Minutes
April 7 , 2004
Members Present: Laura Arnold, Peter Fromm, David Hoopes, Terrie Klinger, David Loyd, Kevin Ranker,
Jim Slocomb, Dennis Willows
Absent: Kelley Balcomb-Bartok, Mike Bertrand, Brian Calvert, Tim Carpenter, Mary Masters, Kit Rawson
Guests: Ray Bigler, Mark Billington, Susan Bucknell, Ryan Drum, Robyn du Pré, Dr. Gunderson and UW Labs fish biology class, Jody Kennedy, Kari Koski, Commissioner Rhea Miller, D.J. Sessner
Guest presenter: Kevin Ryan, National Wildlife Refuges Project Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Chair, David Loyd, called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. in the conference room at Islanders Bank, Friday Harbor.
Citizens’ Comments:
Commissioner Rhea Miller reported that on her recent trip to New Zealand, she participated in a retreat with people from the Hokeana, one of many communities struggling with the problem of dairy cattle in their estuaries and streams; the Maori group are cleaning up the waters, even removing carcasses, to reduce contamination. People on the South Island, “surf capital of the world,” also share the same problem; here, denuding of the forests further compromises water quality with attendant siltation, desertification, and no shade along the estuaries. Another Maori non-profit group, in the Tagaroa, are now re-planting indigenous vegetation along streams and, working with local farmers to fence out animals from the waterways. Commissioner Miller noted that she found in New Zealand the same environmental problems we face here and the same active interest in addressing them.
Dr. Gunderson introduced the UW Labs Marine Fish Biology class he is teaching; the group will attend MRC meetings at least throughout the next quarter.
Jim circulated two copies of the map book he has completed, noting that it is available on the MRC webpage as well as on CD’s. He said this is the first look at overlays and details of MRC projects, including forage fish, stewardship, and eelgrass mapping.
Commissioner Miller congratulated the MRC on its work, commenting on the resounding approval recently of the NWSC initiative by the Ruckelshaus Commission. Several MRC members testified before the federa oceans commission. Kevin said that the NWSC has been invited to do a full panel in Rhode Island next month on the NWSC as an example of a local oceans council.
Minutes:
Minutes of the 3/17/04 meeting were approved as read.
Guest presentations:
David Loyd introduced Kevin Ryan, pointing out that the soon-to-be-published SJC Stewardship map includes several restricted areas that the public may not be aware of. Kevin Ryan said that he works out of the Port Angeles office as a project leader for the area. There are 800 islands in the refuge system here, including Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, the second longest sand stretch in the world, and Protection Island, off Discovery Bay, which is used by 73% of all the seabirds nesting in Puget Sound. There are 83 island, rock, and reef refuges in the San Juan Islands system. Kevin thanked the MRC for its work; he added that the back cover of the Sportsfishing Guide is extremely helpful in identifying refuges for boaters.
Kevin discussed the Comprehensive Conservation Planning (CCP) process that will be starting soon for the San Juan Islands’ national wildlife refuge complex. He also mentioned that the Organic Act passed in the national wildlife refuge system in 1997 is important in that it sets aside national wildlife refuges, mandating that each refuge within the system would receive a CCP that lays out, in a general context, how the refuge would be managed for the next 15 years. A draft of the CCP for the coast project will be released to the public next month, he said; all the islands in the coastal refuge but one have been closed to the public since the refuge’s designation. Work is proceeding, in partnership with the tribes, to develop more interpretation and public education.
The CCP process for the San Juan Islands reserve system will begin with meetings with planners in the next week or so. The pre-planning phase runs about a year and includes collection of all the known biological data as well as vision statements; formal presentation on the whole planning process will be brought to the MRC later. Kevin said he expects there will be lots of interest in the San Juans on the issue of public usage. He added that there is speculation that evidence of decreased wildlife in the San Juans is directly related to increased human use in the Islands.
Kevin remarked that the derelict gear collected off the south Strait of the San Juans recently is another indicator of human use impacts; there were over 3’ of bird bones piled below the nets, he noted. He said that the three MRC’s that he works with are implementing one of the most important positive effects on the environment by removing derelict gear from marine waters.
Kevin said that, in the San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge system, there are two islands open to the public, Turn Island and Matia Island...all the others are closed to the public for wildlife values. In addition, there is a voluntary 200-yard buffer around the reserve islands, rocks, and reefs. DNR leases to the agency the tidelands at Dungeness and Protection Islands, where the 200-yard buffer is enforced (e.g. no fishing, no crabpots). Tribal fisheries are found in the reserves but, Kevin said, the tribes have honored the buffer around Protection Island. Kevin added that the Marine Mammal Protection Act mandates a 100-yard buffer around marine mammals (which, in his experience, is not enough protection). He also noted that the 200-yard buffer can also reduce seabird colony disturbance.
One of the questions to be asked in the CCP process is whether there are key islands out of the 83 refuges in the San Juans that are more important than others; should buffers around all or parts of these be protected (e.g. nesting seabirds, marine mammal haulouts)? Kevin noted that this MRC has been on the cutting edge of establishing marine protected areas and he suggested that the reserve effort could be really successful here if we could anchor an area that’s important to the community (e.g. for bottomfish recovery). He added that the voluntary, citizen-driven approach to recovery zones can work here but there may be a time when some sort of legislation is deemed necessary.
Kevin said that the San Juan Islands and Protection Island will be tied together in the CCP process (involving the MRC’s from both San Juan and Island counties). Jim expressed concern about some of the refuge status islands where implementation of the buffer would close off a marine waterway in a highly urbanized area; Kevin said it would take an act of Congress to remove areas from refuge status. Jim also wondered if there were standard models of human impact that could be used as reference in the stewardship process.
Peter asked what it means for fishing that Turn Island is both a state park and national wildlife refuge; he has seen both commercial scuba diving groups and sportfishing boats jigging there. Kevin said the 200-yard buffer is a voluntary concept and he hopes the CCP process puts some formality into it. Kari Koski said that the Whale Museum and the Soundwatch program support the 200-yard buffer for both seabirds and marine mammals.
The effectiveness and aesthetic impact of signage were discussed; Kevin said the CCP process will seek public input and suggestions on signs. Terrie said that one of the recommendations that came out the recent bottomfish symposium was the assessment of good bottomfish habitat and she wondered if that could be useful to the planning process. Kevin said the agency’s jurisdiction is from mean high water down but intertidal studies would be of benefit (i.e. in habitat mapping).
With the reality of reduced budgets, it was agreed that collaborative efforts between agencies are needed. DNR’s Aquatics Reserve Program includes a proposal to study protection levels for some refuges and The Nature
Conservancy’s Marine Initiative will look at criteria.
NWSC:
Kevin Ranker reported that the derelict gear project removed 46 gillnets (4 had been anticipated) off Orcas Lopez Island; the dozens of marine mammal remains, the tons of dead fish caught in the nets, and the 2 to 3-feet deep of bird bones under the nets was astonishing to many, he said. Some of the “ghost” nets have been down for 30 years.
Kevin said there was a presentation by the Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Program that is developing a plan for this region which is considered a prioritization project at the state and federal level. PSNERP is working on a plan that is considered a prioritization project at the state and federal level; the Program is now Army Corps funded, said Terrie, and has a science team as one component. Robyn said that she heard that the Program’s money has been cut and projects are floating.
Laura Arnold said that a topic on the table for some time now for the MRC is trying to introduce nearshore habitat conservation easement measures into the work of the Land Bank and the San Juan Preservation Trust ; she distributed copies of “Nearshore Habitat - Conservation Priority Concepts” that she has drafted for the Trust’s planning group. She requested feedback on the handout, which is a conceptual planning map. The Trust is looking to refine their conservation effort, identifying what needs to be protected within nearshore areas. Members’ suggestions included mapping littoral areas, including turbidity/runoff, looking at the entire community of marine plants (e.g. Fucus).
David Hoopes said that what is needed is a composite map of nearshore habitat features to study juvenile salmon. The Shared Salmon Strategy will be making a funding request in this area.
David Loyd mentioned the barge landing sites issue. Kevin noted that a flyover some time ago by Lightwatch showed that the number of docks in the Islands was 27% higher then than was expected. Jim said that it is good to see the Land Bank and San Juan Preservation Trust interested in incorporating nearshore studies in their conservation work.
MRC Coordinator’s Report:
Jody said that elections will be held at the May 5th meeting; members are asked to email her with any objections to this date.
Rhea noted that the MRC is now down one member. The committee talked about the need for a member from Lopez Island and from the fishing/aquaculture communities. There was discussion of the value of having a county representative as a voting member of the committee and Laura suggested D.J. Sessner of the Community Planning & Development Department.
Motion: Laura moved, and Jim seconded, that the committee have a county
representative as a voting member. The motion was approved unanimously.
Rhea suggested that a formal email be sent to the BOCC so that MRC membership can be a future agenda item.
Jody said there is some money for a summer intern, for instance, someone to pursue the stewardship survey effort and other projects; housing availability was discussed.
The NWSC Conference will be held at the Everett Convention Center on June 3rd, 4th, and 5th; those wanting to register should send an email to Jody by the end of the week. Kevin emphasized that this important conference will be attended by many outstanding guest speakers and others who attended the Ruckelshaus Commission meetings.
Robyn reported that the Island County MRC is doing a boat tour on June 4th for $10. Pre-registration is suggested on line at www.islandcountymrc.org/cruise.htm. Robyn suggested that this event may be a useful exmaple of public outreach.
Jody announced that The Whale Museum will be sponsoring a Conservation Symposium in May, as part of the Orca Festival; Jim will do a half-hour presentation on the MSA issue.
Jody asked for input on whether the MRC should do a booth at the County Fair. Rhea noted that the Fair is a great outreach opportunity and said that it is the children that are changing the environmental face of the world. If they can be engaged, she said, they will typically bring information home to share with their parents. She suggested that educational efforts aimed at those under 12 years old is a real investment in the future. Dennis said that the UW Labs K-12 group would be a perfect match. David Loyd said this might be a great way for the San Juan Nature Institute to come onboard also.
MSA Outreach:
Jody said that there is $4000 in the budget for outreach; invoices must be in by April 25th to the NWSC.
Motion: Kevin moved, and David Hoopes seconded, that the outreach subcommittee
be authorized to spend up to $1500 on brochures, partnering with Soundwatch’s efforts to provide on-the-water education that will particularly target boats in marine stewardship areas. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion: Jim moved, and Peter seconded, that full-page MSA display ads be submitted to the three local newspapers (at an estimated cost of $2100). The motion passed unanimously.
David Loyd discussed the prospect of an MRC-sponsored poster such as one from Jefferson County’s MRC that depicts an eelgrass community above and below the waterline. It was agreed that commissioning work of local artists for public outreach was a great idea; there is no money available at this time but David will do further research.
Jim graciously agreed to provide maps, graphics, and text for an article to appear in “The NW Yachting Press” and other magazines (e.g. a one-page article and photos).
David Loyd reported that the 8-points derived from the white paper of the Bottomfish Symposium were presented to the BOCC yesterday (not a work session); he noted that planned outreach meetings will be a valuable community awareness effort about stewardship. Jody will be sending out the list of recommendations from the Symposium and a cover letter in a week or two. She asked that members review the drafts she will email and send their comments back soon. Jody will also draft the mailing list for the entire report and email it to members for review.
NWSC Action Grant follow-up: There was discussion on physical presentation by the MRC to co-managers and others as a grant deliverable; David said that part of the stewardship plan will be to go to the tribes
to establish committees, for instance.
People are invited to walk with the caretaker on Yellow Island this Sunday and to picnic on Jones Island.
Rhea said that the BOCC will be visiting Saturna Island, Canada to meet with local groups on June 5th through June 9th to discuss cross-border stewardship and other issues.
David said that Ginny Broadhurst will be a guest at the May 5th meeting to discuss MPA work. The meeting will be held at the courthouse community room in Friday Harbor at 8:30 a.m.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
Submitted by Helen Venada
