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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarch 2024 NPC MRC First DRAFT Meeting Summary NPC MRC 3/19/2024 DRAFT Meeting Summary 1 March 19, 2024 NPC MRC Draft Meeting Summary The Tuesday, March 19, 2024 NPC MRC meeting took place at the Peninsula College in Forks, WA and by Zoom connection from 4:00 PM to 5:51 PM ([00:00:01] to [01:51:05]). Appointed committee members present at the meeting were Chris Butler-Minor (Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary), Eileen Cooney (Citizen Representative, Jefferson County – Economic Groups), Wendy Feltham (Citizen Representative, Jefferson County – Scientific Community), Rod Fleck (City of Forks, Washington Coast Marine Advisory Council [WCMAC] Chair), Jennifer Hagen (Quileute Tribe Representative), Julie Ann Koehlinger (Hoh Tribe Representative), Katie Krueger (Citizen Representative, Clallam County – Scientific Community), Rebecca Mahan (Clallam County Representative), Ian Miller (Washington SeaGrant, Ex Officio Representative), and Jill Silver (Citizen Representative, Jefferson County – Conservation/Environmental Groups). A quorum was present at the beginning of the meeting. Rebekah Brooks (Rebekah Brooks Contracting), Elizabeth Davis (University of Washington [UW]), Madeleine Lucas and team members (UW), Stori Smith (Americorps member serving with OCNMS), Chris Waldbillig (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife [WDFW]), and Katie Wrubel (OCNMS) were also in attendance. Introductions Public Comments Wendy Feltham, who serves as the co-chair of the Jefferson Land Trust Natural History Society, and Eileen Cooney, who serves on the guiding committee, reported visiting the old Lake Aldwell reservoir and the mouth of the Elwha River on a tour for the Society to view changes since the removal of the Elwha River dams. Wendy expressed her thanks to Ian Miller, who led the tour. Additions to and Approval of the Agenda There were no changes to the agenda. Jill Silver moved to approve the agenda as written; Wendy Feltham seconded. The motion was approved unanimously. Approval of the February 2024 NPC MRC Meeting Summary Jill Silver moved to approve the February 2024 NPC MRC Meeting Summary as written; Katie Krueger seconded. The February NPC MRC Summary was approved unanimously. Announcements There were no announcements. Old Business Coast MRC Summit and Film Festival 2024 Planning NPC MRC 3/19/2024 DRAFT Meeting Summary 2 Ian Miller noted that the request for films went out a week and a half ago. Some films have already been submitted but have not been reviewed yet. The deadline for submittal is 4/22/24. Ian requested a representative or two from each sponsoring organization to be part of the film review team. *Katie Krueger and Chris Butler-Minor volunteered. Chris added that she will see if anyone else at OCNMS would like to volunteer. Chris has also been connected with the Field Arts and Events Center technician for planning the technical side of the event. More information about the Film Festival can be found at: https://wsg.washington.edu/community- outreach/outreach-detail-pages/river-and-ocean-film-festival/. New Business UW Students Exchange Culture and Science with the Quileute Tribal School UW Earth and Space Sciences PhD Candidate Madeleine Lucas and her team presented their experience teaching high school Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) classes at the Quileute Tribal School, in exchange for learning some of the Quileute Tribal language and traditions. Madeleine’s research is in offshore faults at the Cascadia Subduction Zone, and her aim is to effectively communicate her research with at- risk communities along the subduction zone and to learn how to make her research more useful through improved communication. Her research is relevant to the Quileute Tribe, which is largely located in the tsunami hazard zone. Her engagement with the Quileute Tribal High School was teaching a STEM alternative over spring break that focused on the local geology of La Push and included a field trip to Second Beach. The program was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Northwest Earth and Space Science Pathways. This year, the program was expanded to include a culture and science exchange. It focused on seismology, seismic monitoring, earthquake and tsunami hazards in La Push, community resilience, and the Quileute culture and language. They also installed a community seismometer at the Quileute Tribal School and provided students with the tools and skills to make their own geologic observations. On the last day, the team talked to the students about college, their own pathways into STEM, and life as a college student. This year of the program also includes a year-long program with the Quileute Tribal High School, which involves multiple visits to the Quileute Tribal School over the year, student visits to the UW campus, a paid intern program for three students, and compensation for teacher involvement and the UW student team members. Key milestones of the program include the UW team learning some of the Quileute language over the fall and winter; a team visit to the Quileute Tribal School in January; the installation of the “RaspberryShake” seismometer with the high school interns, which is the first citizen seismometer along the Olympic Coast; virtual meetings with the interns over the winter to build a community seismic display; an app to view live-streaming seismic data from ShakeNet; the recording of two earthquakes near Lake Ozette and the City of Forks; and Earthquake Week this week, which involves talking about earthquakes, participating in cultural activities, talking about tsunamis and evacuation, taking a field trip to the seismic station by the Hoh River, and thinking about community resilience. Future directions of the program include plans to come back to the Quileute Tribal School to teach geomorphology and expanding to reach more coastal Washington schools. Madeleine welcomed additional questions and can be reached at: mlucas12@uw.edu. Origin of 600-year-old Marine Terrace at Rialto Beach UW Earth and Space Sciences PhD Candidate Elizabeth Davis presented her results of geologic field investigations at Rialto Beach after completing the latest NPC MRC grant for her project last summer. In addition to other collaborators, the interest and funding from the NPC MRC for the Rialto Beach research has resulted in four master’s theses and multiple projects studying geologic mapping, shoreline change and retreats, slope stability, landslides, and earthquakes. Terraces like the one at Rialto Beach exist along the northwest coast of Washington, but have received very little study, leading to growing interest in whether they can record geological evidence of subsidence and tsunami history. Rialto Beach has been a hole in the data along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, but projects like Elizabeth’s are building the groundwork to start answering questions. One of the primary goals has been to evaluate the origin of this low elevation marine terrace, and NPC MRC 3/19/2024 DRAFT Meeting Summary 3 while they have made some substantial progress towards understanding the origin of the terrace there, they have not answered the question of whether it was tectonic uplift. However, contributions from this project include mapping and dating the deposits in the terrace, developing a chronological model for the formation of sediments and landforms at Rialto Beach, and evaluating hypotheses for what formed the terrace. Investigation of the marine terrace has revealed that it consists of unconsolidated deposits (sand and cobbles) from 1410- 1800 AD, it post-dates other deep-seated landslides on the slopes, and it formed in an environment that was different from today’s. Methods used include field mapping on the beach, in the creek bank, and hillslopes; digging pits to evaluate deposit materials; and dating the deposits through a combination of radiocarbon dating, taking tree cores, and using a technique for aging sediments. Project products will be made publicly available in UW archives, and include a geomorphic map, LiDAR maps, terrace material maps, and cross sections charts. Elizabeth went over the timeline that she put together as a result of her findings: 1: the bedrock eroded to form the slopes and sea stacks; 2: the shoreline reached the modern slope/sea cliff by 600-200 years ago and there was no terrace or beach forest at the time, just sea cliff; 3: deep-seated landslides occurred on the slope, prior to the 1800s; 4: the terrace formed 600-200 years ago as beach deposits, dated from radiocarbon dating of sediment samples and taking tree cores; and 5: debris flows capped the terrace. There are two feasible hypotheses for what formed the terrace: 1: it was formed as a beach face and was raised by tectonic uplift; or 2: it was formed as a pro-grading berm at the current sea level, during a time of higher sediment supply. If it was formed by uplift, it would have occurred between 600 and 220 years ago and would be relatively uniform across Rialto Beach. Regional mapping could determine if the subduction zone or crustal faults are the most likely source. If the terrace was the result of increased sediment supply, it would require a pulse of sediment available sometime after 600 years ago that would have had to be cut off by about 130 years ago. Possible sources of the sediment are glacial outwash in the Quillayute River and Ellen Creek drainages. Key takeaways include the understanding that the Rialto Beach terrace formed between 600 and 220 years ago, that the landslides on the slope mostly predate the terrace formation, and that the terrace formed in a process that is not happening today. This motivates additional detailed stratigraphy and dating at other terraces to keep trying to answer remaining questions. Updates Coast MRC Update Chris Waldbillig had to leave the meeting early and was not present for an update. Washington Coastal Marine Advisory Council (WCMAC) The next meeting is scheduled for 5/8/24. *Rod Fleck said he would send out the WCMAC’s 2023 accomplishments. The Governor’s Office has hired a consultant to reach out to stakeholders, local governments, and tribal governments to try to gather information about what issues and processes Washington should consider to develop a Washington Way to approach offshore wind energy. They hope to have a draft together in June. The agenda and other 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 3/15/24. Chris Butler-Minor gave an update on the meeting, which included a presentation from Julia Parrish on the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team and the effectiveness of citizen science, and some working group recommendations on the Draft Management Plan. Katie Wrubel added that the document is out for review right now and should be available to the public sometime this year. West Coast Ocean Alliance Jennifer Hagen reported that offshore wind is becoming a major focus and will be addressed in an upcoming two-day workshop in April. They also met with staff from the Council on Environmental Quality about the need NPC MRC 3/19/2024 DRAFT Meeting Summary 4 for their engagement on offshore wind development and climate change. Jennifer advocated for adding offshore wind energy to the NPC MRC agenda. Invasive European Green Crab Jennifer Hagen said that they have not found any European green crab in the Quillayute system, but the Tribe is planning a large-scale trapping effort in coordination with the WDFW this summer. Wendy Feltham added that SeaGrant’s citizen science European green crab monitoring program will start again in April. Chris Butler-Minor discussed SeaGrant’s European green crab symposium that was held in February. They are finding that the crabs are still being trapped in large amounts throughout the winter, and that molt surveys are a good mechanism for early detection. She encouraged people to get involved in those programs. Discussion followed on trapping methods. Marine Debris Chris Butler-Minor announced the Coastal Cleanup on 4/20/24. Jennifer Hagen said that the request for proposals went out for the removal of a derelict vessel off of La Push, and that a number of derelict vessels are also scheduled to be removed from Neah Bay. Katie Wrubel added that the removals should happen this summer. Climate/Fossil Fuels Related (All) Jill Silver recommended the Climate One podcast as a good scientific source of information about climate change. More information can be found at: https://www.climateone.org/. Administrative Update Rebecca Mahan noted that the contract between Clallam and Jefferson counties has been signed. Next Agenda (April 16, 2024): The next NPC MRC Meeting will be held on 4/16/24 in Forks with a virtual option. Agenda suggestions include offshore wind energy discussion and education. Public Comments/General Jennifer Hagen commented on Iceland’s history with energy and industry, and her personal feelings that offshore wind energy is the next hydroelectric dam. She encouraged everyone to educate themselves on what energy alternatives are going to cost. Discussion followed on rethinking issues like alternative energy and recycling. Adjourn at 5:51 PM Action Items: *Katie Krueger and Chris Butler-Minor volunteered for the Film Festival review team. Chris added that she will see if anyone else at OCNMS would like to volunteer. *Rod Fleck said he would send out the WCMAC’s 2023 accomplishments. Draft summary compiled by Rebekah Brooks (Rebekah Brooks Contracting).