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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM051502 Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee Minutes Wednesday, May 15, 2002 Present: Varn Brooks, Marine Science Practitioner Dave Christensen, Jefferson County Natural Resources Judy Damore, District 1 Jeff Gallant, District 1 Spike Hall, District 3 (Vice Chair) Anne Murphy, District 2 Andrew Palmer, District 3 (Chair) Rex Rice, Environmcnt David Jenkins, District 2 Larry Lawson, Commercial Fishing Absent: Larry Crockett, ex-officio, Port of Port Townsend Excused Judy Surber, City of Port Townsend Bill Kalina, ex-officio, U.S. Navy, Indian Island Richard Wojt, Jefferson County Commissioners Staff/Guests: John Cambalik, Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team Michelle McConnell, Citizen Barbara Nightingale Joanna Sanders, MRC Meeting Secretary Doug Dobyns, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Doug Williams and Mike Chevalier, Dept. of Natural Resources Geoduck Program David Goldsmith, Jefferson County Administrator OPENING BUSINESS Chair Andy Palmer called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM in the Port Townsend Community Center, Port Townsend, W A. The minutes of the April meeting were approved. Additions to the agenda were under Other/Administrative: Report from MPA Committee Focus Groups, Derelict Gear Project Update, and Chris Weller Tribal Representation. OBSERVER COMMENT Michelle McConnell provided an update on the Skagit MRC MP A bottom fish recovery project. Twenty-five members of the public attended a public meeting on May 9th at which they reviewed data from the technical workshop. The MRC was pleased with the wide representation of interests and will next prepare a summary report. OLD BUSINESS Long-Range Planning Retreat: Andy Palmer reported that the Executive Committee met and began fleshing out a process to develop a long· range plan. They hope to report back to the MRC next month. Social Marketing Workshop: Attendees felt it was worthwhile. In response to a question whether any new ideas or potential tools were presented, Judy Damore felt it would be premature to apply many of the ideas to the MRCs projects, while Anne Murphy believed some of the ideas for changing people's behaviors can be kept in mind throughout the MRC's process. Implementing the methods would take strategic thinking and a clearly defined goal. There was support for providing each MRC member a copy of the distillation article about the process and placing the same in the MRC library. Jeff Gallant agreed to get copies of the summary into the library as well as to members. Olympia Oyster Restoration: Anne Murphy said the group was unable to find Olympia Oysters on Indian Island and may consider another site previously mentioned by Anne Shafer. Although there is not the right kind of brood stock on Indian Island for areas other than Discovery Bay, there is the right seed for Discovery Bay. Anne Murphy, Betsy Peabody, Kelly Curtis from Jamestown S'Klallam, and Bill Taylor from Taylor United will conduct a site selection on May 30. Noting that the activity is open to anyone else who would like to come, she asked members to let her know of their interest in attending. Marine Resources Committee - May 15, 2002 Page: 2 Port Townsend Bay Beach Seine: Anne Murphy reported that she, Larry Lawson, and Barbara Nightingale participated in the beach seine along with Anne Shafer, an area habitat biologist from Kitsap, Dan Pentilla and some Clallam interns. Inside the railroad trestle, they observed a lot of pink and chum smolts, while outside the trestle the seine was packed with animals - a lot of pinks and chums and a large diversity of other animals. Data analysis will come to the MRC from Anne Shafer. This seine was instigated by Fish and Wildlife and future beach seines are planned by them in this area. Status of Proposed Joint Meeting with Clallam MRC: Anne Murphy said it does not appear to be a good time to have a joint meeting, due primarily to too many other competing meetings. Anne Murphy believes it is important to invite People for Puget Sound to do the Orca Pass presentation, which the Marine Science Center could host and co~sponsor. She will attempt to organize such a presentation. NEW BUSINESS & REPORTS Doug Dobyns - Tribal Liaison to the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission: In thanking the Executive Committee for sending him a list of specific questions, Mr. Dobyns stressed that his responses will not fit anyone tribe, but will ret1ect the diversity of what he has been hearing. How do tribes want to operate or cooperate on Northwest Straits Initiative? Mter having a lot of discussion with the Fisheries Commission about what is wrong with the initiative, it is clear that it is not working for the tribes. The fact that the tribes were not written in as a party to the original initiative is a structural problem which needs to be addressed. He believes now would be a good opportunity to invest energy into reworking Phase II of the initiative and present this issue to Congress so that tribes see themselves addressed in a formal way. He noted this recommendation was not made on a policy level. When asked whether tribes will ignore opportunities to participate before they are written in, he said each tribe will make its own decision. He hears tribes will address groundfish and species protection through their co~management authority. How do tribes want to operate or cooperate with Northwest Straits Commission? Terry Williams participates as the Department of Interior Secretarial Appointee; Harlan James from Lummi attends as his alternate, having been officially designated by the Northwest Indian Fish Commission. This often results in different tribal perspectives and twice the policy representation. At yesterday's meeting, Tom Cowan reported on the derelict gear project and responded to concerns such as in the Anchor Report. Tom is being invited to come to the tribes to talk, so that door is not closed. Jamestown S'Klallam showed an active interest in the derelict gear project and he understands Lummi did also. Port Gamble has an interest in forage fish because they are invested in herring. How would they want to deal with MRCs? He hears there is tribal interest in specific projects and referred to the fact that Jamestown has allowed Kelly Curtis to get involved in the Olympia Oyster Project. However, Jamestown indicated they do not want to attend more meetings. Port Gamble's environmental policy coordinator also does not want to attend MRC meetings but he hopes marine biologist Amy Keller, whose main interest is forage fish, may come to visit sometime. What do tribes want to see? Actions speak louder than words - tribes will read and respond to detailed projects. Tribes want to be recognized as individual governments - not only first peoples, but as the first governments. He provided documents for distribution among the MRC: A 1963 paper by Richard Cooley, which documents a clear acknowledgement of how tribes managed their natural resources. He believes tribes would like acknowledgement as having had conscious, functioning management title all the way down to property ownership. Another problem he sees is that while there is a lot of biological science being done, there is little social science. He provided another article, "Systemic barriers to the restoration of aquatic ecosystems" by Jim Eldridge, Dept. of Justice for Canada. He then reviewed the list of speakers and provided a copy of the agenda for yesterday's all-day Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission meeting at Jamestown S'Klallam in which five tribes, one First Nation, and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission participated. Marine Resources Committee - May 15, 2002 Page: 3 Anne Murphy asked Doug to be more specific about how to approach the tribes, given there are nearly two years left in Phase I. Doug recommended being action oriented - dealing in specifics rather than abstractions, and avoid setting political traps. Tribes have very long timewlines and understand that unless there is a change in thinking and behavior, there will be more people creating more stress on the resources. Two years is not a long time to begin to set up something that would work better structurally and politically. Andy Palmer said he understands that the structure comes into play in the MP A initiative more than anywhere else and that there are a lot of projects in which tribes would participate, possibly even bracketing the MP A. Doug said tribes' participation and involvement in MPAs will be done in their own way and through their own means, otherwise they lose too much control. He said there was a meeting held at the Seattle Art Museum on MP A science needs in which there were four tribal people involved. Three projects were established in which the tribes will be involved and tracking, so tribes are not overlooking MP As. They do not want to get into a situation where people are at a table and whatever they do is going to be interpreted as an action. When asked who the MRC should include in its information loop, Doug said he is one conduit and reports to the Northwest Straits Commission on each MRC meeting. Anne Murphy, who received the previous report agreed to forward future reports to the MRC. She asked for an electronic copy of the needs assessment, which Doug agreed to provide, On behalf of the MRC, Anne expressed her appreciation for the frankness of his communications. Spike Hall said that Chris Weller of the Point No Point Treaty Council was interested in consulting on an instance~by-instance and action-by-action basis. While they cannot expend additional energy in meetings, they will cooperate whenever possible where there is an overlap with their projects. Northwest Straits Commission Report: Anne Murphy reported that the Education and Outreach Committee will produce a newsletter with highlights from MRCs. Target audiences are the public, other MRCS, and political leaders. It should be available in hard copy and electronically. Those interested in writing an article on a particular MRC project should contact her. Contractor Jeff June has put together a draft work plan for the derelict gear removal project. Buck Meloy asked that in his absence Larry Lawson involve himself on the Derelict Gear committee. The Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group received a $150K grant for derelict gear removal. Following the Orca Pass presentation, there were many questions and discussion. Anne believes this kind of discussion is a valuable part of hearing the proposal. She understands she is to represent the MRC on the proposal when the Commission considers a resolution of support in June. An Orca Pass book will be placed in the MRC library. Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife talked about the draft groundfish recovery plan. It was important for her to hear that they now err on the side of the resource rather than the socioweconomic side of the equation. In other words, lacking adequate information, we will lean toward conservation. Two target species are Pacific cod and dogfish. The Commission also heard an explanation of the process of proposing MP A sites. The next cycle for MP A development starts May 2003. At the next meeting, Chris Stafford will talk more about how MRCs could be in line with that process, if interested. Jefferson Co. Fair Booth: Andy Palmer led a discussion about whether or not the MRC should sign up for a fair booth again this year, which will be held the 2nd weekend of August. There was support for staffing a booth at the fair, but some concern about getting enough of MRC participation for the significant time commitment. In response to questions about how the booth will get people's attention, David Jenkins and Rex Rice agreed to work on booth presentation. Doug Dobyns also suggested getting Island Co. to bring their derelict gear presentation and possibly San Juan County's forage fish report. Another suggestion was that there be an interactive opportunity - such as put your sticker on the area of Jefferson County of most concern. Geoduck Presentation (see handout): Doug Williams, Program Manager for the Aquatic Resources Division, provided background on the geoduck program and the commercial geoduck industry. RCW 79.96.080 authorizes them to sell the resource as valuable material and 79.90 directs the sales method and advertising requirements. The estimate is that the State's total geoduck biomass is 674 million lbs.; of that 24% (or 163 million lbs.) is managed. The rest is not harvested because it is either not suitable for human health or Marine Resources Committee - May 15,2002 Page: 4 untouchable because of their proximity to ferries or parks. Out of 163 million, 1.8 million pounds are harvested annually by the State (with an equal amount to tribes as co~managers), from which the Department receives a range of $6~9 million. The Department's revenue goes back to municipalities in the Aquatic Lands Enhancement Account (ALEA). Fifty percent goes into operations, with Fish and Wildlife receiving $6 million for enforcement each biennium. He reviewed the presale assessment work by Fish and Wildlife to determine the amount that can be harvested without decreasing/impacting the resource. Although the maximum harvestable depth is 70 ft., they have seen geoducks at 500 ft. There have been deep water proposals, but there has not yet been a need to increase harvestable depths. He explained the setting of sales quotas and the sealed bid auction, and how purchasers have to produce a performance bond that is paid whether or not they harvest. After reviewing their harvesting rules and regulations, monitoring, recordkeeping and enforcement procedures, he talked about the high value of geoducks and the illegal harvesting, which occurs primarily at night in high- quality area such as Jefferson County. He talked about the qualifications of their 12-member dive team and the other services they provide from underwater construction to salvage and recovery. Questions from the MRC related to how beds are mapped, stock spawning and rate of replenishment, harvesting depth, and poaching, to which Mr. Williams provided additional information. It takes 2-3 yrs to get to spawning age and they are broadcast spawners with water temp and food abundance determining spawning time. Figures on the well-known geoduck poaching incident are still coming in, but there were approximately 90,000 pounds. It is expected that their taking of crab was even higher. All takes have to be shared among tribal and nontribal harvests amounts. He noted the Point Whitney Shellfish Lab had a geoduck hatchery program, but their broadcast planting program faded. They are having some success with tube planting and will be looking at a proposal for reestablishing a hatchery with test plots, although there questions about genetics. Andy thanked DNR for attending and said an electronic copy of the geoduck presentation will be placed in the MRC library. Carryover Funds from Previous Year: Anne Murphy said she was informed at the last Commission meeting that the MRC was $1,000 under budget on its Year II Action Grant. A discussion produced the following ideas for utilization of these funds: update the display board, add materials to the library or website, and reprint MRC materials. Dave Christensen agreed to confirm that there would be reimbursement for these expenditures. Members are to email ideas to Andy, Anne and Spike as members of the Executive Committee. Update on Request for Qualifications (see handouts): David Goldsmith announced that due to the County budget crisis, he has decided to pull Dave Christensen out of the Marine Resources Committee, reduce his hours, and refocus the Natural Resources Department. Beginning June 10, his replacement on the MRC will be Pat Pearson of WSU, who has an extensive background in water resource issues. Initially, the MRC will be the primary focus of her activities. He suggested the Executive Committee contact Katberine Baril of WSU about setting up an opportunity to meet Pat. Dave Christensen explained that he volunteered to cutback his hours, which came from the County general fund. When asked how this change will affect the administrative funding from the Northwest Straits Commission grants, David Goldsmith said that although WSU is also a part of the County, WSU would be the academic staff provider and the County would provide the remaining administrative support. Barbara Bowen will also no longer be supporting the MRC, although she and Dave will be able to assist in the transition during June. The responsibility of grant administration will have to be coordinated in June. The BOCC would continue to sign on contracts. Dave Christensen said he and Katherine Baril decided to hold the Request for Qualifications until Pat came on board because they felt she could help with the process. With the Olympia Oyster project going, in which there is one contract with Betsy Peabody, they felt Joanna or Barbara Bowen could handle coordination functions until a contractor is hired. There was some MRC disappointment that the RFQ did not go out on May 1 as scheduled. Jeff Gallant proposed the MRC finish developing the RFQ, approve it and send it out. There was support for Dave Christensen em ailing the RFQ to the MRC with further decision about its direction to be decided by the Executive Committee. Marine Resources Committee - May 15, 2002 Page: 5 MPA Report: Judy Damore distributed copies of the report prepared by Barbara Nightingale, which was submitted as part of the Year 2 Action Grant as well as the report of general responses from focus groups on which Barbara's report was based. Judy asked for MRC review and approval before copies of either are distributed to focus group participants who requested them. While Andy felt no formal action was necessary, there was agreement to wait until the next meeting to discuss any reactions before releasing the report. Since the facilitators report is raw data, it was felt that it should not be given unless someone asks for it specifically. A copy of the reports will be placed in the library. Derelict Gear Project: Larry Lawson said although there is no budget for the project, the Jefferson MRC is expected to participate in this project. Two of three other counties have budgeted $15,000 each, and the third has $2,000. The MRC would need to contact people in the community (divers, marinas) to identify and retrieve materials, and then document the retrieval. If a Jefferson County site is picked, member participation is encouraged to get the material to a recycler or landfill. This project is likely to be used to get more funds and promote another clean up. It was also suggested as an activity to promote at the fair. Observer Comments: John Cambalik reported that Fish and Wildlife is interested in the technique of covering creosoted piling with a polyethylene material. The contractor will also contact Ecology to discuss water quality testing. He distributed copies of Puget Sound Health 2002, noting that it is based on large-scale Puget Sound wide data sets. Two articles in the latest Sound Waves, which can downloaded from website, relate to the Olympia Oyster and forage fish project in Jefferson Co. He also sent e-mails to the MRC related to the UC Davis MEHP Grant and the early warning system for shellfish closure areas from the Department of Health and action team. He noted Hadlock is on the list. Significant Natural Area: Barbara Nightingale announced she is organizing a tour of Pulali Point in Brinnon, which a 1990 report by Admiralty Audubon identified as a significant natural area. She mentioned there are two volumes of this report that might be good to have in the MRC library. She and Ginna Correa of Fish and Wildlife toured this site recently as a part of working on the limiting factors analysis for salmon habitat in Jefferson County. She invited MRC members to come and see this site. There was some discussion whether a research project on this site with old growth riparian vegetation might qualify for an MEHP grant, but it was suggested that it might best be a project for next year. Another suggestion was that it might be a habitat stewardship site. Michelle McConnell asked whether the MRC has commented on the County or City Comprehensive Plans or the Shoreline Management Plan as they relate to the benchmarks. Jeff Gallant said that while he has taken a look at specific sections, the MRC has not taken this on as a project. He announced that the Port of Port Townsend is also beginning the process of updating its Compo Scheme for its nine properties. He will try to collect materials to begin to inventory what is occurring at these individual sites. Dave Christensen said the shoreline plan is on hold because the State felt that the County needed to be further along with its in inventory. In the next grant, there has to be a plan produced. With current budget cutbacks its future is uncertain. OTHER/ADMINISTRATIVE - None PREPARE AGENDA/ADJOURN The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 19, 2002 at 7:00 PM in the Port Townsend Community Center Dining Hall, Port Townsend, Washington. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 PM. MARINE RESOURCES COMMITTEE Andy Palmer, Chair