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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJune 2023 NPC MRC First DRAFT Meeting Summary NPC MRC 6/20/2023 DRAFT Meeting Summary 1 June 20, 2023 NPC MRC 1st Draft Meeting Summary The Tuesday, June 20, 2023 NPC MRC meeting took place at Peninsula College at Forks and by Zoom connection from 4:00 PM to 5:53 PM ([00:00:01] to [01:53:56]). Appointed committee members present at the meeting were Chris Butler-Minor (Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary [OCNMS]), Eileen Cooney (Citizen Representative, Jefferson County – Community Economics), Wendy Feltham (Citizen Representative, Jefferson County – Scientific Community), Rod Fleck (City of Forks), John Hunter (Citizen Representative, Clallam County – Conservation / Environmental Groups), Katie Krueger (Citizen Representative, Clallam County – Scientific Community), Rebecca Mahan (Clallam County Representative), Tami Pokorny (Jefferson County Representative, Coordinator / Facilitator), Alice Ryan (Citizen Representative, Clallam County – Recreational Groups), Jill Silver (Citizen Representative, Jefferson County – Conservation/Environmental Groups), Chris Waldbillig (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, MRC Coordinator). A quorum was present at the beginning of the meeting. Rebekah Brooks (Rebekah Brooks Contracting), Lee First (Twin Harbors Waterkeeper), Megan Juran (Washington CoastSavers), Roy Morris (citizen), Liesl Slabaugh (Port Townsend Marine Science Center), and Christine VanDeen (OCNMS) were also in attendance. Introductions Public Comments Roy Morris thanked Lee First for her work to clean up the yellow ropes from the oyster industry, and the NPC MRC for supporting her efforts. Additions to and Approval of the Agenda Tami Pokorny requested moving Old Business to the end of the agenda; the amended agenda was approved by consensus. Approval of the May 2023 NPC MRC Meeting Summary Katie Krueger sent in a correction to the spelling of the Quillayute River. The second draft of the May 2023 NPC MRC Meeting Summary was approved by consensus. Announcements Wendy Feltham congratulated Lee and expressed how impressed she was with the latest edition of the West End Natural Resources Newsletter. She also congratulated Alice Ryan on receiving the Mentor of the Year award for the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) competition. Eileen Cooney echoed the same comments. New Business 2023 MATE Competition NPC MRC 6/20/2023 DRAFT Meeting Summary 2 Education Associate with OCNMS Christine VanDeen presented on the success of the 2023 Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) ROV Competition. One of her main goals in taking over this position was to make sure that the competition happened in a way that would build critical skills for students and teachers. Thanks to multiple volunteers and partners, the competition went incredibly smoothly. They started with a workshop that was held in March in collaboration with the Port Townsend STEM Club and the Seadragons Team. About 75 students attended to learn about building robots and running them underwater. The Seadragons Team donated an advanced camera system to each school district, which was a huge bonus for the student teams. They also walked the students through building the robots and running trials. The workshop is essential for a successful competition as many schools do not have access to pools; it also provides opportunities to interact and communicate. Christine noted that the competition community on the coast has a strong sense of inclusivity and support, which is unusual for the competition atmosphere. The MATE ROV Competition included ten teams who competed at the Forks Aquatic Center. There were four beginner level Scout Teams and six advanced level Navigator Teams. Olympic Peninsula Surfrider attended to show support for the students, offering $250 to the winners for team materials. Alice Ryan received the Mentor of the Year Award. Another workshop event is planned for this winter, focusing on ROV involvement in marine heritage research off the North Pacific coast. For more information, contact Christine at Christine.vandeed@noaa.gov, or go to MATE ROV Competition Website. Discussion followed on what might be needed to help students advance to the third level of Ranger Teams, the importance of educating the students in the presentation part of the competition, how ocean conditions education is worked into the themes and challenges in the competition, and the possibility of sending Navigator Teams to observe the Ranger Competition in a future year. Bull Kelp Exhibit Liesl Slabaugh presented an idea in response to the NPC MRC request for proposals. The Bull Kelp Exhibit is a new resource available through the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, that could be used as a tie-in to another project as an opportunity to partner and network. The cost is $100/day and $250 for transportation and setup. Liesl can be contacted at lslabaugh@ptmsc.org. Newsletter Tami Pokorny led discussion on the draft articles for the next edition of the West End Natural Resources Newsletter, which will be ready for distribution by the next NPC MRC meeting. *Alice Ryan will provide student names for the photographs in her articles. Jill Silver provided a link to the Pacific Lamprey Conservation Initiative: htps://www.pacificlamprey.org; Lee First shared the link to the Xerces Society: htps://xerces.org/endangered-species/freshwater-mussels; Rebecca Mahan included links to more informa�on on Pacific lamprey: htps://www.fws.gov/species/pacific-lamprey-entosphenus-tridentatus and htps://www.fws.gov/story/note-lampreys. Old Business Thinking Ahead to 2025-2027 Chris Waldbillig encouraged the NPC MRC to continue planning for the 2025-2027 funding cycle. He wants to help the coastal MRCs with more support and direction than they have had in the past, but additional funding requires timely billing and using all available funds. Tami Pokorny asked the group for ideas for long-range planning and new directions for funding. Rod Fleck proposed raising the awareness of the importance of the North Pacific Coast by bringing out speakers of note, and the possibility of tying into the maritime heritage event that the OCNMS is planning for the coming fall or winter. Lee First brought up her fears over the rivers drying out; she suggested inviting Bill Bacchus to present to the NPC MRC, and supporting student work that would correlate the loss of glaciers to the effects in rivers, like measuring flow. Alice Ryan had ideas to provide student stipends for a hatchery project and transportation for students to access beaches now that their school has moved away from the water. Rebecca Mahan mentioned the possibilities of sponsoring an AmeriCorps student NPC MRC 6/20/2023 DRAFT Meeting Summary 3 and collaborating with NatureBridge. Chris Butler-Minor discussed citizen science opportunities for European green crab smolt training. Updates Coast MRC Update Chris Waldbillig said there was not much to update because things were progressing well with the NPC MRC. He suggested that combining efforts with other coastal MRCs could be more impactful than approaching issues alone. Washington Coastal Marine Advisory Council (WCMAC) Rod Fleck gave an update on the last meeting, which was held on 6/14/23 and was a hybrid meeting based in Grays Harbor. It was the first in-person meeting since the winter of 2019/2020. The Department of Ecology is going to take over the Marine Spatial Planning website, with all the different research materials. They will also be adding more data by the end of July. There are four positions that are open. Offshore wind is a big issue going forward; a representative from the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management has agreed to participate in WCMAC meetings going forward. Kevin Decker with Washington SeaGrant presented on the Economic Resilience Recommendation: Area Sector Analysis Planning. Rod suggested inviting Kevin to present his findings for Jefferson and Clallam counties to the NPC MRC. Wendy Feltham asked for Rod’s definition of “blue energy,” which Rod defined as any way to obtain energy from our oceans. WCMAC meeting materials can be found at the Ecology website: Department of Ecology - Committees, Boards, and Workgroups (wa.gov). Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council The last meeting was held on 5/19/23 as a virtual meeting only. John Hunter gave an update. The meeting included an overview of the NOAA exploration vessel Okeanos Explorer and their research and mapping work, an update on the management review process, information on the Climate Vulnerability Assessment and Ocean Acidification Sentinel Site, and member reports about the MATE ROV Competition and the upcoming Muddy Boots in Your Watershed training. The July meeting will be held in Taholah. West Coast Ocean Alliance Jennifer Hagen was not present for an update. Invasive European Green Crab This topic was discussed earlier under Thinking Ahead to 2025-2027. Marine Debris Megan Juran announced that the Washington CoastSavers will be emulating Grassroots Garbage Gang efforts on Long Beach by handing out garbage bags on the central coast on July 4th. *She will forward Ocean Legacy contact information to Tami Pokorny. Climate/Fossil Fuels Related (All) There was nothing to report. Administrative Update Tami Pokorny said that the invoices have come through well this funding round. Next Agenda (July 18, 2023): The next NPC MRC Meeting will be held on 7/18/23 at the Peninsula College Forks campus. A Zoom option will also be available. Public Comments/General NPC MRC 6/20/2023 DRAFT Meeting Summary 4 Tami Pokorny welcomed requests for copies of the West End Natural Resources Newsletter. Adjourn at 5:53 PM Action Items: *Alice Ryan will provide student names for the photographs in her articles. *Megan Juran will forward Ocean Legacy contact information to Tami Pokorny. Draft summary compiled by Rebekah Brooks (Rebekah Brooks Contracting).