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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20180417_NPCMRCMtgSummFNPC MRC 4/17/2018 FINAL Meeting Summary 1 April 17th, 2018 NPC MRC Final Meeting Summary The Tuesday, April 17th, 2018 NPC MRC meeting took place at the Hemlock Forest Room, UW Olympic Natural Resources Center (ONRC), at 1455 S Forks Avenue, Forks, WA from 4:08 (00:01:00 on the audio counter) to 6:05 PM. Appointed committee members present at the meeting were Rod Fleck (City of Forks), John Hunter (Citizen Rep., Clallam County – Education), Katie Krueger (Citizen Rep., Clallam County – Science), Ian Miller (WA Sea Grant, Ex. Officio), Rich Osborne (Coast Salmon Partnership, Ex. Officio), Tami Pokorny (Jefferson County Rep., Coordinator) and Chiggers Stokes (Citizen Rep., Clallam County – Recreational Groups). A quorum was not present at the meeting. Also present were Jackson Blalock (The Nature Conservancy [TNC]), Rebekah Brooks (ONRC), Frank Hanson (ONRC) and Tommy Moore (Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission [NWIFC]). Introductions Public Comments There were no public comments. Additions to and Approval of the Agenda This was skipped as a quorum was not present. Approval of the March Meeting Summary This was skipped as a quorum was not present. Announcements Tami Pokorny announced that Julie Tennis from Pacific Education Institute sent out a notice that they are looking for eel grass sites on the West End. Old Business RainFest Planning Tami Pokorny updated the group on RainFest events, which include decorating umbrellas, the Umbrella Parade with the theme: Crazy River Creatures, a root beer float giveaway at Forks Outfitters, river floats from local river guides, live music from Forkestra, and River & Ocean Film Festival. Donations for the food at Film Fest will go toward the ROV Club. Ian Miller gave an overview of Film Fest, which will start at 7:00 PM. The Film Fest intermission will only be five minutes long, so Forkestra will play from 6:00 to 7:00 PM instead of during intermission. *Tami and Katie Krueger volunteered to bring baked goods; Ian will provide popcorn. Katie also volunteered to print some larger Film Fest posters. New Business NWIFC Marine Activities Tommy Moore, NWIFC oceanographer, gave a presentation on the history of the Commission, which was created in 1974 after the Boldt Decision, and the Commission’s role providing policy coordination and technical NPC MRC 4/17/2018 FINAL Meeting Summary 2 support for member tribes. The Forks office supports the four coastal tribes: Makah, Quileute, Hoh and Quinault Tribes. He also gave an overview of oceanographic conditions, explaining that the California current system and the surface currents displace water, causing upwelling of deeper nutrient-rich water between April and October. The upwelling produce surface blooms and nutrient cycling, providing nutrients and phytoplankton to support multiple fisheries, but can also trigger harmful algal blooms and high concentrations of domoic acid. When the organic carbon in the nutrient-rich water breaks down and consumes oxygen, this can lead to low dissolved oxygen and hypoxia. Other areas of concern for the tribes are coastal erosion and sea level rise; marine hazards, including oil and hazardous chemical spills; noise; and mapping. The tribes and the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary are developing the Habitat Framework, using the Coastal Marine Ecological Classification Standard to compile existing data into a comprehensive catalog. An ocean acidification sentinel site is also being developed. More information and the interactive Habitat Framework map can be found at www.nwifc.org. Feel free to contact Tommy with any questions. Washington Coastal Resilience Project Jackson Blalock, with TNC, led the group through an exercise about concerns over sea level rise in Clallam and Jefferson Counties. His goal for the project is to work with coastal communities to make sure they have data accessible. He is working with all of the coastal MRCs to connect with people who are invested in the coast, and will take the information back to prioritize the feedback before following up with the MRCs and others who may not have been present. The NPC MRC submitted written responses to the following questions: 1. Issue: What sea level rise impact concerns you? 2. Who’s involved?: Who is impacted? Who makes decisions? Who works with this? 3. Solutions: What would you like these people to do to help solve the problem? 4. How?: What is needed to realize these solutions? 5. Hurdles: Who or what stands in the way of these solutions? Concerns expressed by the group included increased flood insurance costs, the ability to escape the water and still earn a living, Kalaloch Lodge, the road to Rialto, the loss of infrastructure, and the inundation of Quillayute and Dickey watersheds and roads. Follow up with Jackson with any questions at jacksonblalock@tnc.org. Southern Resident Critical Habitat Rich Osborne gave a presentation on the expansion of critical habitat for Southern Resident Killer Whales. Currently, the population is made up of 80 individuals who make Chinook salmon about 60% of their diet. He went through the chronology of US Federal listings for Southern Resident Killer Whales, which included the whales being recognized by Canada as threatened in 1998, then endangered in 2001; in 2001, the US petitioned to have them listed as threatened on the US Endangered Species Act (ESA), then endangered in 2005; in 2006, the ESA first designated their critical habitat; in 2008, the ESA released their first recovery plan; in 2014, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned NOAA to increase their critical habitat. NOAA is still working on the status report, and there is no adjusted critical habitat designation at this time. The proposed Southern Resident Killer Whale critical habitat runs from the north Washington coast down to San Francisco Bay, which will add regulatory impacts along the coast. Main impacts are acoustic navy testing and shipping vessel traffic. The group was interested in more information on the topic, so *Rich will continue his presentation at the next agenda. Joint Meeting with Clallam MRC Tami Pokorny discussed the possibility of a joint MRC Meeting with the Clallam MRC in Neah Bay in July. Suggested topics were a presentation on invasive green crab, a field trip, or a presentation on vessel traffic. There was some conflict with schedules in the group, so *Tami will revisit this idea at next month’s NPC MRC Meeting. Pleistocene Brochure Chiggers Stokes and Tami Pokorny have been considering a brochure on the Pleistocene wood to distribute to the Park or other interested parties. Ian Miller suggested adding some of the Pleistocene locations to a walking or driving guide for the peninsula; the group discussed this potential. Possible Revisions to MRC Resolution NPC MRC 4/17/2018 FINAL Meeting Summary 3 Deb Kucipeck and Tami Pokorny have been working on some changes to the NPC MRC Resolution in order to add two ex officio seats to the Committee. *Tami will pass around the Resolution when there is a quorum present at a later meeting. Presentation to Jefferson Commissioners Tami Pokorny will be bringing the proposed projects forward to the Board of County Commissioners on 4/30/18 or 5/7/18. *Chiggers Stokes volunteered to be present to advocate for the projects and the NPC MRC. Tami also updated the group on the status of the empty Jefferson County seat on the Committee: an incorrect category for a vacant Clallam seat was advertised, so the position must be reopened and reapplied for. Updates Marine Debris (All) There were no updates. Washington Coast Marine Advisory Council/Marine Spatial Planning Comments on the Marine Spatial Plan were published on the WCMAC website. The last meeting was held on 3/28/18 in Aberdeen; the group reviewed the agenda and discussed the presentation that was given on hydrogen energy from waves, which has the potential to be used for energy in the state of Washington. The Department of Ecology also presented on sea vessel traffic and the opposition to offshore oil and gas drilling off the Pacific Northwest coast. The Council is also trying to decide how to move forward for coastal resiliency. Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council The next meeting is scheduled for 5/18/18 in La Push. The Council is still working on the next draft Management Plan. West Coast Ocean Partnership There was nothing new to report. Washington Marine Resources Advisory Council (MRAC) Garrett Dalan recently released a newsletter. Climate/Fossil Fuels Related (All) There was nothing else to report. Administration and Fiscal Agent Update Tami Pokorny announced that project contracts are starting to go through the administrative system. The Committee has about $14,000 left to allocate. *Discussion on the release of a second RFP will be added to the next agenda. There has also been recent support and involvement from Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Next Agenda (May 15th): The next NPC MRC Meeting will be held at the ONRC in Forks on May 15th and will include a follow-up presentation from Rich Osborne on Southern Resident Killer Whales, discussion on a possible joint meeting with the Clallam MRC, a return to the possible revisions to the MRC Resolution and discussion on the release of a second RFP. Public Comments/General Ian Miller thanked John Hunter for submitting scores for the proposed Film Fest films. Adjourn at 6:05 PM (01:58:20 on the counter) Draft summary compiled by Rebekah Brooks. NPC MRC 4/17/2018 FINAL Meeting Summary 4 *Film Fest volunteers: Tami Pokorny and Katie Krueger volunteered to bring baked goods; Ian Miller will provide popcorn. Katie also volunteered to print some larger Film Fest posters. *Rich Osborne will continue his Southern Resident Killer Whale presentation at the next agenda. *Tami will revisit the possibility of a joint MRC Meeting with the Clallam MRC at next month’s NPC MRC Meeting. *Tami will pass around the MRC Resolution when there is a quorum present at a later meeting. *Chiggers Stokes volunteered to be present to advocate for the projects and the NPC MRC at the meeting with the Board of Jefferson County Commissioners. *Discussion on the release of a second RFP will be added to the next agenda.