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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 2025 NPC MRC First DRAFT Meeting Summary NPC MRC 9/16/2025 DRAFT Meeting Summary 1 September 16, 2025 NPC MRC Draft Meeting Summary The Tuesday, September 16, 2025 NPC MRC meeting took place at the Olympic Natural Resources Center (ONRC) in Forks, Washington and by Zoom connection from 4:00 PM to 6:04 PM. Appointed committee members present at the meeting were Maggie Bockart (Hoh Tribe Representative), Chris Butler-Minor (Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary [OCNMS], ex officio), 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 (University of Washington Sea Grant, ex officio), Tami Pokorny (Jefferson County Representative and NPC MRC Coordinator), 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), David Cheplick (National Marine Fisheries Service), Hazel Galloway (National Park Service [NPS], North Coast and Cascades Network), Deric Kettle (ONRC), Chase O’Neil (Clallam County), Jordan Sallee (Jefferson County), Chris Waldbillig (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife [WDFW]), and Katie Wrubel (OCNMS) 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 July NPC MRC Summary The July NPC MRC Summary was accepted by consensus as written. Announcements Tami Pokorny announced that Deric Kettle was on his way to the University of Washinton Applied Physics Laboratory to pick up a Lightfish drone that will be used on the coast. Jennifer Hagen added that the Quileute Tribe has a pilot to run the drone and they are in the final stages for the tests. They are hoping to run the drone from Neah Bay to La Push with additional pilots from the ONRC and other Tribes. The drone will be housed at ONRC. It is solar powered and almost 20 feet long. Old Business There was no old business. New Business NPC MRC 9/16/2025 DRAFT Meeting Summary 2 NPS Science Communications Science Communication Specialist Hazel Galloway works in a dedicated science communication position out of Olympic National Park (ONP) to support the parks in sharing the science that goes on in and around park boundaries, which overlap with marine science and stewardship. She presented on the North Coast and Cascades Network, which includes the North Cascades NPS complex, Ebey’s Landing national historical preserve, ONP, Klondike Gold Rush – Seattle national historical park, Mount Rainier national park, Lewis and Clark national historical preserve, and Fort Vancouver national historic site. Hazel works on sharing science about each of these parks through online media based and collaborative work, writing webpages and keeping them current, organizing the Science Days Symposium, and helping visitors access the way they take care of a park that may not be visible. Hazel discussed a pilot program that is monitoring elk and spotted owls; ongoing bat research at Glines Canyon; and The Current, an email newsletter that covers the featured science and upcoming events at the parks. She was eager to listen to the rest of the meeting and offer help if there were any areas that might overlap with her own work. Discussion followed on available newsletters and collaboration opportunities, including the ONP webpage; The Current newsletter sign up; the Natural Resources program at Peninsula College; the Washington State Naturalist program; building on the Ocean Guardian School program; the OCNMS advisory council newsletter; and the NPC MRC newsletters. Tami Pokorny shared a link to a presentation from Anastassia Makarieva on the importance of native coastal forests to the water cycle further inland. Hazel can be reached at hazel_galloway@nps.gov. David Cheplick also shared his contact information: David.cheplick@noaa.gov. Newest Field Projects and Initiatives Chris Butler-Minor shared an overview on the OCNMS and the research they have been doing in the last year. The Sanctuary is a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is dedicated to the science, service, and stewardship of coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. They are also part of the National Marine Sanctuary System and work with many partners on research and other efforts. The mission of OCNMS is to “protect the Olympic Coast’s natural and cultural resources through responsible stewardship, to conduct and apply research to preserve the area’s ecological integrity and maritime heritage, and to promote understanding through public outreach and education.” Much of their research is conducted on their research vessel, the Storm Petrel. Sanctuary partners include sovereign governments of the four Coastal Treaty Tribes, federal and state governments, and academic and non-governmental organizations. Adhering to their treaty trust responsibilities is one of the Sanctuary’s highest priorities. Education and outreach programs include in-class and field and beach programs, working with Americorps service members, the Olympic Coast Remotely Operated Vehicle competition, virtual speaker series, and social media outreach. The Sanctuary has seen an increase in visitation trends since the pandemic. Additional efforts include ship strike reduction risk off the Washington Coast; large marine debris removal; their ocean acidification sentinel site; a moorings program that has provided data on ocean conditions since 2000; eDNA, ocean sound, intertidal, and subtidal kelp forest monitoring; and Southern Resident Killer Whale and seabird surveys. Recently, divers have seen evidence of sea star recovery and healthy kelp forests off Washington’s north coast. Southern Resident Killer Whale surveys have observed that the orcas are moving west. The Sanctuary hopes to be able to deploy more landers soon to add to their data sets. Chris shared a link to the National Marine Sanctuary’s 50th anniversary posters, and her contact information: Chris.butlerminor@noaa.gov. Discussion followed regarding ongoing efforts to make data sets downloadable and accessible; the Sanctuary’s plan to make real-time data available on NANOOS soon; integration between the new Feiro Marine Life Center and the Sanctuary’s visitor center; and ongoing efforts for marine debris cache removal, including the use of helicopters for removal. Coastsavers’ coordinator Megan Juran is working on a permit to allow people to backpack debris out from remote areas. This Saturday, 9/20/25, is the Washington Coast Cleanup. Coastwide and Outreach Project Ideas (continued) NPC MRC 9/16/2025 DRAFT Meeting Summary 3 Tami Pokorny announced that she was working on the storymap for the coastal MRC program; she has a structure for it with map placeholders for each of the MRCs. The budget has about $600 left after the projects that were recommended are funded. Tami has been thinking about printing up logo stickers if that would be allowable. She asked the group for any other coastwide ideas for collaboration. Chris Waldbillig mentioned the storymap at the last Pacific County MRC meeting and Mike Nordin said he had copies of all the Pacific County MRC reports for Tami. Everyone was excited to see what the NPC MRC comes up with. Another MRC asked a similar question about funding MRC swag; the answer is yes, but it must be built into a task for a project. Chris explained that NPC MRC logo stickers would have to be a developed idea that would need to be approved first, but it is great idea that is allowed. Ian Miller asked about the possibility of leveraging the remaining $600 to improve the MRC’s digital presence. Tami asked if it would be possible to host the NPC MRC on the WDFW website as the Jefferson County software is limited. Chris thought it would be fine but noted that there were a lot of challenges and it would need to be reviewed. The MRC webpage still needs to be launched but is close to completion. The group discussed various options for the webpage options, including having their own website, using a possible interim host, and having each MRC linked to the WDFW website. Chris said he would be happy to pursue the last option and hopefully move it further along, and that *he would send the draft around for review when it was available. Project Updates Tami Pokorny suggested adding this under regular updates so that project sponsors could have a place to give updates. Updates Coast MRC Update Chris Waldbillig said that Tami Pokorny sent the scopes of work in for the five approved projects; they went into contracts this week. There were no questions about the projects from WDFW, which was positive. The NPC MRC was the first group to get their projects in. The Pacific County MRC was scheduled to host the Coastal MRC Summit this year, but they asked to pause this year due to lack of funding support and planning time, and to try instead to host next year. If there is any interest in a virtual Summit, there might be more flexibility and opportunity. Tami asked about how to start planning for the next biennium after the budget was decreased by $14,000 for the current biennium. Chris said that the supplemental session was not the time to ask for more funding, so the next biennium would be the one to start thinking about additional funding. Tami suggested that the NPC MRC might want to tackle the issue of local transportation, including treaty right protections, endangered species habitat, quality of life for residents, quality of visitor experience, water quality, wilderness, support for others who are helping with the issue, and backcountry toilets. Discussion followed on the working group that is trying to address recreational impacts to treaty rights; the new limitations on vehicle size for accessing the road to Rialto Beach; frustration with the lack of response from ONP over the lack of sanitation facilities and the impact to treaty rights; and other ways of accessing sensitive areas of the Park that do not involve personal motor vehicles. Tami welcomed additional thoughts. Washington Coastal Marine Advisory Council (WCMAC) The next meeting will be a hybrid virtual and in-person meeting in Grays Harbor on 10/1/25. Rod Fleck announced that the new WCMAC coordinator, Halcyon Northwest, will be starting with interviews with WCMAC members about their roles. If desired, the NPC MRC will need to reappoint Rod in his role as Chair, as his appointment is from this body to the WCMAC. The budget was cut, and the wind energy issues that had been a concern have been put on hold under the current administration. Discussion followed about economic sustainability and whether the change in coordinators for the WCMAC was having an impact. Rod said it would be different; there was strong encouragement to assist and pay attention, rather than point out everything that needed to be changed. He thought the interviews with members would be helpful. The agenda and other WCMAC meeting materials can be found on the Ecology website. NPC MRC 9/16/2025 DRAFT Meeting Summary 4 Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council The last meeting was held on 9/12/25 in person; the next meeting is scheduled for 11/7/25 and will be virtual. Chris Butler-Minor said there was a presentation from the climate office for National Marine Sanctuaries on greenhouse gas emissions. The Olympic Coast is doing well, matching their 2012 emissions. They are moving to non-plug-in hybrids, as there is concern about the availability of charging stations. They had an update on the new Marine Discovery Center: progress is ongoing, and a soft opening is scheduled for 2028. There was also an update on ship strike risk reduction and recommendations for resource managers to help reduce whale strikes; and a tour of the existing Feiro Marine Life Center facilities to reemphasize the need for the new facility. West Coast Ocean Alliance Jennifer Hagen reported that the Alliance had just finalized their governance document and was laying out membership roles; the document is in final review now. Once it is adopted, the next step is developing the strategic plan. There was a meeting of the Tribal caucus. They are planning next year’s summit and the annual trip to Washington D.C. Invasive European Green Crab Eileen Cooney and Wendy Feltham have started the European green crab surveys with the Sea Grant group again. Jennifer Hagen said that the Quileute Tribe did a blitz in August; numbers are still low in the Quileute system. Chris Waldbillig reported that a lot are being caught on the coast. Some larger removal areas such as Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay are seeing a decline, but they are also seeing a lot of very small crab that are too small to trap. September and October are high catch times. Puget Sound is seeing increasing numbers, up to four to five times higher than last year, so more trapping is happening there. Marine Debris This was addressed earlier in the meeting under Newest Field Projects and Initiatives. Climate/Fossil Fuels Related There was nothing new to report. Administrative Update Tami Pokorny is working on the interlocal agreement between Jefferson and Clallam counties. Additional updates were addressed earlier in the meeting under Coastal MRC Updates. Next Agenda (October 21, 2025): The next NPC MRC Meeting will be held on 10/21/25. There will be a presentation from Ian Miller, an update on the new Lightfish drone, and a presentation from Jill Silver. Public Comments/General Wendy Feltham thanked the group for a great meeting. Adjourn at 6:04 PM Action Items *Chris Waldbillig said he would send the draft WDFW MRC webpage around for review when it was available. Draft summary compiled by Rebekah Brooks.