Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout20180619__NPCMRCMtgSummF NPC MRC 6/19/2018 FINAL Meeting Summary 1 June 19th, 2018 NPC MRC FINAL Meeting Summary The Tuesday, June 19th, 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 4:05 (00:01:24 on the audio counter) to 5:50 PM [01:46:30]. Appointed committee members present at the meeting were Rod Fleck (City of Forks), Jennifer Hagen (Quileute Tribe Rep.), John Hunter (Citizen Rep., Clallam County – Education), Katie Krueger (Citizen Rep., Clallam County – Science), Deborah Kucipeck (Clallam County Rep.), Tami Pokorny (Jefferson County Rep., Coordinator/Facilitator), Jill Silver (Citizen Rep., Jefferson County – Conservation/Environment) and Chiggers Stokes (Citizen Rep., Clallam County – Recreational Groups). A quorum was present at the beginning of the meeting. Also present were Rebekah Brooks (ONRC), Tommy Moore (Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission [NWIFC]) and Alice Ryan (member of the public). Introductions Public Comments There were no public comments. Additions to and Approval of the Agenda The agenda was approved by consensus as written. Approval of the March and May Meeting Summaries Jill Silver moved to approve the March Meeting Summary, with corrections sent in from Katie Krueger. John Hunter seconded. The motion passed by consensus. Jill said that she needed to postpone her scheduled presentation on stormwater until the November NPC MRC Meeting. Jill Silver moved to approve the May Meeting Summary as written; Deborah Kucipeck seconded. The motion passed by consensus. Announcements Tami Pokorny announced that there is a candidate for the open Jefferson County seat. She will have more news at the next meeting. Old Business July Clallam MRC in Neah Bay Tami Pokorny announced that the Clallam MRC Meeting of the NPC and Clallam MRCs is scheduled for 7/20/18 in Neah Bay. The meeting will focus on green crab. Katie Krueger offered to carpool with anyone attending from Forks. Biodigester Idea NPC MRC 6/19/2018 FINAL Meeting Summary 2 Tami Pokorny updated the group on her research on very small scale biodigesters, which were suggested as a way to control human and animal waste at La Push beaches. This technology is very common in India particularly but is not readily available for purchase in the US yet. The group discussed the idea, agreeing that it is ahead of its time, but worth working on. *Katie Krueger volunteered to promote the idea to the Tulalip Tribe; Jill Silver volunteered to contact King County about it. John Hunter mentioned that the biodigester might be a good fit for the required engineering component to his science classes. Pleistocene Guide Idea Chiggers Stokes updated the group on the Pleistocene wood. He was going to draft a letter to Olympic National Park Superintendent Creachbaum, but realized that the NPC MRC already did that in 2014, with no response. He discussed other options for making information on the wood available, including the possibility of printing a brochure himself. Ian Miller developed a proposal for carbon dating the wood deposit at Rialto Beach, which he will present to the NPC MRC at the next meeting. *Chiggers will give another update at the next NPC MRC meeting with a draft brochure. Solar Installation Idea Tami Pokorny announced that there is an incentive program with State for public installations, but the contact for the program is unavailable for another month or two. MRC Resolution Update Tami Pokorny reviewed the question of whether or not to officially add ex officio seats to the NPC MRC. The current joint resolution between Clallam and Jefferson Counties does not allow ex officio members and would require an amendment. Jennifer Hagen encouraged the group to look at the NPC MRC’s foundational documents for guidance, rather than personal opinions. *She will send out the appendix to the resolution that details the Committee seats. Discussion followed; consensus was to not pursue the issue any further at this time. Newsletter Tami Pokorny thanked everyone who sent in articles for the West End Natural Resources Newsletter; *she will need drafts of articles as soon as possible. MRC Summit 2018 The MRC Summit is scheduled for the end of October or November; *Tami Pokorny will send out the dates as soon as they are confirmed. New Business Whale Entanglement Working Group Jennifer Hagen gave a report on the Working Group, which was convened by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and is made up mostly of fishermen. Seven whales have been entangled in fishing gear this year in Washington State. The group had a conversation with the fishermen to determine if there is anything that can be done in the fisheries to prevent whale entanglement. Possible solutions include changing the fishing season or the amount of gear. UW Funding Request Lauren Kuehne with the University of Washington is looking for funding to hold an event at the ONRC for citizen science training on how to study Navy jet sound impacts on marbled murrelets. The group discussed writing a letter of support for the project and suggesting to Lauren that the Navy might be a better funding source. *Tami Pokorny will bring the topic up again at the next NPC MRC meeting. NPC MRC 6/19/2018 FINAL Meeting Summary 3 Future Speakers The group discussed possible topics and speakers for upcoming agendas. Ideas included a Pleistocene specialist and a biologist from the Elwha dam removal project. *Send Tami Pokorny any ideas for speakers at any time. MRC Presentation to West End Business and Professional Association The presentation has been rescheduled for 8/22/18; *volunteers are needed to represent the NPC MRC. *Katie Krueger will attend the meeting. Updates Orca Task Force This item was postponed for a later agenda since Rich Osborne was out of town. Olympic Peninsula ROV Competition Katie Krueger gave an update on the program, which was started by the National Science Foundation in an effort to enhance the STEM curriculum and help students solve real world problems. It has enormous sponsorship from education institutions and government entities. One of the driving forces of the program is that the students have a RFP for their presentations, which include posters and speeches. Katie found that the students really dived into the technical half of the work, but that the presentations tended to be weak and did not follow the RFP very well. Nicole Harris and Katie wish to develop a program to work on the communication aspect of the project by holding a workshop for West End teachers. Discussion followed with input from local science teachers John Hunter and Alice Ryan. Alice suggested also sending out an open invitation to local students; John suggested having the students submit their posters before the competition. Marine Debris (All) John Hunter announced the upcoming Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME) conference in Portland, from 7/29/18 to 8/2/18. Washington Coast Marine Advisory Council/Marine Spatial Planning The last meeting was on 6/13/18 in Grays Harbor. Rod Fleck announced that Jennifer Hennessey is moving to the governor’s office. The Marine Spatial Plan (MSP) will be released in July before she moves on. The MSP will contain a response to the comments with references to the points in the plan that were addressed. The meeting also included a panel on ocean acidification and a discussion on tsunami preparedness. The resiliency working group will be ongoing. Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council The last meeting was on 5/18/18 in La Push. Jennifer Hagen reported on the meeting, which included a presentation on ocean acidification from Alice Ryan’s Get Dirty Ambassadors students at the Quileute Tribal School. A continuing item is the concept of the Olympic Coast as a sentinel site for ocean acidification. The next meeting is scheduled for July at Pacific Beach. West Coast Ocean Partnership Jennifer Hagen said that the monthly calls continue. Washington Marine Resources Advisory Council (MRAC) There was nothing new to report. Climate/Fossil Fuels Related (All) The group shared high hopes for the Washington Carbon Emissions Fee and Revenue Allocations Initiative. NPC MRC 6/19/2018 FINAL Meeting Summary 4 Administration and Fiscal Agent Update Tami Pokorny reported that all of the project contracts have been fully executed except for the UW and UW Sea Grant contracts. Deborah Kucipeck announced that Clallam County is waiting on the resolution for Alice Ryan’s membership. Tami went over a new request from the Jefferson County attorney to cc a third email contact on any email between two NPC MRC members; *she will get back to the Committee with more details. Next Agenda (July 17th): The next NPC MRC Meeting will be held at the ONRC in Forks on July 17th. The agenda will include more detailed project ideas and an update on the newsletter. Katie Krueger suggested that Tami Pokorny send out a generic email to the full Committee requesting agenda ideas so that the tribes could provide input. Public Comments/General John Hunter announced the NAME conference coming up in Portland. Next year’s conference will be in Washington, and he will propose that it be held locally. *If anyone has any ideas for the venue, please bring them forward. Adjourn at 5:50 PM (01:46:30 on the counter) Draft summary compiled by Rebekah Brooks. *Katie Krueger volunteered to promote the biodigester idea to the Tulalip Tribe; Jill Silver volunteered to contact King County about it. *Chiggers Stokes will give another Pleistocene update at the next NPC MRC meeting with a draft brochure. *Jennifer Hagen will send out the appendix to the resolution that details the Committee seats. *West End Natural Resources Newsletter draft articles are due to Tami Pokorny. *Tami will send out the MRC Summit dates as soon as they are confirmed. *Tami will bring the marbled murrelet topic up again at the next NPC MRC meeting. *Send Tami any ideas for speakers at any time. *Volunteers are needed to represent the NPC MRC at the West End Business and Professional Association Meeting. *Katie Krueger will attend the meeting. *Tami will get back to the Committee with more details on the email requirements between NPC MRC members.