( O.C.G.A. 12-5-280, et seq.)

The coastal marshlands of Georgia comprise a vital natural resource system. The estuarine area of Georgia is the habitat of many species of marine life and wildlife that cannot survive without the food supplied by the marshlands. The estuarine marshlands of coastal Georgia are among the richest providers of nutrients in the world. Such marshlands provide a nursery for commercially and recreationally valued species of shellfish and other wildlife, provide an important buffer against flooding and erosion, and help control and disseminate pollutants. The coastal marshlands provide a natural recreation resource which has become vitally linked to the economy of Georgia's coastal zone and to that of the entire state.

This coastal marshlands resource system is costly, if not impossible, to reconstruct or rehabilitate once adversely affected by man. It is important to conserve this system for the present and future use and enjoyment of all citizens and visitors to our state. Activities and structures in the coastal marshlands must be regulated to ensure that the values and functions of the coastal marshlands are not impaired and to fulfill the responsibilities of each generation as public trustees of the coastal marshlands for succeeding generations. (Code 1981, § 12­5­281, enacted by Ga. L. 1992, p. 2294, § 1.)