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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20180220_NPCMRCMtgSum NPC MRC 2/20/2018 FINAL Meeting Summary 1 February 20th, 2018 NPC MRC FINAL Meeting Summary The Tuesday, February 20th, 2018 NPC MRC meeting took place at the Hemlock Forest Room, Olympic National Resources Center, at 1455 Forks Avenue, Forks, WA from 4:01 (00:01:20 on the audio counter) to 6:25 PM. Appointed committee members present at the meeting were Rod Fleck (City of Forks), Joe Gilbertson (Hoh Tribe Rep.), Jennifer Hagen (Quileute Tribe Rep.), John Hunter (Citizen Rep., Clallam County – Education), Deborah Kucipeck (Clallam County Rep.), Rich Osborne (Citizen Rep., Clallam County – Science), Tami Pokorny (Jefferson County Rep., Coordinator/Facilitator), Jill Silver (10,000 Years Institute) and Chiggers Stokes (Citizen Rep., Clallam County – Recreational Groups). A quorum was not present at the beginning of the meeting. Liam Antrim (CoastSavers [by phone]), Frank Hanson (ONRC), Tommy Moore (Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission) and Ravae O’Leary (Olympic Peninsula Guides Association) were also present. Introductions Public Comments There were no public comments. Additions to and Approval of the Agenda Approval of the agenda was postponed until a quorum could be present. Approval of the December and January Meeting Summaries Approval of the Meeting Summaries was postponed until a quorum could be present. The January Meeting Summary was approved without changes by consensus when a quorum was present. The December Meeting Summary was not available for approval. Announcements Tami Pokorny announced an upcoming conference about opportunities to solicit funding from corporate entities for potential projects. Old Business Finalize Project Recommendations This topic was postponed until a quorum could be present. At the January Meeting, it was decided to award full funding to the West End Natural Resources Newsletter and partial funding to all but one of the rest of the projects. Tami Pokorny sent a letter to all of the project sponsors, who responded on how the budgets and scopes of the projects would change with the funding decrease. The awards were offered as follows: 1. Jefferson County: West End Natural Resources Newsletter: $8000 (same as request) 2. Jefferson County: RainFest: $2000 ($730 less than request) NPC MRC 2/20/2018 FINAL Meeting Summary 2 3. WA Sea Grant: Shoreline Dynamics on the Olympic Coast: What Does “Normal” Mean?: $8756 (20% less than request) 4. Makah Fisheries Management: Assessment and management of invasive European green crab (Carcinus maenus) in the Wa’atch River and Tsoo-Yess River estuaries, Makah Bay, WA: $8030.40 (20% less than request) 5. UW COASST: Life History and Death History: What can beached birds tell us about seabird populations in Washington?: $18,531.20 (20% less than request) 6. WA CoastSavers: Support for Three Coast-wide Beach Cleanups: $10,000 ($19,960 less than request) 7. Pacific Education Institute: Ocean Science Workshop: $7002.40 (20% less than request) COASST responded that they will provide the same scope of work with the reduced amount and will find additional funding elsewhere. Makah Tribal Council waived their indirect costs to accommodate the reduced amount and will provide the same scope of work. Jefferson County removed the rental of Finn the Salmon for RainFest; *Tami Pokorny will reach out to the North Pacific Coast Lead Entity to see if they are interested in funding the sculpture rental fees. WA CoastSavers can accomplish the two fall cleanups, but nothing in 2019. (Liam Antrim has replaced Jon Schmidt as the interim coastal coordinator, and confirmed that there is enough funding to see CoastSavers through this year at least, and possibly longer without a full time coordinator position; Jon Schmidt has moved on to a full time position with Solve in Portland, Oregon.) Ian Miller removed the hiring of a student assistant from his proposal for Sea Grant, reducing his project request and otherwise keeping the scope of work the same. Discussion followed on whether Ian’s revised proposal included analysis of the data; he answered questions by phone. Quantitative analysis of grain size photos is the main task that will be eliminated, but the deliverables still stand from the original budget. PEI reduced the participation stipends to the teachers and removed books. The Department of Fish and Wildlife reviewed all of the project revisions and found no red flags for any of the budgets. Rich Osborne moved to recommend to the County Commissioners that they accept all of the adjustments the project sponsors made; Jennifer Hagen seconded. The motion passed by consensus. New Business Remote Marine Debris Chiggers Stokes and Liam Antrim discussed a possible alliance between the NPC MRC and CoastSavers for open water retrieval of marine debris. Challenges have come up in the past because of possible safety issues. Discussion followed on Toleak access difficulty, and the necessity for technical expertise and favorable weather and tide conditions; also on the issue of the Park’s approval, and the possibility of the NPC MRC having a plan ready before approaching the Park. Potential partnerships with Tony Petrillo, the Quileute Tribe, CoastSavers, and/or the City of Forks were also discussed. Liam suggested creating as much of a plan and partnerships as possible before approaching the Park to request their piece of the puzzle. *A subcommittee was formed to report back with tentative plan: Jill Silver, Chiggers Stokes, Jennifer Hagen, Liam Antrim and Tami Pokorny volunteered. Marine Debris Planning and Conference Chiggers Stokes announced that there will be a follow-up to December’s Marine Debris Conference. They got about two-thirds of the way through drafting a statewide policy for marine debris. Some coordination was offered from the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. The Marine Debris Action Plan was divided into ocean marine debris removal, land-based marine debris removal, research, and preventative measures. The Plan is in draft stage; *Tami Pokorny will distribute the draft. BOEM Oil & Gas Leasing Draft Letter and Resolution Template The group discussed whether to draft a letter to BOEM regarding the oil and gas leasing sales on the West Coast and decided that it is the role of the NPC MRC to make recommendations to the Board of County NPC MRC 2/20/2018 FINAL Meeting Summary 3 Commissioners, rather than to BOEM or another organization. Jill Silver moved that the NPC MRC make a recommendation that the County Commissioners send a letter to BOEM in objection to the oil and gas leasing. John Hunter seconded. The motion was discussed; specifically, Rich Osborne addressed the difference between advising the County Commissioners and engaging other governments (such as the ones represented by the NPC MRC) directly as a MRC, independent of the Commissioners. It was decided to draft a letter for the Commissioners. Jennifer Hagen drafted a letter that the group reviewed and discussed. The group decided to have Jennifer shorten the letter, and that Deborah Kucipeck and Tami Pokorny would review it. Reused Materials Engineering Library Project This topic was skipped. RainFest Planning RainFest is scheduled for Earth Day weekend, 4/21/18 -4/22/18. Tami Pokorny announced that Ian Miller is looking for more films and two to three reviewers for Film Fest. Jill Silver mentioned the video from the Coast Salmon Partnership, which is almost finished. *Jennifer Hagen, John Hunter and Frank Hanson volunteered to review the films. Ravae O’Leary announced that the Olympic Peninsula Guides Association planned to offer short floats during RainFest. Coast-wide Education Ideas Jill Silver updated the group on a meeting between the coastal MRCs to discuss coastal marine education. Attendees included representatives from Grays Harbor College; PEI; and Wahkiakum, Pacific, Grays Harbor, NPC and Jefferson MRCs. They talked through ideas and concerns about how disconnected local students are from marine issues and resources, and ideas on how to connect students to the marine environment through school programs and MRC projects. New Option for Pleistocene Wood Study Jill Silver reminded the group about Chiggers Stokes’ interest over the past several years in the Pleistocene wood being exposed due to sea level rise and coastal erosion, and the possibility of doing a study on it. She has recently been in touch with a researcher who may be interested in doing a study on the wood deposits. *Anyone who may have GPS points or photos of the wood deposits should send them to Jill. Updates Marine Debris (All) This topic was discussed under Remote Debris Removal and Marine Debris Planning and Conference. Tami Pokorny mentioned a new study showing that the dissolution of plastics is causing heavy metal contamination of BC beaches. Washington Coast Marine Advisory Council/Marine Spatial Planning The last meeting was 2/19/18 in Aberdeen. Rod Fleck and Rich Osborne gave an update. The next meeting is scheduled for March. The Council is trying to get an update from NOAA Fisheries on their sea-based surveys. Some changes were proposed for the bylaws. The Coastal Resiliency Working Group had a conference call on 2/6/18 to discuss doing a coastal survey of where people see regulatory hurdles to trying to do things on the coast, and to set up a coastal resilience economic workshop. Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council The last meeting was held on 2/2/18 in Sekiu. Jennifer Hagen said they worked on a letter to BOEM that was sent; the NPC MRC then discussed whether or not it is appropriate for an advisory body to send letters directly to organizations they are not advisory to. There was a presentation from the Marine Exchange in Puget Sound about changes in shipping. They also went over their work plan for the upcoming year. NPC MRC 2/20/2018 FINAL Meeting Summary 4 West Coast Ocean Partnership Jennifer Hagen said they have started developing their work plan, but there is no product to share yet. Washington Marine Resources Advisory Council (MRAC) There was nothing new to report. Climate/Fossil Fuels Related (All) This topic was addressed earlier during the discussions on the letters to BOEM regarding the oil and gas lease sales. Administration and Fiscal Agent Update Tami Pokorny will send the project recommendations to WDFW, and will get the amendment to the existing contract so the approved projects can go forward. Deborah Kucipeck said there was one application in so far for the two Clallam County citizen representative seats; Rich Osborne said he will stay on as a citizen representative until his seat can be filled. Discussion followed on the application process and an application that has been submitted for one of the open seats. Next Agenda (March 20th): The next NPC MRC Meeting will be held at the ONRC in Forks on March 20th, and will include an update on the NPC MRC application process and open seats. Public Comments/General There were no public comments. Adjourn at 6:25 PM (02:23:48 on the counter) Draft summary compiled by Rebekah Brooks. *Tami Pokorny will reach out to the North Pacific Coast Lead Entity to see if they are interested in funding the Finn sculpture rental fees for RainFest. *A Remote Marine Debris subcommittee was formed to report back with tentative plan: Jill Silver, Chiggers Stokes, Jennifer Hagen, Liam Antrim and Tami Pokorny volunteered. *Tami Pokorny will distribute the Marine Debris Action Plan draft. *Jennifer Hagen, John Hunter and Frank Hanson volunteered to review the films for Film Fest. *Anyone who may have GPS points or photos of the Pleistocene wood deposits should send them to Jill Silver.