HomeMy WebLinkAbout032822AS03JEFFERSON COUNTY
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA REQUEST
TO: Board of County Commissioners
Mark McCauley, Interim County Administrator
FROM: Monica Montgomery, Water Programs Coordinator
Jefferson County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) and WSU Extension
DATE: March 28, 2022
SUBJECT: Letter of Support - Federal Funding for Jefferson MRC
STATEMENT OF ISSUE:
The Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative (NWSI) is submitting a $3M congressional
funding request for fiscal year 2023, which will support continued funding for the Jefferson
County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) and six other county MRCs. As part of this effort,
NWSI is seeking letters of support from county leadership.
ANALYSIS:
N/A
FISCAL IMPACT:
If successful, this will add funds to the Jefferson County MRC budget for marine and nearshore
ecosystem stewardship projects in East Jefferson County for FY23.
RECOMMENDATION:
Signatures on the drafted letter of support.
REVIEWED BY:
10,
Mark McCaul , Interim County Admi ' tr r Date
Board of Jefferson County Commissioners
1820 Jefferson Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368
March 28, 2022
Senator Patty Murray
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington DC, 20510
Dear Senator Murray,
We are writing to urge you to seek federal support to fully fund the Northwest Straits (NWS)
Marine Conservation Initiative at $3 million for fiscal year 2023. The Initiative's leadership and
conservation work are critical to the health of marine resources in the northern Puget Sound
region. The NWS Initiative provides technical assistance, coordination, and base funding to
seven county -based Marine Resources Committees (MRC), including the Jefferson County MRC.
The work of MRCs helps to protect and restore our valuable marine resources and nearshore
environment. Our county, like others, faces ongoing pressures from population growth, climate
change, and habitat degradation, making the contributions of MRCs more important than ever.
MRCs are made up of local volunteers who prioritize and lead restoration, monitoring and
education projects and serve as advisors to local elected officials, including the Jefferson
County Board of County Commissioners. The Jefferson MRC plays a unique role by broadly
representing and convening a diverse array of perspectives from Tribal, commercial,
recreational, and environmental interests, to achieve consensus -driven marine conservation. In
addition to its advisory role, the Jefferson MRC engages in hands-on projects across East
Jefferson County, including:
V86" 40
• Rain garden installation and stewardship at 18 locations, to intercept and filter polluted
stormwater flowing toward our nearshore and marine environments.
• Native Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida) population restoration and expansion in Discovery
Bay.
• Protection of >100 acres of critical eelgrass meadows and shellfish beds through
establishment and maintenance of voluntary no -anchor zones.
• Forage fish surveys to monitor surf smelt and sand lance spawning at three sites, in
contribution to regional long-term data collection efforts.
• Kelp monitoring at North Beach, which helps to inform the status of bull kelp populations
in the region.
• Education and outreach to recreationa lists, shoreline landowners, and boaters.
Project implementation through the Jefferson MRC is a cost-effective way of contributing to
recovery and protection of marine resources that are important to our county residents, the
local economy, and the international Salish Sea marine ecosystem. Funding and support
through the NWS Initiative assures we can continue this local level approach to solving
environmental problems in our region.
We appreciate your ongoing commitment to the NWS Initiative and we hope that we can count
on you to see that this important work will continue to be funded.
Sincerely,
Kate Dean
Commissioner District 1
Heim tisennour
Commissioner District 2
Greg Brotherton
Commissioner District 3