015. The Northeast currently has one-third of the nation’s coastal population and density is 654 persons per square mile.

Some areas of the country have particular issues. For instance, 40 percent of the U.S. industrial base and 50 percent of the Canadian industry has been located in the Great Lakes region which only has one-tenth of the U.S. population.

The heaviest concentration of seasonal housing lies along the northeast beaches and islands.

Population numbers also do not take into account the impact tourism has on such coastal areas as Florida, New Jersey, or Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

More people are living near the coast because income levels have been rising and more people want second homes near the ocean, according to the Congressional Research Service. It cites as factors an improved highway system beginning in the 1950s and a growing number of retirees. NOAA reports that single-family developments in coastal areas generally result in larger than normal homes on large lots. However, density levels increase the closer one gets to the shore, with a ratio of 360 persons per square mile on average along a tidal shoreline.

As population rises in coastal areas, some researchers worry that existing land use practices will exacerbate impacts on the environment. The Pew Oceans Commission reported in 2002 that some large coastal metropolitan areas are consuming land at rates 10 times as rapidly as they are adding residents. It predicted that if those land trends continue, more than one quarter of the coast’s acreage would be developed by 2025, up from 14 percent in 1997. The Mid-Atlantic region appears to be most adversely affected, with estimates that up to 60 percent of its coastal watersheds could be developed by 2025.

The development community’s position on these issues can range from hostility and opposition to growing cooperation in some quarters. The Chesapeake Bay Program, a consortium of federal and state efforts to improve the environment in and around the Chesapeake, has developed a plan with local builders to reduce sprawl in the watershed by 30 percent over the next decade.

“Population is one of the key problems we are looking at in this watershed,” said Christopher Conner, a spokesman for the Chesapeake program. Increasingly programs to regulate land-use and prevent sprawl are going under the names of “Smart Growth” and “New Urbanism.”

The Environmental Consequences

As the crowds keep coming, research indicates that coastal environments are increasingly stressed.

EPA in its National Coastal Condition Report issued in September 2001 labeled the country‘s coastal environment as ranging from fair to poor condition (regional ratings also did poorly). It measured several coastal conditions and found only two, water clarity and dissolved oxygen, in good condition. Another test area, contaminated fish tissue, was in fair condition. Indicators in poor condition included sediments, benthos, coastal wetland loss, and eutrophication.

In a separate study, NOAA also examined eutrophication, the accelerated production of organic material, especially algae, in a water body. It found high levels of euthrophic conditions in 40 percent of estuaries studied and found human influence a major factor in most. It also found moderate to high conditions in 65 percent with the most significant problems in the Gulf of Mexico and Mid-Atlantic coasts.

The Pew study reported that research shows that when impervious surfaces cover more than 10 percent of a watershed, rivers, creeks and estuaries that surround it become biologically degraded.

The scenario painted by EPA is that as land is cleared and development rises, wetlands disappear and sediment is washed into the watershed. New roads, sewage systems and supporting infrastructure increases this cycle, with the sediment causing not only muddy water but excess nutrients and pesticides. In addition, pathogens from sewage overflows, discharges of industrial waste, and chemical treatment and runoff from fertilizers and pesticides create yet more pressure on the environment. The result is a reduction in habitat and wildlife, including such economically important resources as commercial and recreational fisheries.

The National Marine Fisheries Service in 2001 reported that about one-third of fishing stocks were either over-fished or experiencing over-fishing.

Development is not the only threat. Visitors to a beach protected from development can still leave litter or cause erosion or disrupt wildlife patterns by tramping on fragile sand dunes or onto vegetation.

Demand for energy from a growing population can lead to thermal pollution from electric generating plants or oil spills primarily from shipping but also from land contamination.

Boating and shipping bring a range of other issues, from marine debris dumped into the water to dredging and channelization projects aimed at improving navigation.

The Journalistic Challenge

Ken Weiss, whose beat with the Los Angeles Times is the oceans, says he is used to having an editor’s eyes glaze over if he begins talking about ocean policy. An even more challenging task is to introduce the concept of population as the underlying problem facing coastal communities.

The key, says Weiss, is to find ways for editors and readers to relate to the problem of coastal sprawl. One solution is to start with beach access -- an increasingly national problem that people can relate to -- in a place like Malibu.

Sprawl and growth issues can also be tied to how long cars are stuck in weekend traffic jams leading to the beach, the number of days of beach closings, the levels of pathogens measured at public beaches last summer, or the amount of litter picked up at the end of the season.

News pegs can also be helpful. For instance, a good time to write about erosion on barrier beaches and federal policies such as the National Flood Insurance Program is when the area is hit by a major coastal storm.

Wildlife habitat issues become more understandable to readers when they are centered on critters, from harbor seals to blue whales. Fishing subjects work better when readers can relate it to their stomachs and it is served with reminders of a lemon butter sauce, says Weiss.

Lastly, finding the communities out in front on the issue can be helpful.

States noted for aggressive land use policies include Maryland, Florida and Oregon.

Organizations at the forefront include the Puget Sound Action Team in Washington and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Maryland. A more regional organization that looks at this issue is the Great Lakes Commission.

Players and Sources

National

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Issued a State of the Coast report and a landmark study on population changes in coastal areas between 1960 and 2010. Contact: Thomas Culliton, NOAA special projects office, 301-713-3000, ext. 142. (www.ocrm.nos.noaa.gov)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water. Released the National Coastal Condition Report and also has specific information on government programs affecting coastal watersheds, beaches, near shore waters, coral reefs and estuaries. Contact: Jamal Kadri, EPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds, for data on population impacts to coastal environments, 202-566-1248. (www.epa.gov)

Pew Oceans Commission. Issued report in 2002 on coastal sprawl and will issue final report on state of the oceans by March, 2003. Contact: Justin Kenney, 703-516-0605. (www.pewoceans.org)

Smart Growth America. Promotes land-use policies to reduce sprawl. Contact: David Goldberg, communications director, 202-412-7930. (www.smartgrowthamerica.com)

National Governors Association. Examines issues of sprawl and how they impact the environment. Contact: Joel Hir, 202-624-5300. (www.nga.org)

Urban Land Institute. Represents 17,000 planners and developers and focuses on land use issues. Contact: Trish Riggs 202-624-7000 (www.uli.org)

Regional

Chesapeake Bay Program. Contact: Christopher Conner, 410-267-5758 (www.chesapeakebay.net)

Great Lakes Commission. Contact: Michael Donahue, 734-971-9135 (www.glc.org)

Puget Sound Action Team. Contact: Mary Getchell, 360-407-7312. (www.wa.gov/puget_sound)

International

The Cousteau Society. Resources and programs on international efforts to protect coastal communities. (www.cousteausociety.org)

United Nations Environment Programme. UNEP has a number of resources devoted to water and coastal issues both internationally and in North America, including the Global Environment Outlook-2000, State of the Environment - North America, Marine and Coastal Areas. (www.unep.org/Geo2000/english/0100.htm)

Other resources on more general population and environment issues can be found in Environment Writer, July/August 2002 issue, “Population and Climate.” (www.environmentwriter.org -- download)

NOTE: This backgrounder was produced with financial support from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

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