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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019 05 21 NPC MRC FINAL Meeting Summary.docxNPC MRC 5/21/2019 FINAL Meeting Summary 1 May 21st, 2019 NPC MRC FINAL Meeting Summary The Tuesday, May 21, 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 4:08 (00:00:01 on the audio counter) to 5:53 PM [01:45:00]. Appointed committee members present at the meeting were 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), Jill Silver (Citizen Rep., Jefferson County – Conservation/Environmental Groups), Riley Smith (Makah Tribe Rep.) 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), Frank Hanson (ONRC), Ian Miller (Washington Sea Grant), Tommy Moore (Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission), Tiffany Peterson (Makah Tribe Water Quality), Roy Morris (Clallam County Citizen) and Rich Osborne (Coast Salmon Partnership). Introductions Public Comments Katie Krueger gave an update on the successful Marine Advanced Technology Education ROV Competition, which took place the previous weekend. Alice Ryan got the Best Mentor Award; the Quileute Tribal School received several recognitions as well. Jill Silver said that UW professor Kathy Troost, who is leading the research on the Pleistocene Wood project, was out last weekend with three graduation students; she has collected a great deal of information. Kathy Troost wishes to give a presentation to the NPC MRC, an ONRC Evening Talk and at the MRC Summit. Tami Pokorny asked Katie if she would be willing to write an article on the ROV Competition for the West End Natural Resources Newsletter; *Katie will connect with Alice Ryan on this. Additions to and Approval of the Agenda The agenda was approved by consensus without changes. Approval of the April Meeting Summary The Summary was approved by consensus as written. Announcements Announcements were addressed under public comments. Old Business Nonpoint Pollution Sampling Tami Pokorny reported that she, Jennifer Hagen and Deborah Kucipeck have worked out a plan to sample for water quality at least twice at six sites. The project should start moving forward by next week. *Jill Silver volunteered some of her crewmembers for the sampling. Invasive Green Crab Trapping NPC MRC 5/21/2019 FINAL Meeting Summary 2 Tommy Moore is helping Jennifer Hagen with the Quileute Tribe green crab trapping. He will likely borrow some traps from the Makah Tribe. Trapping is planned for the lower Quillayute River. Riley Smith reported that the Makah Tribe is still trapping green crab. Invasive Green Crab Trapping was added as a standing agenda item. Videography Workshops The series of three workshops was taking place; the final one was in progress at the time of this meeting. Tami Pokorny reported few but committed attendees, and that Shane Anderson had a good rapport with the students. The group discussed the success of the workshop, how to increase attendance, and how best to conduct something similar in the future. MRC Summit Planning Tami Pokorny announced that Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has confirmed the same amount of funding for the MRCs, but there will be no additional funds available for the Summit. WDFW is still deciding whether MRC funds can be used for certain expenses associated with the Summit. The group discussed suggestions for the MRC Summit itinerary, including a possible field trip to the Makah Museum, and went over a list of potential presenters. *Katie Krueger volunteered to help Tami with Summit planning. RainFest River and Ocean Days 2020 The group started with a brief recap of RainFest 2019: the umbrella decorating was fun, the weather was good, and the Film Festival was fabulous. The whole weekend went smoothly. The Beach Cleanup was on par with previous years, and would be addressed during James Roubal’s presentation under New Business. Next year RainFest will take place over a single weekend, scheduled for 4/17/20 to 4/19/20. An informal meeting to discuss RainFest 2020 will be scheduled soon if anyone is interested in joining. Rich Osborne observed that the time of the Film Festival is in conflict for people who are coming from other coast beach cleanups; the group discussed other possible times to hold the Film Festival. Newsletter The current due date for article submissions is 5/30/19. *Chiggers Stokes will send a letter about his time as a member of the NPC MRC. Tami Pokorny gave an overview of articles planned from Committee members. Katie Krueger suggested including an article about the new director for the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. New Business CoastSavers Projects – James Roubal James Roubal, CoastSavers Program Director, gave a presentation about CoastSavers and the Beach Cleanup. CoastSavers’ goals include protecting wildlife and habitat, encouraging stewardship and outreach and preventing marine mammal deaths from marine debris. Some of their current challenges are how to handle liability on smaller cleanups with small landowners, how to recruit beach captains for creeks and rivers, locating beaches, and providing capacity support. He went over CoastSavers’ stewardship and restoration efforts, and the value in long-term volunteers. The Washington Coast Cleanup 2019 had 1030 volunteers who collected 30,000 pounds of debris along 200 miles of coastline on 60 participating beaches. Over 50 tons of debris have been collected between 2014 and 2019 on north coast beaches. James also discussed several new programs involved with CoastSavers: Adopt a Beach, where volunteers commit to clean a beach three times per year; CoastSavers’ partnership with Million Waves Project, which takes ocean plastics and recycles them into prosthetic limbs; and the Pac Westy Partnership with a Volkswagen rental company based on Bainbridge Island that wants to feature CoastSavers on some of their vans with the proceeds going back to CoastSavers. Chiggers Stokes led discussion on the ongoing problem of removing debris from caches at remote sites within the Olympic National Park. He asked James: 1. If he could ask the Park to revisit their mandate on leaving heavy debris in situ if it cannot be removed by foot; 2. To find out how successful the Park was with their attempt to remove some of the cached debris last fall; 3. If progress was made removing the debris by foot, to suggest that a possible separate squad be deployed to continue to remove the debris in order to preserve what is clean and special about those remote beaches. Discussion followed. NPC MRC 5/21/2019 FINAL Meeting Summary 3 Other Project Updates There was nothing else to report. Updates Orca Task Force Tami Pokorny read a statement from Jennifer Hagen that the Quileute Tribe was participating in the ad hoc Southern Resident Killer Whale working group, created by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council for the purpose of aiding the National Marine Fisheries Service and assessing the impacts of west coast fisheries on Chinook. The next meeting is scheduled for 6/3/19. 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) This was covered under the CoastSavers Projects item. Washington Coast Marine Advisory Council (WCMAC)/Marine Spatial Planning The last meeting was held on 3/27/19 in Aberdeen and focused on coastal resiliency. It was reported on at the last NPC MRC Meeting. There is no upcoming meeting scheduled yet. Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council The last meeting was held on 5/17/19 in Forks. The group reviewed the agenda, which included presentations on the effects of climate change on ocean conditions and tourism on the Peninsula. West Coast Ocean Alliance Jennifer Hagen was not present for an update [Tami Pokorny forgot to convey a message from her]. Washington Marine Resources Advisory Council (MRAC) The last meeting was held in Olympia on 4/10/19 and was reviewed at the April NPC MRC Meeting. 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 reported that all of the projects are spending out their funding almost fully, except for perhaps Kathy Troost; Tami is waiting to hear about the expense of the samples. Next Agenda (June 18, 2019): The next NPC MRC Meeting will be held at the ONRC in Forks on 6/18/19, and will include discussion on the MRC Summit. Jill Silver suggested that the UW team studying the Pleistocene wood might be ready to give a presentation. Public Comments/General Tami Pokorny announced that Chiggers Stokes is resigning from the NPC MRC to move to California. The group expressed their thanks for his commitment to the Committee and how much he will be missed. Adjourn at 5:53 PM (01:45:00 on the counter) Action Items: *Katie Krueger will connect with Alice Ryan on an article for the West End Natural Resources Newsletter. *Jill Silver volunteered some of her crewmembers for the Nonpoint Pollution Project sampling. NPC MRC 5/21/2019 FINAL Meeting Summary 4 *Katie Krueger volunteered to help Tami Pokorny with MRC Summit planning. *Chiggers Stokes will send a letter about his time as a member of the NPC MRC for the Newsletter. Draft summary compiled by Rebekah Brooks.