Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutM102601 Northwest Straits NORTHWEST STRAITS marine conservation initiative Northwest Straits Commission Meeting Discovery Theater, Semiahmoo Resort, Blaine October 26, 2001 Decisions and Future Agenda Topics DRAFT Members attending: Andrea Copping, Bill Dietrich, Duane Fagergren, Kathy Fletcher, Buck Meloy, Anne Murphy, Joe Schmitt, Kent Scudder, Mike Stoner, Paul Dinnel (alt.) Kevin Ranker, Mike Sato, Terry Williams, Gary Wood Kirby Johnson, Andy Palmer Rachelle Hein, Terry Stevens Tom Cowan, Sasha Horst, Kate Smukler Members absent: Alternates attending: Resource support: Staff: Kent Scudder, Commission Chair, opened the meeting at 1:13 PM with introductions and an overview of the agenda. Minutes from the September 28, 2001 Commission meeting were reviewed and approved as written. Kathy Fletcher asked for an update regarding the information requested from Tim Smith of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Tom Cowan will request that Tim send information in advance of his presentation next month. Committee chairs provided their monthly reports. Administrative/Planning Committee, chair Duane Fagergren had no new topics to present. There was no meeting of the Tribal Committee. Interviews are scheduled for the Tribal Liaison. Fundraising Committee, chair Gary Wood was not present. Technical Committee chair, Andrea Copping updated the Commission on the Nearshore Habitat Project, the Derelict Gear Project, and the Puget Sound Nearshore Habitat Project. Education Committee, chair Kathy Fletcher welcomed everyone to the MRC Conference, which has been a major topic for the committee recently. Terry Stevens provided an update on the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Foundation. Sample donation envelopes were distributed and will be provided to conference participants. Tom Cowan provided information about the administrative status of the Derelict Gear Removal project. A press release was issued and has created lots of media interest. Joe Schmitt provided a copy of an article from the Peninsula Daily News. A radio interview will be aired Friday, October 26 and Saturday, October 27 on KPLU NPR radio. Several other contacts have been made. The next step is to hire a lead for the project, which will be the focus after the MRC Conference. Discussion followed regarding partnerships with state agencies. Duane Fagergren noted that PSAT has committed PIE funds to the project. The Year Three Action Grants were discussed. Tom Cowan noted that most MRCs have many tasks, which is a change from previous Action Grants. Andrea Copping is establishing peer reviews (3-5 for each grant) and noted that the level of understanding is much more advanced from previous years. Full proposals are due by the end of the month. Grants are to be issued in January, 2002. Discussion followed regarding the format of proposals and concerns about timing of tasks and billing issues. Sharon Riggs plans to do training on grant billing in the near future. County proposals included the following: Clallam: identify contamination of shellfish in Dungeness Bay. Island: nearshore mapping and derelict gear Jefferson: forage fish, MPA development; re-establishing Olympia oysters. San Juan: bottomfish recovery Skagit: continue Rapid Shoreline Inventory; derelict gear; forage fish. Snohomish: forage fish; Dungeness crab stewardship. Whatcom: forage fish; bottomfish data management Terry Stevens requested that the Commission create a work plan for 2002 earlier than usual, preferably by the end of January. During public comment, Erika Stroebel, chair of the Whatcom MRC, introduced Ami Stillings. Ami is new to Water Resources and is a shellfish specialist. MRC representatives summarized their current MRC activities. Clallam MRC Elected Dr. Rob Erdman as alternate to the Commission; had a presentation from Anchor Environmental; completed their early action project Interactive Public Workshop Series with copies now available. Island MRC did not provide a report. Jefferson MRC also had a productive presentation from Anchor Environmental that included a representative from the Point No Point Treaty Council; had a presentation from the US Fish and Wildlife Service about Protection Island; held a special meeting to finalize their Action Grant and address communication issues at MRC meetings; continued to hold focus group meetings in the community. San Juan MRC has surveyed over 220 beaches to date in the forage fish project; had a presentation from Larry Moulton on Forage Fish protocols; has continued to monitor the depths of four tagged lingcod; is partnering with Friends of the San Juans and UW Labs on Phase II Forage Fish Spawning Habitat Protection Project. Skagit MRC is working on Phase 2 of the Rocky Reef Bottomfish project and contacted Lummi and Swinomish to include them in project; several members attended an MP A Conference in White Rock, BC; had a presentation from Anchor Environmental. Snohomish MRC Had a presentation from Anchor Environmental; finalized Action Grant Proposal with two projects (Forage Fish assessments and Dungeness Crab Stewardship); worked on developing a process for drafting recommendations to County Council. Whatcom MRC had a presentation from Anchor Environmental on the nearshore habitat project; had a presentation from Gary Wood of Island County MRC regarding the derelict gear project; designated Buck Meloy as the MRC contact for the derelict gear project and Clare Fogelsong as the MRC contact for the forage fish project; established a subcommittee to finalize the MRC Action Grant proposal; made substantial progress on the Whatcom MRC web site which should be ready to post soon. Tom Schadt from Anchor Environmental provided an update of the Nearshore Habitat Project and answered questions. It was noted that the data they are working with is mainly large scale. Each MRC will receive layered digital maps along with all the data sets. The project is scheduled to conclude in December. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 4:10 PM. The next meeting will be on November 30 in Jefferson County. Meeting topics should be suggested to Commission staff by November 10.