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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020 04 21 NPC MRC FINAL Meeting Summary.docxNPC MRC 4/21/2020 FINAL Meeting Summary 1 April 21, 2020 NPC MRC FINAL Meeting Summary The Tuesday, April 21, 2020 NPC MRC meeting took place by Zoom connection only from 4:00 to 5:55 PM (from [00:00:45] to [01:48:00] on the audio recording). Appointed committee members present at the meeting were Rod Fleck (City of Forks Rep.), John Hunter (Citizen Rep., Clallam County – Education/Environmental Groups), Julie Ann Kohlinger (Hoh Tribe Rep.), Katie Krueger (Citizen Rep., Clallam County – Scientific Community), Deborah Kucipeck (Clallam County Rep.), Tami Pokorny (Jefferson County Rep., Coordinator/Facilitator), Alice Ryan (Citizen Rep., Clallam County – Recreational Groups), and Jill Silver (Citizen Rep., Jefferson County – Conservation/Environmental Groups). A quorum was present at the meeting. Also present were Rebekah Brooks (Rebekah Brooks Contracting), Ian Miller (UW Sea Grant), Rich Osborne (Olympic Natural Resources Center) and James Roubal (Washington CoastSavers). Introductions A quorum was established during the meeting. Public Comments There were no public comments. Additions to and Approval of the Agenda The agenda was approved by consensus without changes. Approval of the February and March Meeting Summaries Approval of the February and March NPC MRC Meeting Summaries was postponed because they were delayed. Announcements Rod Fleck announced that Governor Inslee would be giving a press conference at 5:00 PM about COVID-19 updates. Old Business River & Ocean Film Festival Planning Ian Miller sent out several suggestions for how to move forward with the Film Festival, including offering a virtual showing over Zoom, releasing the videos over social media one at a time, or making it a project for a later NPC MRC funding round. The group discussed options and ideas, with most interest in offering the Film Festival as a remote viewing event with the opportunity for conversation over social media. *Ian will talk to the Sea Grant communications team to see if they have any ideas about what might work best. He will bring more concrete proposals to the next NPC MRC meeting. MRC Resolution Amendment Update Tami Pokorny and Deborah Kucipeck have been working with the Jefferson and Clallam Counties legal staff. The Clallam County attorney had some issues with the amendment, which were integrated in. The final amendment is with the Clallam County legal department; Deborah expected to have an answer by tomorrow. Washington NPC MRC 4/21/2020 FINAL Meeting Summary 2 Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) provided the umbrella agreement for all of the projects last week, so there should be more movement on those soon. New Business What’s Happening in Education – John Hunter John Hunter distributed several videos he made for his students on shifting the education model. He reported a lot of anxiety from teachers and students as they make things up as they go along, and said it was a work in progress. He shared his videos: Asynchronous Learning, and Advisory Systems Spaghetti. Discussion followed on the challenges of virtual communication. John requested short videos from NPC MRC members if they are interested, to share what they do with his class. Alice Ryan echoed his request for her own students. *Jill Silver offered to send a video. *Katie Krueger suggested that John and Alice get in touch with Anne Schaffer with Coastal Watershed Institute for education materials, and offered to email Anne’s contact information. Project Updates and Process to Amend to Adapt to Pandemic Response James Roubal with CoastSavers presented on changes to their project due to COVID-19. The Washington Conservation Corps crew was cancelled as of late March, and there is uncertainty over the timeline of beach closures. CoastSavers launched a new Earth Day photo contest of photos from past cleanups and safe neighborhood cleanups, with some good submissions so far. The Washington Coast Cleanup was supposed to be this Saturday on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, but will instead be held as a virtual cleanup with a presentation from James. They are trying to find innovative ways to get people involved from home, or in small local cleanups. James also went over the process of standardizing their data to help inform future policy. He requested to use the earlier project funds to retain staff, develop protocols, and make the program more robust and effective during this challenging time. Tami Pokorny added that WDFW is supportive of securing funds for approved projects, and the County is amenable to processing the projects requests as they were proposed, with amendments to follow up as applicable. Some of the projects are affected in a sweeping way, like the education workshop that will have to be cancelled; others are relatively unaffected like the otter and geology studies. Discussion followed on how to work out a procedure for project amendments. It takes three and a half months to process any of the three allowable amendments with WDFW, so Tami would like to submit them all together. *Tami will reach out to sponsors with a formal request for amendments and budget revisions, and will send them out prior to the next NPC MRC meeting for approval at the meeting. Newsletter Articles Tami Pokorny made a request for volunteers for articles for the West End Natural Resources Newsletter. Discussion followed on article suggestions, including the implications to the nearshore from the work at the mouth of the Elwha, the impact of invasive species on the coast, and an update on the OCNMS sentinel site. Rich Osborne suggested using a screen shot of the Zoom meeting screen for the Newsletter cover; *Alice Ryan and Katie Kruger will send their screen shots to Tami. *Jill Silver, Julie Ann Kohlinger and Alice volunteered to write articles. *Rod Fleck said he would follow up with Tami about a possible article. Updates Invasive European Green Crab Julie Ann Kohlinger reported some State funding that should be coming to the coast for an invasive species program, and some talk about how to define the problem. There have not been any decisions about where the funding and efforts are going to go. Discussion followed on the transition from the monumental attempt to control the green crab population by capturing them individually to learning how to mitigate and live with the problem. Marine Debris (All) Since no one can access the beaches much, there was nothing new to report beyond James Roubal’s presentation earlier in the meeting. NPC MRC 4/21/2020 FINAL Meeting Summary 3 Washington Coastal Marine Advisory Council (WCMAC) The last meeting was held remotely on 4/1/20; presentations were on harmful algal blooms, European green crab, and the resilience action from the Department of Ecology. The Economic Workshop that Rod Fleck is involved in will be rescheduled. The next meeting will be held remotely on 6/10/20. Meeting materials can be found at the Ecology website: https://ecology.wa.gov/About-us/Our-role-in-the-community/Partnerships- committees/Marine-Resources-Advisory-Council. Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council The next meeting is scheduled for 5/29/20 in Neah Bay. West Coast Ocean Alliance There was nothing new to report. Climate/Fossil Fuels Related (All) The group discussed the negative price of oil and the reduction in fossil fuels. Administration and Fiscal Agent Update The project amendments were addressed earlier in the meeting. Deborah Kucipeck will be in touch with Tami Pokorny when she hears from the Clallam County legal department regarding the resolution update. Next Agenda (May 19, 2020): The next NPC MRC Meeting will be held over Zoom connection on 5/19/20. Public Comments/General Rich Osborne announced that the State is funding a permanent, full-time position to implement the tasks that the Orca Task Force recommended. Discussion followed on the impacts of State and federal funding cuts. Adjourn at 5:55 PM [01:48:00] Draft summary compiled by Rebekah Brooks. Action Items: *Ian Miller will talk to the Sea Grant communications team to see if they have any ideas about what might work best. He will bring more concrete proposals to the next NPC MRC meeting. *Jill Silver offered to send a video for John Hunter and Alice Ryan to use in their classes. *Katie Krueger offered to email Anne Schaffer’s contact information to John and Alice. *Tami Pokorny will reach out to sponsors with a formal request for amendments and budget revisions, and will send them out prior to the next NPC MRC meeting for approval at the meeting. *Alice and Katie will send their screen shots of the Zoom meeting to Tami. *Jill, Julie Ann Kohlinger and Alice volunteered to write articles for the West End Natural Resources Newsletter. *Rod Fleck said he would follow up with Tami about a possible article for the Newsletter.