Minutes
August 16, 2006
Members Present: Mike Ahrenius, Laura Arnold, Michael Durland, Ron Henrickson, David Loyd, Mary Masters, Kit Rawson, Howie Rosenfeld, Jonathan White, Tina Whitman
Absent: Terrie Klinger, Skeet Lowe, Ken Sebens, Joy Sevier, Jim Slocomb
Staff: Kirsten Evans, Jody Kennedy, Barbara Rosenkotter, Helen Venada
Guests: Kat Fennel, Phil Green, Petra McGowan, Councilman Kevin Ranker
Chair Kit Rawson called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. in the Community Room at Islanders Bank Annex, Friday Harbor.
Minutes:
Minutes of the 8/2/06 meeting were approved as read.
Kit said that the MRC is interviewing today to fill Kirsten’s job; the interview team would like authorization to hire the qualified applicant.
Motion: David moved, and Mary seconded, that the interview team be authorized to hire a new MSA Planner. The motion passed unanimously.
SFRB proposals final ranking:
Barbara distributed copies of the adopted WRIA 2 scoring criteria for Round 7 Salmon Recovery Funding and a “Summary of Projects,” noting that today’s task is for the MRC as the SJC Citizens Advisory Group to score and rank each proposal on its socio-economic impacts. Barbara pointed out that three out of the five proposals have been flagged as “projects of concern” by the Technical Advisory Group. David Loyd and Tina Whitman each spoke about their respective appearance of conflicts of interest with two of the proposals but both felt that they could participate in the ranking today in an unbiased fashion; there was no objection by other members to David and Tina voting.
Each of the five proposals was discussed, commented upon, and scored on its socio-economic impacts; Terrie Klinger’s emailed comments and scores were included. Results, out of a possible 10 points, were as follows: UW’s Puget Sound Biotelemetry Project, 8.39; Washington Trout’s Watershed Inventory and Assessment Expansion, 5.88; Northwest Marine Technology’s spatial and temporal study of juvenile Chinook, 4.48; San Juan County’s Ecosystem-Based Initiative, 4.03; and, KWIAHT’s assessment of juvenile salmon use of nearshore habitats, 3.59.
Barbara said that all the proponents are prepared to take a cut in funding if the MRC decided to fund all the projects. There was further discussion on the projects of concern.
Motion: Kit moved, and Tina seconded, that the top three proposals in today’s ranking be moved forward. The motion passed unanimously.
Date setting for Strategies Work Session and second MRC meeting in September:
Kit proposed that the September 20th MRC meeting be canceled and that either the 21st or 22nd be reserved for a full-day, TNC-facilitated, strategies workshop. Discussion followed.
Motion: David moved, and Tina seconded, that the September 20th meeting be canceled and that the strategies workshop be set for Friday, September 22nd. The motion passed unanimously.
Staff will provide public notice of the dates.
NWSC Ecosystem Project:
Jody said that discussion of the regional project was likely to be discussed at the NWSC meeting on August 25th (10 am to 3 pm at the Yacht Club in Friday Harbor). She said there is a separate pot of money for larger regional projects which encompass multiple MRCs. Jim Slocomb’s emailed comments were incorporated into the discussion and Jody asked that other members send her their comments. Jody said that she has seen a presentation on the Water Resources Modeling proposal; copies of a summary of the modeling project were distributed. Kit expressed his conflict of interest in the issue. He said that he agreed with Jim’s skepticism of large modeling and feels that cumulative impacts and single drift cell studies are also important.
MSA Plan Objective Setting work session:
Kirsten explained that objectives are very specific, whereas goals are not. She said that recovering the rock fish population to 25% or increasing the orcas population to 103 would be examples of objectives. Kirsten pointed out that the 5-S process requires commitment to real change! She added that 10-12 objectives are desirable and all long-term objectives are important. Kirsten reiterated that the two kinds of objectives are (1) those related to improving the status of the seven biodiversity targets and three socio-cultural targets and (2) those that are related to abating a critical threat. Each objective is to be specific, measurable, achievable, time-limited and effective. Copies of “Guidance on Designing Conservation Objectives” and of the list of proposed objectives were distributed.
The committee reviewed the draft MSA priority objectives developed by the Core Team and prioritized them after discussion. David suggested that Kirsten’s replacement record details of his/her process in catching up to speed on 5-S as a tool to help explain the process to the public. Kirsten thanked everyone for their work and said that she supports their decisions. Kit said that the Core Team would be meeting today to develop a list for Lacey’s review and for further discussion at the next MRC meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 am, with a celebration to recognize Kirsten’s “high quality, valuable work.” Kit added that Kirsten’s dedication to working to improve the marine environment of the San Juans has been phenomenal and it has been a pleasure to work with her. Kirsten said that she will now pursue marine stewardship professionally.
Next meeting: The next MRC meeting will be held in the Community Room at Islanders Bank in Friday Harbor on Wednesday, September 2nd, from 8:30 to 10:30 am.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 am.
Submitted by Helen Venada
