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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019 03 19 NPC MRC FINAL Meeting Summary.docxNPC MRC 3/19/2019 FINAL Meeting Summary 1 March 19th, 2019 NPC MRC 1st FINAL Meeting Summary The Tuesday, March 19, 2019 NPC MRC meeting took place at the Forest Hemlock Room, UW Olympic Natural Resources Center (ONRC), at 1455 S Forks Avenue, Forks, WA from 4:00 (00:00:47 on the audio counter) to 5:50 PM [01:50:14]. Appointed committee members present at the meeting were Rod Fleck (City of Forks), John Hunter (Citizen Rep., Clallam County –Conservation/Environmental Groups), 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), Jill Silver (Citizen Rep., Jefferson County – Conservation/Environmental Groups) and Chiggers Stokes (Citizen Rep., Jefferson County – Recreational Groups). A quorum was present at the beginning of the meeting. Also present were Rebekah Brooks (ONRC [called in]), Frank Hanson (ONRC), Heather Lewis (West Olympic Council of the Arts [called in]), Ian Miller (Washington Sea Grant [called in]) and Rich Osborne (Coast Salmon Partnership). Introductions Public Comments There were none. Additions to and Approval of the Agenda Katie Krueger asked to add an update on the ROV program; the updated agenda was approved by consensus. Approval of the February Meeting Summary The Summary was approved by consensus as written. Announcements Tami Pokorny announced an oil spill contingency plan that is being discussed, with multiple meetings and workshops from now until May. RainFest will be on the weekend of 4/20/19, which is the same day as the CoastSavers Washington Coast Cleanup. A new law has been passed that recognizes Washington’s maritime history. A HAZWOPPER training will be held in Everett at Everett Community College on 3/23/19. Frank Hanson announced ONRC’s Evening Talk this Thursday on marine birds, a steelhead community meeting on Friday, the Olympic Forestry Collaborative Stakeholder’s meeting next Tuesday, and another ONRC Evening Talk on 3/28/19 on Olympic Experimental State Forest adaptive management. Old Business RainFest River and Ocean Days Planning Tami Pokorny requested help on Saturday morning with umbrella decorating. The parade theme is “Work and Play on the Coast.” Chiggers Stokes and his band will be playing in accompaniment to the parade. Tami asked Rod Fleck about police assistance to help kids cross side streets after the parade. Volunteers are needed to provide goodies for the bake sale during the Film Fest. The bake sale donations will go to Kim Kearns’ science class to support their involvement in the ROV program and competition. Heather Lewis said the biggest need for NPC MRC 3/19/2019 FINAL Meeting Summary 2 volunteers so far was for crossing guards; she said that the West Olympic Council of the Arts was still working out details and would get back to the NPC MRC about other possible needs. *Deborah Kucipeck and Tami volunteered to help as crossing guards. Alice Ryan offered some of her students’ marine artwork for displays. *Ian Miller will check with Sea Grant about display possibilities. Ian gave an update on Film Fest: twenty-two films were submitted. *He will send out the score sheet to the volunteer reviewers. Roy Morris, Katie Krueger, and Alice’s student Dakota Smith volunteered to review the films. One of the films submitted is a mini documentary from UW about one of the volcanoes off our coast; it is an older film that needs to be updated to high resolution for a fee of $200. Tami said that if the film is highly reviewed, the update fee can come out administrative funds. Ian asked for people to distribute the Film Fest poster. Tami said that the River and Ocean Days Banner is starting to show signs of wear; *she will look into how much it will cost to renovate it. MRC Summit Planning Tami Pokorny has been working out details for catering, hosting the Summit at ONRC, and having a fiscal agent other than the County to receive donations. Rod Fleck said the Veterans Association has represented other entities as fiscal agent that in the past. The Summit is scheduled for 10/23/19 to 10/25/19. Suggested topics included green crab, Forks hosting the ROV competition, marine educators, toxicity of plastics, a field trip, maritime heritage, presentations on NPC MRC projects, the Pleistocene wood, and geology on the outer coast. Suggested themes included wildlife and invasives, and diverse marine problems in the larger Forks area. *Katie Krueger and Deborah Kucipeck volunteered to help work on a draft schedule. Nonpoint Pollution Project and Video Class Updates Tami Pokorny distributed a draft flyer with a schedule for the video class, which will be held at the Rainforest Arts Center. The NPC MRC made edits to the flyer. New Business Pinto Abalone Letter The Jefferson MRC launched a letter from the Board of County Commissioners to the WDFW to list the Pinto Abalone as a State endangered species; the Pinto lives in the Strait and Puget Sound. Tami Pokorny thought maybe the NPC MRC should also be mentioned in support of the letter since all of the coastal tribes have used abalone as a resource and trade item. The NPC MRC reviewed and edited the letter, and agreed by consensus to support it as adjusted. Letter to FEMA for WA Sea Grant Ian Miller explained a request for a letter of support for a proposal from the Department of Ecology and the Emergency Management Division (EMD) to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) program for State emergency management. The Ruckelshaus Center compiled an assessment of needs associated with enhancing coastal resilience along Washington’s coast from interviews they conducted of all the MRCs a couple of years ago. Because of that assessment, the Department of Ecology is partnering with the EMD to apply to FEMA to hire a staff person to work as a liaison between the Coastal Zone Management Program at Ecology and the EMD. Currently those two entities tend to operate very separately; the world of hazard planning is disconnected from the world of long-term community planning. This liaison is intended to bridge that gap. Jennifer Hagen had asked Ian for more information on the proposal, including the following questions: 1: What is the proposal executive summary? Ian outlined the proposal in emails sent to the group, and in his answers to the additional questions. 2: What are the proposed objectives and deliverables? The request to FEMA is for $174, 000, and is primarily associated with hiring the liaison position, and with supporting focus on the Risk Map Program, a new FEMA emphasis on providing non-regulatory hazard information to communities that has been fairly well received in Washington. 3: How will funds be distributed? EMD will administer the funds. 4: What are the tangible benefits for coastal communities? EMD and Ecology already offer technical assistance to communities who are doing adaptation planning. The key benefit will be having more people to respond to those requests for assistance. 5: Will local emergency management be involved? The partners list in the proposal includes local emergency management, but not specific contacts. Ruckelshaus did interview local emergency management personnel when they developed their recommendations in the report, so Ian assumed NPC MRC 3/19/2019 FINAL Meeting Summary 3 that factored into their planning. 6: What is the timeline? The proposal and letter of support are due Thursday. The NPC MRC discussed whether or not and how to support the proposal with a letter. They decided to use the letter Ian provided as a template, and sign it individually as NPC MRC members if they chose to do so. *Ian will provide an email address to email letters of support, since they will not get there in time if they are mailed. Possible Scope Change – Shoreline Dynamics Ian Miller outlined a possible scope change to his NPC MRC-funded project studying geomorphology on several West End beaches. He has been collecting data on Rialto and Kalaloch since last summer, looking for patterns of seasonal erosion. As part of that proposal, he had budgeted for more travel money, which he has not used. He has also been asked by the Makah Tribe to start work out at Hobuck Beach, looking at the erosion that has been taking place over the last several winters. His request is to use some of the unused travel funds to support two trips to Hobuck Beach. There were no objections from the NPC MRC. Newsletter Tami Pokorny gave an update on the West End Natural Resources Newsletter. *Alice Ryan volunteered to write an article on the ROV program and competition. *Katie Krueger will send her photos of the training to Alice. *Jill Silver will send an outline on how reed canary grass is moving down the rivers into wetlands and along beaches to Tami. *Frank Hanson volunteered to write an article on the North Pacific Coast Lead Entity. Updates Orca Task Force Rich Osborne gave an update. The Task Force is in the process of determining what they want the working groups to focus on in the coming year. Last year’s actions and other associated documents can be found at the Governor’s Task Force webpage: https://www.governor.wa.gov/issues/issues/energy- environment/southern-resident-killer-whale-recovery-and-task-force. Marine Debris (All) Jill Silver reported a truck tire and many pieces of plastic at Rialto. Alice Ryan said the art students in the Andy Goldsworthy Sculpture Class at the Quileute Tribal School are required to pick up trash on their way back from the beach when they go out to collect material. Washington Coast Marine Advisory Council (WCMAC)/Marine Spatial Planning The last meeting was held on 12/12/18 in Aberdeen. The next meeting will be held tomorrow, 3/20/19. The focus is on coastal resiliency. Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council The last meeting was held on 3/15/19. Katie Krueger and Tami Pokorny gave an overview of the agenda. Katie said that they are hiring a full-time position for the local Sanctuary Foundation chapter and will consider applicants from the Puget Sound area. The technical talks were on deep coral, oil spill response, and scrap metal dumping within the Sanctuary. There was also a presentation from the new Sea Grant director. Added Agenda Item: ROV Competition Katie Krueger discussed the Marine Advanced Technology and Education (MATE) program, designed to teach kids about marine technology through ROV building, competition and presentation. There will be a training day this Saturday at the ONRC. They are looking for judges for this year’s competition on 5/18/19. Volunteers should contact Nicole Harris at Nicole.harris@noah.gov. More information on the MATE program can be found at https://www.marinetech.org/. West Coast Ocean Alliance Jennifer Hagen was not present for an update. Washington Marine Resources Advisory Council (MRAC) NPC MRC 3/19/2019 FINAL Meeting Summary 4 There was nothing new to report, but good information can be found at their website: https://ecology.wa.gov/About-us/Our-role-in-the-community/Partnerships-committees/Marine-Resources- Advisory-Council. Climate/Fossil Fuels Related (All) There was nothing new to report. Administration and Fiscal Agent Update Tami Pokorny said that she was going to get the RainFest costs together. Next Agenda (April 16, 2019): The next NPC MRC Meeting will be held at the ONRC in Forks on 4/16/19. Larry Phillips with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is meeting with all the MRCs; Tami Pokorny has asked him to attend a full meeting, but he has not scheduled one yet. Public Comments/General Alice Ryan announced the Quileute Tribal School’s upcoming Carnival of Science, The Carnival of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics), on 4/18/19 from 4 to 6 pm. She welcomed involvement, from presentations to attendance. Adjourn at 5:50 PM (01:50:14 on the counter) Action Items: *Deborah Kucipeck and Tami Pokorny volunteered to help as crossing guards during RainFest. *Ian Miller will check with Sea Grant about display possibilities at RainFest. *Ian will send out the score sheet to the volunteer reviewers for Film Fest. *Tami will look into how much it will cost to renovate the River and Ocean Days Banner. *Katie Krueger and Deborah volunteered to help work on a draft schedule for the MRC Summit. *Ian will provide an email address to email letters of support for the proposal to FEMA, since they will not get there in time if they are mailed. Newsletter: *Alice Ryan volunteered to write an article on the ROV program and competition. *Katie Krueger will send her photos of the training to Alice. *Jill Silver will send an outline on how reed canary grass is moving down the rivers into wetlands and along beaches to Tami. *Frank Hanson volunteered to write an article on the North Pacific Coast Lead Entity. Draft summary compiled by Rebekah Brooks.