MANAGEMENT OBJECTSManagement Action 1:
Expand and coordinate education projects about the Albemarle-Pamlico estuary, focusing on both environmental and economic issues.
Management Action 2:
Increase opportunities for citizens to communicate with members of environmental agencies and policy-making commissions.
Management Action 3:
Enhance and heighten local public involvement in issues affecting the estuary.
Management Action 4:
Expand involvement in the Citizen's Water Quality Monitoring Program (CWQMP) and make the program more interactive with regulatory agencies.
Management Action 5:
Create a citizen ombudsman position within the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Object B
Increase Public Understanding of Environmental Issues and Citizen Involvement in Environmental Policy Making.
Strategy: A combination of state, federal, and local efforts would be undertaken to broaden opportunities for the public to learn about the Albemarle-Pamlico estuary and management issues surrounding it. APES has been the stimulus for a variety of recent proposals and initiatives involving estuarine education, some of which are already underway, like the Citizen's Water Quality Monitoring Program (CWQMP). Continuation of these initiatives beyond the Study, in addition to several new efforts, would form the basis of a long-term program of public involvement and education. Information about economic and cultural issues as they relate to estuarine protection would be integral to this undertaking. Efforts should be made to coordinate programs as much as possible with the Coastal Futures Committee and Year of the Coast activities which will occur during 1994 and will focus public attention on coastal issues.