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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJune 2025 NPC MRC First DRAFT Meeting Summary NPC MRC 6/17/2025 DRAFT Meeting Summary 1 June 17, 2025 NPC MRC Draft Meeting Summary The Tuesday, June 17, 2025 NPC MRC meeting took place at the Peninsula College in Forks, WA and by Zoom connection from 4:00 PM to 5:48 PM. Appointed committee members present at the meeting were Maggie Bockart (Hoh Tribe Representative), Eileen Cooney (Citizen Representative, Jefferson County - Economic Groups), Wendy Feltham (Citizen Representative, Jefferson County – Scientific Community), Rod Fleck (City of Forks), Jennifer Hagen (Quileute Tribe Representative), John Hunter (Citizen Representative, Clallam County – Conservation / Environmental Groups), Rebecca Mahan (Clallam County Representative), Ian Miller (UW Sea Grant, ex officio), Tami Pokorny (Jefferson County Representative and NPC MRC Coordinator), Alice Ryan (Citizen Representative, Clallam County – Recreational Groups) and Jill Silver (Citizen Representative, Jefferson County– Conservation/Environmental Groups). A quorum was present at the beginning of the meeting. Rebekah Brooks (Rebekah Brooks Contracting), John Calambokidis (Cascadia Research Collective), John Shaw (Grays Harbor MRC), Alex Vanderzee (Cascadia Research Collective), John Waggoner (Jefferson County MRC), and Chris Waldbillig (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife) were also in attendance. Introductions Public Comments There were no public comments. Additions to and Approval of the Agenda The agenda was accepted by consensus with no changes. Approval of the May NPC MRC Summary The May NPC MRC Summary was accepted by consensus as written. Announcements There were no announcements. Old Business There was no old business. New Business Scoring and Ranking of Project Applications Tami Pokorny gave an overview of the NPC MRC bylaws, and the group discussed any conflicts of interest. Alex Vanderzee and John Calambodikis both logged off the meeting so the group could freely discuss all project applications and make it fair to the other applicants who were not in attendance. Alice Ryan recused herself from scoring the ROV Competition because it directly benefited her students. Jill Silver recused herself from NPC MRC 6/17/2025 DRAFT Meeting Summary 2 scoring the Rialto Landslides because she was involved in the project. Due to both recusals, neither Alice nor Jill was able to vote or make a motion regarding any project funding decisions. The project scoresheets ranked the applications as follows: • 1: The University of Washington: Dead Birds Build Life Experience: A COASST (Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team) Internship. The request was for $20,477, and the mean score was 93.00. • 2: Elizabeth Davis and 10,000 Years Institute: Natural Hazards Research on the Olympic Coast - Advancing Science and Training Students. The request was for $10,647, and the mean score was 91.62. • 3: Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary: Olympic Region Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Workshop and Competition. The request was for $10,398, and the mean score was 89.50. • 4: Guleed Ali and team: ICEtree: Investigating the Climatic Evolution of North American Ice Sheets with • TREE Rings. The request was for $20,326, and the mean score was 86.89. • 5: Cascadia Research Collective: Insights into Ship Strike and Entanglement Risk to Humpback Whales on Washington’s Outer Coast. The request was $32,646, and the mean score was 76.67. Lengthy discussion followed on the projects and their relative merits and challenges. Overall, there was appreciation about the high quality of the science and expertise, and the amount of community and student interaction in most of the projects that were submitted. There was consensus that the COASST internship from the University of Washington was making a difference in student’s lives, but it was noted that it would be nice to see some funding contributed by the university. Concerns were raised over the Natural Hazards project from Elizabeth Davis because the student involvement element was not well laid out and the results were unclear; however, it was also noted that the proposal had been more developed since submittal and was supported by the Quileute Tribal School. The NPC MRC was supportive of continuing the ROV workshop and competition because bringing STEM into local classrooms was so important, but they suggested that some funding from the Grays Harbor MRC for the Taholah component and funding from the OCNMS would add value to the project. Concern was expressed that the ROV competition be more connected to real world issues; Alice described several of the competition exercises that were modeled after real world applications, including biodiversity, the University of Washington buoy program, and jellyfish conservation. The ICEtree project was recognized for the importance and relevance of its research that could greatly inform sea level rise and coastal climate understanding, and for its amount of interaction with the local community and students, some of which was included at no cost. The group discussed whether the inclusion of an application for a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant was appropriate in the project, but also emphasized that connection with the NPC MRC could be beneficial from the NSF standpoint for demonstrating connection for the work, and that an NSF grant had the potential to extend the project and bring more opportunities to the Forks community. The group agreed that the humpback whale project from Cascadia Research Collective came in last due to geographic scope, little community involvement, lack of outreach to or approval from the Quileute Tribe, and the absence of contribution from other geographically relevant MRCs. Tami Pokorny pointed out that the COASST and ICEtree projects might need their budgets adjusted because both included indirect costs. The group made observations about feedback to sponsors and preferences for future requests for proposals, including a leveling of the budgets that would encourage match funding or phased funding options; updates on progress during the course of the projects instead of only at the end; how imperative Tribal support was for any projects around Tribal lands; the importance of well-planned communication and involvement with the local community; and the inability of the NPC MRC to fund indirect costs. NPC MRC 6/17/2025 DRAFT Meeting Summary 3 Maggie Bockart noted that the top four projects could be funded outright, with some funds remaining. Rod Fleck moved to fund the top four ranked projects; Maggie Bockart seconded the motion. Discussion followed over how to spend the residual funds and how to address the concerns that were voiced, especially the issues of indirect costs, lack of tribal communication, and inappropriate geographic scope in several proposals. After discussing these concerns, Rod Fleck revised his motion to fully fund the first four projects, with the understanding that the feedback received will be passed back to the sponsors; Maggie Bockart seconded the motion. Alice Ryan and Jill Silver abstained from the motion due to their conflicts of interest; the motion passed unanimously. *Tami requested any additional questions for the sponsors to be sent to her and asked whether the feedback to the sponsors should include the reasons their proposals were not funded. The group agreed that the information was important and suggested informing the Cascadia Research Collective that with the limited funding pool, the NPC MRC decided to prioritize the projects with more community engagement, and that they should be encouraged to reapply with more funding, community involvement, and approval from the Quileute Tribe. The West End Natural Resources Newsletter was recommended for the extra funding; *Tami will add that item to the next NPC MRC meeting agenda. The group also asked the attendees from other MRCs about their own project funding processes. John Waggoner said that the Jefferson County MRC does not fund projects but receives funding for the projects that the MRC does. John Shaw reported that the Grays Harbor MRC funds projects throughout the calendar cycle across a wider range of time, with buckets for items like education, marine debris, outreach, and access, and their projects tend to be less high science. Coastal Bluff Erosion at Kalaloch Ian Miller suggested delaying his presentation as people were tired and would probably be grateful for extra time. *John Waggoner noted his disappointment and asked to be informed of the rescheduled time. Updates Coast MRC Update Chris Waldbillig had to leave the meeting early, but he appreciated the great discussion and projects and noted that it was a strength of the program that there were such good projects and hard choices. Washington Coastal Marine Advisory Council (WCMAC) The last meeting was held on 6/4/25 in Grays Harbor with an online option and contained an update on economic resiliency. Additional upcoming meetings are scheduled for 10/1/25 and 12/3/25. The agenda and other WCMAC meeting materials can be found on the Ecology website: Department of Ecology - Committees, Boards, and Workgroups (wa.gov). Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council Chris Butler-Minor was not present for an update. The next meeting is scheduled for 7/18/25, location to be determined. West Coast Ocean Alliance Jennifer Hagen said that the Alliance met in Washington D.C. in the first week of June, trying to keep the momentum going for the concerns on the west coast. While no actions were able to be taken under the current administration, they were encouraged to continue to bring information about the impacts of the loss of salmon recovery funding to create a record. In addition to concerns over staffing and funding cuts to the National NPC MRC 6/17/2025 DRAFT Meeting Summary 4 Marine Fisheries Service, the cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are even more discomfiting, as the EPA is being reduced by more than fifty percent. All in all, Jennifer said it was an okay visit and will happen again next year. The governance document is still in progress developing indicators. Jennifer added that the Quileute Tribe purchased a small ROV for education and small projects. There is also a comment period open on deep seabed mining of the outer continental shelf. Consultation with Tribes should occur, and some Tribes have already submitted letters. Invasive European Green Crab There was nothing new to report. Marine Debris There was nothing new to report. Climate/Fossil Fuels Related (All) There was nothing new to report. Administrative Update Tami Pokorny reached out to Rebecca Mahan about Clallam County hosting the NPC MRC since it has been many years since they did so. This would give Tami more time to work on the West End Natural Resources Newsletter if it is funded. Rebecca announced that Cathy Lear retired from her position as Habitat Biologist with Clallam County, and that Rebecca applied for the position. She was offered the position and accepted it today. The group congratulated Rebecca on her promotion. Tami added that the project contracts were wrapping up just fine, and that *she would include a final update on the last projects in the next NPC MRC agenda. She also announced that the NPC MRC budget was being reduced for the next cycle by $7,000 on the administrative side, and by $7,000 on the project side. August Meeting With the decrease in the budget and busyness of the field season, Tami Pokorny suggested canceling the August NPC MRC Meeting. Wendy Feltham moved to not hold the August NPC MRC Meeting; Jennifer Hagen seconded the motion. The motion passed by consensus. Next Agenda (July 15, 2025): The next NPC MRC Meeting will be held on 7/15/25 and will include discussion on the West End Natural Resources Newsletter, a presentation on Coastal Bluff Erosion at Kalaloch by Dr Ian Miller, and a final update on the last projects. Public Comments/General Wendy Feltham was sorry to hear that John Hunter’s position at Pacific Education Institute (PEI) had been cut; the group expressed their support and encouragement to John and PEI. Adjourn at 5:48 PM Action Items *Please send any feedback to project sponsors to Tami Pokorny. *John Waggoner asked to be informed of the rescheduled presentation from Ian Miller. *Tami Pokorny will include discussion funding on the West End Natural Resources Newsletter and a final update on the last projects in the next NPC MRC agenda. Draft summary compiled by Rebekah Brooks.