Minutes
December 21, 2005
Members Present: Laura Arnold, Terrie Klinger, David Loyd, Mary Masters, Victoria Parker,
Kit Rawson, Howie Rosenfeld, Ken Sebens, Jim Slocomb, Jonathan White, Tina Whitman
Staff: Jody Kennedy, Barbara Rosenkotter, Helen Venada, Candace VerBrugghen
Absent: Michael Durland, (Alan) Skeet Lowe, Joy Sevier
Guests: Phil Green, Ron Hendrickson, Kari Koski,, Rowann Tallmon
Chair Kit Rawson called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. in the Community Room at Islanders Bank Annex, Friday Harbor. Kit welcomed new member, Dr. Ken Sebens, who is the new Director of UW Friday Harbor Labs. Ron Hendrickson introduced himself as the new Director of the SJC Community Development and Planning Department (CDPD). He said he hopes to establish a good working relationship with the MRC and with Lead Entity Coordinator, Barbara, and that he won’t be a stranger. Ron noted that a review of the critical areas ordinance (CAO) is due this year and he hoped that CDPD and the MRC will be coordinating in that process. Kit asked MRC members and the audience to introduce themselves. He pointed out that there have been 8 new members to the committee this year; he also noted that every audience member today is a major player in MRC work.
Minutes:
Minutes of the 12/7/05 meeting were approved as read.
Salmon Recovery Update:
Barbara said that the Scientific Review panel considered several of the SJC-submitted projects to be projects of concern; she added that the panel did remove the project of concern label from the kelp proposal. Barbara noted that Dr. David Hoopes, former lead entity coordinator for SRFB, sent a very supportive letter to SRFB for all of SJC’s proposals. Barbara said she will meet with SRFB on January 5th when a final decision will be announced. Barbara said she is confidant that we will make this happen and Kit added that everyone has been very supportive of the strategy that promotes a strong message for San Juan County.
Annual Report & 2006 Workplan:
Jody distributed a draft MRC annual report and a draft 2006 Workplan for review and discussion. She said that these documents are deliverables for the NWSC grant and are due mid-January; they are typically presented to the County Council (formerly known as the BOCC) at the beginning of the new year as an update. Kit pointed out that a report to county governmental authority is usually made in early August per MRC documents and that would be the time, he suggested, to present a budget in a timely fashion. Laura noted that that would be a good time for Ron’s involvement.
Jody reported that the one objective that was not completed is the monitoring of the BFRP zones and of boating impacts (dive surveys). Jody has written an extension to NWSC to continue the work, which has been approved with funding allocated to June 2007. There was discussion on the Westcott-Garrison Bay goal which will be carried over to the 2006 workplan (could relate to the critical areas work). Mary suggested that the Scenic Byways initiative be added. Tina said that partners and contractors should be linked in the budget and workplan; Victoria suggested that the MSA anniversary workplan item be expanded. Terrie reminded the MRC that, with regard to the internship item, Kirsten Evans will soon be completing her thesis so that the committee needs to assure that all 5-S bases are covered. She added that there is a new student interested in traditional knowledge and community/social aspects. Jim suggested that an intern could also do research at the UW Lab library; this was seconded by Ken Sebens who added that it fits in with the Labs’ effort to document semi-long term studies. Terrie noted that there is a searchable database at the library and Victoria said that this is also in line with NWSC’s regional data coordination priority. Laura suggested that there be a note under the “traditional knowledge” item that continued funding is necessary; Nancy Larsen’s contract is up next week. It was suggested that Nancy be invited to a January MRC meeting to report on the project. A final draft of the 2006 Workplan will be reviewed for approval at the next MRC meeting.
Budget:
Copies of the 2006 Budget were distributed. Kit pointed out that the County agreed to generously fund a large percentage of the essential needs identified by the MRC. Jody suggested that the draft be reviewed by the Executive Committee for MRC vote at the next meeting. There was discussion on funding for Barbara’s contract. Barbara clarified that if salmon-related actions and all deliverables are complete then the Lead Entity discretionary funds could be directed to other projects, such as the critical areas ordinance update. Terrie suggested that the real costs to the MRC of salmon recovery be figured out for this year in order to determine next year’s funding request.
There was discussion on funding the publication and mailing of the MRC Annual Report in the budget. Jody pointed out that this is a great public outreach tool. Plans for next year’s County Fair were discussed. Jody discussed the importance of Soundwatch to the MSA boater education component of MSA; she suggested that this would be a good year to help provide match money for the federal grant that funds Soundwatch. A copy of “The Whale Museum Soundwatch Boater Education Program Activities Report 2005” was circulated. Kari reported that Soundwatch provides education to some 4000 boaters on the water each year; efforts to record human use of reserves is coordinated with education about whales. Tina suggested calling out discrete pieces, such as boater education, in the budget and workplan, with specific funding and benchmarks; Jim said a spreadsheet of some sort around the human use issue would be useful. Kit added that the MRC and Soundwatch partnership is real and should be acknowledged.
Jody said that the MRC webpage doesn’t have a Shared Strategy component. She explained that there is funding in the budget to update and improve the website so that it will accurately reflect current activities. Jody talked about the value of the JEMS project that has been funded by DOE since 1999 but the state wants to withdraw funding. Terrie and Ken agreed that it is important to continue funding JEMS; Ken added that JEMS already has 6 years of data and its work fits in very well with the new state initiative to clean up the Sound. David said that the NWSC should also be encouraged to fund JEMS since it is an invaluable study. Ken said the project covers the area from the San Juan Islands to Port Townsend; two more sites have been added as part of last fall’s class and Ken said this is very critical sampling (from above and below the San Juans). Jim said he’s a total fan of JEMS; there is a new opportunity, he added, with the eelgrass restoration program, and JEMS could be given a one-time allocation of a few hundred dollars to help work out a doable county-wide water quality sampling regime. Kit suggested adding a water quality line item to the internal budget with details to be worked out later. Jim said a class project for Jan Newton’s class specifically supported Ecosystem Based Management; he added that he was very impressed with the presentation at the Labs. A complete budget will be prepared for review and vote at the next meeting.
SJC Water Resources Committee:
Tina explained that this is an advisory body that meets every other month; it is focusing on fresh water quantity right now but Vicki Heater, staff lead, has a fair amount of data on water quality. Vicki recently did a presentation to the BOCC and, because of critical areas and critical aquifer issues, she has funding for a consultant (Doug Kelly out of Island County) to do such work as the saltwater intrusion study. Last year the committee focused on Eastsound as part of the Urban Growth Area update; this year they are focused on CAO and seawater intrusion. Tina suggested inviting the Water Resources Committee to an MRC meeting with a specific agenda to introduce each other and learn about each other’s work; she added that both committees should support and coordinate with each other.
Tina said that the SJC Conservation District called a meeting about a month ago for everyone working out in the field on water quality monitoring. The goal was to find a way to share data better and to coordinate more. She said the Labs’ K-12 program may be going through a re-structuring. Laura said the focus of the Water
Resources Committee has been on drinking water; she said one of the parts of the conversation with them should be to ask them to broaden their view.
David announced that the SJC Agricultural Resources Committee has on its plate a clam aquaculture proposal for Shoal Bay. Kit pointed out that the MRC has a checklist for such proposals.
Tidelands Removal:
Mary distributed copies of a draft letter to DNR requesting that the agency withdraw tidelands adjacent to the national wildlife refuge sites in SJC from future leasing opportunities. She explained that for years now there has been talk around the county about ways to better protect the refuge complex.
Motion: Jim moved, and Victoria seconded, that the letter be approved. Following discussion, the motion was amended to add detail on a recent habitat mapping study, a study prioritizing sites on their conservation value, and a 1997 Whale Museum assessment of species in the reserves. The motion passed unanimously.
Kit suggested that a draft of the letter be sent to the tribes and WDFW before being sent to DNR.
NWSC Alternate:
Jonathan White was nominated and elected as the new NWSC Alternate.
MRC Meeting Schedule:
Kit led a discussion on the current meeting schedule. Terrie, for example, has had to be absent on Wednesdays because of classes she teaches. She said she will continue teaching on Wednesdays until June but could participate by phone. Kit reported that the MRC rules state that alternate members can participate in meetings but cannot vote. There were no proposals for meeting time changes.
MSA Anniversary:
Candy reported that there will be press coverage every week on the event. She distributed art contest posters with guidelines attached. Art work is due by January 20th and there will be a no host party for judging submissions. Candy said she needs a presenter on stewardship for the Lopez schools. She also asked for suggestions for a keynote speaker by the January 4th meeting and for help in locating addresses for the invitations list. Kit will investigate whether the Tulalip First Ceremony group would be available to open the celebration.
NWSC Outreach Report:
Victoria said she participated in a conference call meeting as a member of the NWSC education committee (advisory to the NWSC). Work plan priorities (target audiences) are the state legislature, MRCs, media, land use planners and recreational/commercial users. Victoria said the Commission has a fundraising foundation that could help with the education priorities. One topic of discussion was how to help each MRC with professional guidance for its website. The NWSC education committee will have a follow-up conference call on February 10th to develop projects for each target audience. Victoria announced that she is now on the education committee for the Orcas Island Yacht Club.
Citizens’ comments:
Kari reported on the 5-day Marine Mammal Conference she attended. There were several sessions on establishing MPAs and on critical habitat. She will pass on some abstracts. She also suggested seeing the Society for Marine Mammals webpage.
Kari said that the process with NOAA and others will start in January to look at compliance monitoring, whale-wise guidelines, etc.. Kit asked how the MRC can be engaged with the orca ESA listing and recovery plan. It was suggested that a calendar be developed with important dates logged in.
Victoria said that Bill Ruckelshaus will participate in San Juan Nature Institute’s winter lecture series, speaking on “Environmental Public Policy.”
Tina announced that there will be an abalone presentation on January 19th at the San Juan Island Grange at
7 pm. Terrie wondered if the MRC should respond to the Navy’s EIS on acoustic harassment.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 am
Submitted by Helen Venada
