Minutes
May 19, 2004
Members Present: Laura Arnold, Brian Calvert, Peter Fromm, David Hoopes, Terrie Klinger, David Loyd,
Kit Rawson, Jim Slocomb, Dennis Willows
Absent: Kelley Balcomb-Bartok, Mike Bertrand, Mary Masters, Kevin Ranker
Guests: Ray Bigler, Shannon Davis, Robyn du PrŽ, Dr. Bruce Gunderson, Jody Kennedy, Kari Koski, DJ Sessner
Guest speaker: Ginny Broadhurst, Marine Program Coordinator for the Northwest Straits Commission
Chair, Jim Slocomb, called the meeting to order at 8:35 a.m. in the community room at Islanders Bank Annex, Friday Harbor.
Shannon Davis distributed copies of Friends of the San Juans’ poster for the ÒForum on Fish FarmingÓ to be held May 26th on San Juan Island and May 27th on Orcas Island. The documentary, ÒNet Loss,Ó showing the environmental impacts of fish farming, will be shown at each meeting, followed by a presentation by Dr. John Volpe of the University of Alberta and by Anne Mosness of the ÒGo Wild Campaign.Ó One issue to be discussed is the U.S. government’s efforts to allow open ocean aquaculture in federal waters such as in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Shannon requested that the MRC co-sponsor the event; Jim suggested that there be further discussion during the Coordinator’s report. Brian suggested that the gillnetters’ association be invited to also co-sponsor the forum.
David Loyd said that the fingerlings seen in the Port of Friday Harbor and other shallow water areas here, including the bay at Waldron Island where they are tens of thousands of them, have been identified as salmon, mostly pinks and some chums, probably from Fraser River.
Minutes: The 4/7/04 minutes were revised to reflect an inaccuracy pointed out by Mary Lou Mills’ email to Helen Venada; the last sentence of the final paragraph on page 2 was changed to read, Ò...high water up,Ó with the committee’s approval. Minutes of the 5/5/04 meeting were approved as read.
Guest speaker:
Ginny Broadhurst said that when she attended the MSA sub-committee meeting here a few months ago she presented an overview on a larger regional marine protected area project. One piece of that project is for the NWSC to look at existing sites and, as a Commission, to see what could be done to add value to those sites (e.g. monitoring, management plans). In viewing San Juan County’s mapping, Ginny said, she was impressed with the number of existing sites here that are under some kind of agency jurisdiction (the other six counties have just a few such sites). She said she wondered what a network of those sites could look like and proposed a two-day workshop to convene all the complementing managing authorities together with the goal of starting to develop a more unified vision for the whole ecosystem. The goal of the proposed ÒMPA Managers ForumÓ would be to augment the protection of marine species and habitats by improving dialogue among managers; new scientific research could be presented for shared discussion. Ginny requested that the MRC discuss the concept and possible partnership with NWSC to help facilitate and organize the event. One issue, Kit said, is that there are both conflicting and compatible mandates among the several agencies and tribes with interests in the San Juans. Dennis added that a discussion on enforcement could be very useful. Laura suggested that the Land Bank and San Juan Preservation Trust be added to the preliminary list of invitees and Brian noted that the SJC Sheriff and the U.S. Coast Guard, the only two entities with the physical ability to do enforcement action on the water with any kind of immediacy, should, also be invited.
Kari said that the Whale Museum is planning an enforcement meeting on San Juan Island, to be scheduled within the next month, for agencies to address whale watch issues. She said that other national wildlife refuge issues will also be discussed. Kari noted that WADFW will have a larger presence here regarding ESA listing for the orcas; the agency is interested in zonation for whale protection, she said. There was discussion on the benefit of perhaps scheduling the enforcement meeting before the managers’ forum or of developing a vision before addressing the enforcement issue. Jody will participate on the NWSC advisory committee to help plan the forum.
Shannon said that Friends of the San Juans will be talking to private shoreline owners this September through a PIE grant; they will be discussing shoreline armoring and upland impacts. She suggested that MSA information could be shared with private landowners at that time.
Work Session:
Jim said that this would be the first public discussion on the internal details of the MSA effort. He indicated that members have received for review the mapbook and draft zone map (model), the preliminary matrix of management ideas from the sub-committee, and language from the NWSC action grant. This will be the first of many such sessions. Jim asked for more discussion on particular gaps, e.g. human use impacts, indicator species.
Kit said that the relationship of the goals to final actions needs to be part of the package at some point; the policy from the tribes, for instance, identifies the problems and spells out associated goals, he said. Jim said that the problem is the general health and welfare of the archipelago. David Loyd said that Reed Harbor is an example of a data gap; it has the advantage of having a sister harbor attached to the same park with the same uses and high impacts and yet there is no full understanding of the two harbors. Brian said that his concerns are site-specific; he asked if there are any areas that now completely restrict commercial gillnetting. Dennis said it is true for rockfish and lots of other kinds of fish, but is not true for salmon. Jim reminded members that previous discussions have all been on voluntary measures, not regulatory ones. Brian reiterated that all user groups need to be brought into the process (e.g. Gillnetters Association, Yacht Club, etc.). He added that for the effort to be successful it needs to be scientifically driven but also takes into account the input of user groups (e.g. on traditional uses such as anchoring in Reed Harbor). Brian suggested focus groups for each user group.
Kit said that the way the process is supposed to work, (although it’s not always done in natural resource management) is that the scientific/ technical part comes first and then policy evolves from there; he suggested that this model be followed as much as possible in the MSA process. David Loyd pointed out that in Deer Harbor, for instance, the eelgrass is not damaged nearly as much by anchoring as by turbidity caused by boat wake; Terrie added that prop wash alone can cause negative impacts. Jim said that the challenge is to rate human use layers, such as marinas or high traffic boat channels. There was discussion on the valuation of the draft map’s layered categories. All agreed that the overall goal is to alter behaviors of users. Brian suggested that if users’ behaviors could be improved by just 10%, the effort would be a big win; he said that to do this, outreach materials need to be less complicated and less detailed. Ray Bigler agreed that if the target group is the general public, then the approach needs to be kept simple and concise, targeted for each user group.
Peter noted that Fisherman’s Bay has clams, oysters, eelgrass, and crabs...none of which are indicated now on the draft map. Jim said that this is an example of gaps that need to be filled in by public input. Terrie agreed that in some cases anecdotal knowledge is more accurate than state databases. Robyn suggested that instead of the Òcritter list,Ó priority habitat types need to be identified along with associated user impacts.
In a discussion on potetial impacts from kayakers, Peter suggested that members read the book, ÒPolluting for Pleasure,Ó which documents that powerboats, including sailboats with engines, create more air pollution and oil contamination annually than all the cars and trucks in America. Brian said that as of this year all diesel marine engines need to meet EPA standards.
It was agreed that one MRC meeting per month be scheduled as an MSA work session. Shannon requested that members bring with them the stewardship area goals and management plan to every meeting. Kit said that the goal here is certain improvements in the marine ecosystem; he agreed that the goal of a measurable change in behavior over time is a good idea but an objective basis must be maintained. Jim affirmed that the real missing information is the human use data. Brian said the message to alter behavior is an easy message and the user’s behavior that is
really harmful or that has minimal or no negative impact represents a slight shift...the MSA theme then has to be
explained simply in an easy to understand format. Ginny said that the MSA project is a huge undertaking for the MRC; the simplicity of the end product does need to be backed up by not-so-simple science. Kari said that Soundwatch has been using the MSA map from the sportsfishing guide in educational efforts; she added that the simple but comprehensive format has been well received by boaters.
Coordinator’s Report:
Jody asked for updates on the retreat sub-committee; Mary suggested by email that members submit ideas and goals for the retreat to Jody.
Jody distributed copies of the compilation of volunteer hours and meeting attendance, requesting that members send her any missing data. She also needs to know who will be attending the NWSC conference on 6/4 and 6/5 and will need to have all receipts sent to her for reimbursement.
Regarding the bottomfish grant requirements, Jody asked about contacting co-managers to do MRC presentations. Suggestions were made following discussion. Jody attended the federal Ocean Commission Policy forum last Thursday; she feels that the policy decisions coming out of the forum represent large regional management so that smaller, local action must continue to be proactive. Ginny reported that Jody did a great job of representing the MRC at the forum.
There is $10, 000 for bottomfish outreach carried over from a donation made several years ago; Jody asked how the money could best be used. Kari said that Soundwatch does bottomfish outreach regularly and she has observed that the signs at the BFRP sites need attention, e.g. there has been winter damage to the signs at Pile Point and Charles Island, signs at some sites are missing entirely, and there are six signs at Snug Harbor that are in storage. It was agreed that the size, materials, and message of the signs needs to be reevaluated and that the signs require ongoing maintenance. Jody requested that members submit their ideas for using the donated funds to her for consideration at the next meeting.
David Loyd suggested that it might be time to re-visit the BFRP zones, e.g. perhaps adding West Bank off Sucia Island which is a yelloweye zone. He said that the MRC and a group of agencies could be convened to do the review and develop a second BFRP stage.
Motion: Brian moved, and Peter seconded, that the MRC publish an RFP for a contractor to replace, repair, re-design all the BFRP signs and use the $10,000 funding to do it. Discussion followed. The motion passed, with David Loyd voting nay.
Jody reminded members that water quality is a work plan item; her understanding is that a proposal will be put together this year for what might be done next year. Some ideas are monitoring projects that involve the general community and schools and outreach to change behaviors at home. Terrie agreed to speak to Jan Newton (DOE) who will be in residence at the Labs in the Fall; Jan is responsible for designing and maintaining a water quality monitoring program for the state. Shannon noted that there is already a lot of water quality monitoring going on in the San Juans and all that effort needs to be coordinated.
Motion: David Loyd moved, and Dennis seconded, that support for the Friends of the San Juans’
forum on fish farming be approved, not to exceed $250. After discussion, the motion passed with Brian opposing.
Kari presented a bag of plastic debris, mostly balloons, to Peter as evidence of one-day’s collection on the water.
Dr. Gunderson proposed a project for an MRC intern: the mapping of nearshore vegetation and diving for juvenile count. Jody, Terrie, and Dr. Gunderson will discuss the internship proposal further.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
Submitted by Helen Venada
