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14 <br /> • Provide for active public involvement in environmental research through volunteer environmental - - <br /> monitoring. <br /> The APES Citizens' Water Quality Monitoring Network has provided opportunities to <br /> citizens across the region to participate in assessing the health of the estuary. This <br /> program should be continued and expanded to include additional parameters and data <br /> analyses. Regulatory agencies should be encouraged to utilize the data collected. (See <br /> Public Involvement and Education Plan, Management Action K; see also Monitoring and <br /> Assessment Plan.) <br /> • Address the need for specific outreach staff positions in the existing water quality and fisheries <br /> management agencies. <br /> Increased public education efforts by state agencies may improve the implementation of <br /> several existing programs. Agency outreach efforts and needs for staff devoted to public <br /> education and involvement should be evaluated and addressed. (See Water Quality Action <br /> Plan, Management Actions H, I,J, and 0 and Fisheries Action Plan, Management Action <br /> H.) <br /> • <br /> Several regulatory programs exist which aim to protect important natural resources and habitats. <br /> However, the effectiveness of regulatory programs depends, in part, on the effectiveness of their <br /> enforcement. In many existing programs, enforcement staff and activities are limited by budget <br /> constraints. Enforcement effectiveness may also be limited by fines which are not high enough to <br /> create a deterrent to violations. <br /> • Strengthen enforcement of existing programs by addressing needs for increased levels of <br /> enforcement monitoring and staff and by raising fines as necessary to create adequate deterrents <br /> to violations. <br /> Adequate levels of enforcement and fines which serve as a deterrent to violation are needed <br /> to fully implement existing regulatory programs. Several state programs should be <br /> assessed for enforcement staff needs and for the effectiveness of fines issued for <br /> - noncompliance, and these needs should be addressed. (See Vital Terrestrial Areas and <br /> Wetlands Action Plan, Management Action G; Water Quality Action Plan, Management <br /> Actions J and N; Fisheries Action Plan, Management Action I.) <br /> • Establish a pilot program to cross-train enforcement personnel from the various state resource <br /> management agencies to recognize and report potential violations for other resource management <br /> programs. <br /> Multi-agency enforcement training for state enforcement officers would effectively increase <br /> in-field surveillance for compliance with environmental regulatory programs. (See Public <br /> Involvement and Education Plan, Management Action L.) <br /> • <br /> ado <br /> Monitoring provides data to increase our understanding of the estuarine system, its resources, and <br /> the effects of human activities. Comprehensive long-term monitoring is essential in the <br /> implementation of the CCMP to determine the effectiveness of management actions, to evaluate <br /> the health of the system, and to support future management decisions about estuarine resources. <br /> Executive Summary--IS <br />