Many uses and businesses require a location on the water to function, or harvest living or mineral resources from coastal and inland waters. The State's working waterfronts include a wide variety of ports and harbors which have many water-dependent uses. Agricultural uses are clustered along the waterfront - with farms, orchards and vineyards concentrated along the shores of lakes, rivers, or the ocean because of the beneficial effects of the waterbody on climate.

Active, economically viable waterfronts are also important cultural, historic, and scenic areas and maritime uses are part of our heritage and can provide the context for an exciting, vibrant tourism industry.