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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM051601 Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee Minutes Wednesday, May 16,2001 Present: Judy Damore, District 1 Larry Fay, Jefferson County Environmental Health Jeff Gallant, District 1 (Vice Chair) Spike Hall, Citizen Larry Lawson, Commercial Fishing Barhara Nightingale, Citizen Andrew Palmer, District 3 (Chair) Deborah Siefert, Marine Science Practitioner Richard Wojt, Jefferson County Commissioner Absent: Larry Crockett, ex-officio, Port of Port Townsend Excused Sydney Lipton, Local Government, City Excused Anne Murphy, District 2 Excused Linda Newherry, Jamestown S'Klallam Trihe Rex Rice, Environment Excused Bill Kalina, ex-officio, U.S. Navy, Indian Island Excused Guests: Paula Mackrow, North Olympic Salmon Coalition Chair Andy Palmer called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM in the basement conference room of the Jefferson County Courthouse Port Townsend, Washington. Minutes of the April meeting were approved as written. OLD BUSINESS YEAR TWO ACTION GRANT: Larry Fay reported that the Year 2 Grant Contract has been signed and the Forage Fish subcommittee is already working on tasks associated with the grant. A consultant roster is being formulated to aid the MRC in filling the volunteer recruitment and facilitator positions associated with the Forage Fish and MPA projects. DC DAVIS GRANT (See written pre~proposal): The MP A subcommittee reviewed the draft pre-proposal for the MP A project described as "Public Participation, Developing Protocols for Selecting MP As and Identification of Candidate Sites." Barbara Nightingale reviewed the four phases outlined in the proposal: Phase 1 being the Year 1 grant for public outreach and education, which was completed in December 2000; Phase 2 utilizes the Year 2 grant for exploring MP A models; Phase 3 focuses MEHP grant funds on a technical analysis for pilot site design and implementation; and Phase 4 would fund continued identification of multiple sites. While this pre-proposal is similar to the pre-proposal submitted to DC Davis last year, it has been reshaped to include more technical analysis, which will follow the sociological analysis as designed in the Year 2 Grant. Jeff Gallant suggested that the MRC coordinate with other counties on MP As to ensure that the technical analysis and development of criteria and protocols aligns itself with the overall regional standards that are being set. Andy Palmer mentioned that three other counties in the Northwest Straits Commission are applying for these MEHP funds for forage fish related work. Gary Wood is trying to coordinate all of the forage fish efforts. It was moved and approved by consensus to continue to pursue the MPA project in the application to DC Davis. Comments or suggestions to the UC Davis proposal should be forwarded to Barbara Nightingale by May 23, 2001. The subcommittee also proposed that the MRC consider using another agency for administering this grant. Reasons cited were that it would provide an opportunity to build a relationship with another nonprofit agency, might increase funding opportunities, and would relieve the County of some of the responsibilities for grant administration. There was support for the subcommittee further investigating how to structure a relationship with an administrative agency other than the County and reporting back to the MRC at the next meeting. It was noted Marine Resources Committee - May 16,2001 Page: 2 that the MRC was chartered by a resolution of the County Commissioners. It was mentioned that in San Juan County, the County acts as a clearinghouse for grants, contracting with other organizations to help manage the grants. Andy Palmer added that the Northwest Straits Commission was set up as a 501(c)(3) to be able to accept funds from a foundation that may not be willing to grant to a government entity. MEMBERSHIP RECOMMENDATIONS: Andy Palmer reported that he recently spoke with Commissioner Huntingford about the MRC becoming more actively involved in the selection of MRC members. In San Juan County, the Commissioners send applications through the MRC for recommendations. This arrangement gives the Commissioners an opportunity to hear from the MRC about the type of people the MRC feels it needs. The By-laws do not preclude this arrangement and Andy Palmer agreed to have further discussions with the Commissioner's Office about formalizing this proposal. Names of potential MRC member candidates from District 3 should be forwarded to Andy Palmer. Commissioner Wojt commented that the BOCC is interested in maintaining a geographical distribution of District representation. FEDERAL NEWS: Andy Palmer reported that the budget the President submitted to Congress did not include the $500,000 line item in the NOAA budget. A letter urging restoration of those funds has been forwarded to our congressional delegation. Larry Fay agreed to forward an electronic copy of the letter to the MRC. NEW BUSINESS & REPORTS NORTHWEST STRAITS COMMISSION REPORT (see written report): Andy Palmer reported that aside from a discussion about the uncertainty of federal funding, another topic of interest at the last meeting was the grant proposal submitted by Gary Wood on behalf of the Commission regarding the identification and removal of derelict fishing gear. When available, a final copy of the derelict fishing gear proposal will be forwarded to the MRC. He distributed a discussion paper prepared by Andrea Copping on what constitutes key indicator species. The Commission will next meet on Thursday, May 24, 2001 at the Red Lion Inn in Port Angeles. MPA SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT (see written report): Topics discussed at their last meeting included the UC Davis Pre-proposal, Year 2 Action Grant, and PIE Grant application. Their June meeting will focus on finalizing specific goals and objectives for Year 2 Action Grant focus groups. Following an explanation by Larry Fay on the use of the consultant register, the MP A subcommittee agreed to meet with him regarding the process for hiring a facilitator and will identify the objective of the focus groups. It was suggested that Kurt Dobszinky be considered as a focus group attendee. FUNDRAISING SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT: Andy Palmer agreed to post to the MRC the date of the next meeting. He has spoken with the US Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which is also partnering in the NOSC forage fish proposal. Gary Wood has agreed to meet with the committee to share his fundraising knowledge. A tracking database of foundations and grant deadlines would be desirable. LIBRARY SUBCOMMITTEE REPORT: The subcommittee reported that $1,500 from the 2000~2001 administrative grant will be used for a website update and searchable annotated bibliography. The MP A subcommittee expressed interest in how a searchable database could be used for showing the status of existing MPAs, including potential MPA sites and site characteristics in Jefferson County. It was suggested that Mike Murray's MPA report and the World Wildlife Federation MPA resources first be investigated for current MP A information. It was mentioned that there is a separate section of MP A materials in the MRC library at WSU and that several pertinent MP A bibliographies are listed on the MRC website. FORAGE FISH REPORT: The subcommittee reported on their process for interviewing and selecting the North Olympic Salmon Coalition for the Year 2 Action Grant volunteer recruitment tasks. They also reviewed the scope of the MRC portion of the forage fish survey project, which is to inform landowners and obtain their permission for beach access, recruit and train volunteers, and prepare a landowner report. This project will contribute to a large-scale near shore assessment and will add to an existing database of forage fish spawning Marine Resources Committee - May 16, 2001 Page: 3 habitat. There was some discussion about how the MRC's role in this project contributes to its benchmarks through educating the public and protecting the resources. OTHER/ADMINISTRATIVE NEXT MEETING: There was interest in having a presentation from the Department of Ecology on water quality in Jefferson County and obtaining report summaries in the MRC library to review in advance of the presentation. Other suggestions for speakers included Jim Norris on eelgrass and a USGS presentation of data from side scan sonar software. Paula Mackrow suggested the following potential speakers and topics: Ron Hirschi on the drift cell concept and Randy Johnson from the Department of Fish and Wildlife on tidal prisms and approach to near shore processes and estuarine environment. Following discussion, there was support for inviting Ron Hirschi to present on the drift cell concept at the June meeting to be followed by the water quality presentation LONG-RANGE PLANNING DISCUSSION: Larry Fay announced that the BOCC has now approved a proposal to create a Natural Resources Division, one of the responsibilities of which is to staff and coordinate efforts of the various subcommittees including the MRC. Beginning around the first of July, this division will be headed by Dave Christensen. Members thanked Larry Fay for his efforts in supporting the MRC. In response to a question about the status of updating the shoreline master program, Larry Fay said Josh Peters in Community Development was taking the planning lead. Andy Palmer commented that the MRC might have recommendations on the shoreline master program during the next year. There was discussion about the uncertainty of the MRC's direction beyond the 5~year Straits initiative. Comments were captured as follows. A gap in the direction that the resolution offers might lead the MRC to enter into discussions with the County Commissioners for direction to continue to oversee the health of the marine ecosystem in the County. It would be important to begin partnering and cultivating relationships with other organizations that have connections to different funding sources thereby reducing the dependency on the Northwest Straits Commission. The linkage with the tribes is a key issue in the MRCs and Commission's efforts, and there will remain a need for a coordinating body. While it was thought to be helpful to have subcommittees outline their long-range plans, there may be areas that are not being addressed in subcommittees. It was proposed that the MRC Operations/Administration Subcommittee meet before the next meeting to discuss having a one-day retreat devoted to long-range planning with facilitation. It was also suggested that the MRC revisit the list of priorities developed a year ago. With the benchmarks providing the framework, the MRC could start identifying a five~year rolling plan. PREPARE AGENDA / ADJOURN The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 20, 2001 at 7:00 PM in the basement conference room of the Jefferson County Courthouse, Port Townsend, Washington. The meeting adjourned at 9:05 PM. MARINE RESOURCES COMMITTEE Andy Palmer, Chair Leslie Locke From: Sent: To: Subject: Richard Wojt Wednesday, May 23, 2001 11 :52 PM Leslie Locke FW: MRC Minutes From: Joanna Sanders[SMTP:SANDERS@WAVPT.COM] Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2001 11 :46:31 PM To: mrcmembers@onenw.org Subject: MRC Minutes Auto forwarded by a Rule Attached are the minutes of last week's MRC Meeting. Action items were noted as follows (and are italicized in the minutes): Comments or suggestions to the UC Davis proposal should be forwarded to Barbara Nightingale by May 23, 2001. There was support for the subcommittee further investigating how to structure a relationship with an administrative agency other than the County and reporting back to the MRC at the next meeting. Larry Fay agreed to forward to the MRC an electronic copy of the letter to the Congressional delegation requesting restoration of funds. Andy Palmer agreed to have further discussions with the Commissioner's Office about formalizing the proposal regarding membership recommendations. Names of potential MRC member candidates from District 3 should be forwarded to Andy Palmer. When available, a final copy of the derelict fishing gear proposal from the Northwest Straits Commission will be forwarded to the MRC. It was proposed that the MRC Operations/Administration Subcommittee meet before the next meeting to discuss having a one-day retreat devoted to long-range planning with facilitation. ~ May 16. 2001 Minules.rtf A TT00004. Ixl 1