Coastal Scenery: Evaluation and Management

This Coastal Research Library (Volume 26) contribution presents a summary of the six authors' collective work on evaluating coastal scenery, emphasizing a specific semiquantitative method for such evaluation. Coastal beauty is the scenic attractor, and the book's title evokes a response even before reading the first page – “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” – so how can we evaluate scenery in a way that supports managing this resource? The authors address this question throughout the book, initially stating that an investigator in the 1940s noted “any assessment of coastal scenery is likely to meet with criticism.” However, their methodology, the Coastal Scenic Evaluation System (CSES), is a convincing viable tool for such assessment. Their approach is global and this presentation will be useful to managers; a recommended read for politicos and developers to appreciate scenery conservation; and a basis for developing educational field exercises. The introductory chapter...