Minutes
December 1, 2004
Members Present: Laura Arnold, Mike Bertrand, David Hoopes, David Loyd, Mary Masters, Kit Rawson,
Jim Slocomb, Dennis Willows
Absent: Brian Calvert, Terrie Klinger
Guests: Mark Billington, Ralph Hahn, Jody Kennedy, Kari Koski, Claudia Mills, Tillie Scruton,
Fred Silberstein, Roann Tallmon, Tina Whitman
Chair Jim Slocomb called the meeting to order at 8:35 a.m. in the Community Room at Islanders Bank Annex, Friday Harbor.
Citizens’ comments:
David Hoopes shared information he received from the Union of Concerned Scientists, requesting that letters be written to the Chair of the House Committee on Science about the current administration’s disregard of science in environmental decisions. He passed the information on to Jody.
Minutes: Minutes of the 11/3/04 and 11/17/04 meetings were reviewed and approved as read.
MRC Retreat Update:
David Hoopes suggested that all members read the compilation of notes taken at the retreat. He said that the facilitator did a good job. David Loyd commented that Whitely Center was an excellent location and Jim added that the catering was also good.
Jim said that the MRC has adopted documents and contracts that the committee might want to review at a future meeting, given that work items don't always coincide with these adopted documents.
Action items:
Jim proposed that the committee submit a letter to the editor congratulating and thanking the Friends of the San Juans (FOSJ) for their good work with the GSX pipeline project. He said that the FOSJ successfully stalled action on the pipeline by hiring an attorney and reversing the Hearing Examiner’s decision. Jim added that, although the MRC had invested a lot of time on the GSX project, it was out of the MRC's hands after the Hearing Examiner’s decision. At that time, FOSJ picked up the challenge and successfully stopped the GSX. Tina Whitman said that it is good to keep the issue in the press and public eye. Laura added that the committee did do a lot of work to put issues surrounding the pipeline on the public record. A draft letter will be presented for review at the next meeting.
NWSC representative:
Jim stated that since Kevin Ranker has resigned from MRC membership to serve as County Commissioner, the MRC needs a new NWSC representative. He said that he has asked the Coordinator to be a temporary representative until formal MRC elections are held in May. Jody agreed to the appointment and Dennis said that he will still be available as an alternate.
MSA:
Jim showed the latest version of his power point presentation on the Marine Stewardship Area, which he presented at the Marine Managers’ workshop. He requested committee and audience comments on this latest version, noting that some form of conceptual map and policy framework to go with it will be necessary components of the proposal which is due before the BOCC in January 2006. In reference to a Phase I map in the power point, Jim noted that he hasn't determined yet how to illustrate that the whole county is regulated by managers and has state and federal guidelines and regulations already in place. Jim said that he has tried to incorporate local knowledge collected from public outreach meetings into the maps.
Jim said the MRC has a statutory responsibility to use “best available data” in its map layering (e.g. harvest data, eelgrass beds, forage fish spawning sites, etc.).
Jim said the evolving model also includes a quarter-mile buffer, which in narrow restricted channels, overlaps and covers the entire passage (e.g. in Wasp Passage). He added that a clear definition of buffer hasn't been agreed upon yet. WDFW uses a 500 ft buffer zone out into the water off forage fish beaches.
David Loyd suggested that since boat wakes have a significant impact in the summer it would be good to include discussion on the impacts of seasonal increased wave activity and impacts. David also pointed out that there’s a great bottomfish area at Parker Reef, north of Waldron Island, that isn’t indicated on the maps. He said there is also yellow eye habitat north of Sucia Island. Jim said that there are other data gaps and local information is needed to add lines on the map. Tina pointed out that the Whale Museum has good offshore data on minke whales. There was agreement that all existing data needs to be consolidated.
Jim’s slide on the four-zone scheme includes general use, recreational, special use, and preservation zones. He said the committee needs to decide if this zone scheme works or needs improvement. Kari recommended that labeling one zone “general” might suggest that anything goes, confusing users about standard guidelines that exist everywhere.
There was discussion on the recreational zone category (lines around parks). Tina suggested that Land Bank property, Nature Conservancy land, and other private lands should be included. Kari said it would be helpful to have a printout of the slides available so that people can comment on each of them.
Jim emphasized that this first conceptual model is designed to get the discussion started. He said that if we are to think about the county as an ecosystem, then we need to think about it systemically, such as considering the physical complexity of the sea floor and currents.
Tina said that the proposal seems very land based and that, for instance, marine mammal, rockfish, and marbled murrelet data should be added. Kit said that the whole county should be recognized as a functioning marine ecosystem and this model does not get at that. Unique areas are important, but we need to recognize the importance of the whole system. Kari suggested adding a slide with the critical area habitats data, an explanation of what critical habitat means, and a listing of its associated critters.
Mike asked what is wanted from users in the four zones. The person who actually uses this information wants to know what he can and cannot do in a simple, easy to understand, format.
There was discussion on what constitutes “unique” areas; Dennis said that either the whole county is unique or nothing is. He pointed out that the federal legislators who defined all the marine waters of San Juan County as a biological reserve 75 years ago were probably right, referring to his earlier recommendation for a voluntary withdrawal of harvesting for all organisms and depressed populations in all the waters of San Juan County until there is recovery. Kit pointed out that it's not just fishing that needs to change but everything we do. David Loyd agreed and said that this idea has also come out of outreach meetings. Jody suggested that the Science/Technology sub-committee meet to define what makes an area unique and then try to draw the lines on the map that reflect that uniqueness. Some suggested human use impacts that need to be factored in are dams on rivers and pollution.
Kit asked what is being proposed for recovery of rockfish (or other species) in the area of voluntary actions by individuals. Dennis reiterated that focusing on one species has been part of the problem and the solution is an ecosystem-wide approach. David Loyd proposed that a list of species of concern could be published and updated each year.
David said that it’s going to take time and personal contact to get lines on maps. He suggested that one large map be used for a community to mark and for people to add their anecdotal information and their names. Tina added that meeting time could also be used to put marks on maps.
Kit said he liked the Waldron model for outreach, noting that, although spatial referencing of data is necessary, it’s also important to first hear from people about their concerns because they could be biased by starting off with the power point. Tina agreed that we need to hear from people about what is important to them. Kari said that outreach meetings are a good place to also capture human use data.
Jody summarized what will be asked of citizens for inclusion on area-focused maps: e.g. species, habitat, areas of cultural/social/economic significance. Some questions that will be asked are: How do you use the marine waters? How do other people use the area? What have you observed? What are your concerns? What changes need to be made? Kit added that a good question is “what would you be willing to give up to protect the marine environment?”
Motion: Dennis moved, and David Loyd seconded, that an abbreviated (10-minute) version of the power point be presented at the beginning of the Deer Harbor outreach meeting. The
motion passed unanimously.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
Submitted by Jody Kennedy and Helen Venada
