Minutes
May 4, 2005
Members Present: Laura Arnold, Michael Durland, David Hoopes, (Alan) Skeet Lowe, David Loyd, Mary Masters, Victoria Parker, Joy Sevier, Jim Slocomb, Tina Whitman
Absent: Mike Bertrand, Brian Calvert, Terrie Klinger, Kit Rawson, Dennis Willows
Guests: Joel Breemsa, Ginny Broadhurst, Tom Cowan, Hilary Culverell, Kirsten Evans,
Dr. Don Gunderson, MRC Coordinator Jody Kennedy, Kari Koski, Birgit Kriete, Nancy Larsen, Commissioner Kevin Ranker, Rowann Tallmon
Vice Chair Mary Masters called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. in the Community Room at Islanders Bank
Annex, Friday Harbor. She introduced Tom Cowan, Director of the Northwest Straits Commission (NWSC). Tom said that he tries to visit the MRCs when he can; he welcomed new MRC members to the Northwest Straits Initiative. Tom invited everyone to the MRC training conference to be held at the Skagit Casino and Resort on November 4th and 5th. As part of the conference, the Skagit County MRC will host a field trip; other agenda items include a brief NWSC meeting and a session on “Northwest Straits Initiative 101, its goals and objectives.” Tom and Ginny will meet with Jody later today to have a preliminary discussion on next year’s grant application.
Citizens’ Comments:
Hilary Culverell said that she also makes regular visits to MRC meetings as the Puget Sound Action Team (PSAT) liaison for Skagit, Whatcom, and San Juan Counties.
County Commissioner Kevin Ranker said that he has been asked to participate in the state task force to discuss salmon spending over the next 10 years and how to revamp Shared Strategy and the Salmon Recovery Funding Board. A plan was endorsed to double salmon funding over the next 10 years from $60 million to $120 million annually. A good portion of the money ($36M) is expected to come from “mitigation banking,” pooling money to put it to better use. Upfront funding would go to individual watershed and sub-basins, not WRIA’s; Kevin pointed to the state map of priorities, noting that San Juan County does not have the population to qualify for this funding. However, there is another pool of money out of the $120M that San Juan (part of the Nooksack area) will be able to tap into for nearshore activities. Kevin said that San Juan County is an excellent place for a pilot project and for nearshore projects overall since we have more shoreline than any county in the country and a relatively pristine shoreline that provides opportunity for preserving habitat, which could be replicated elsewhere in the state. This increase for salmon recovery will probably not be available until next year and Kevin said he is pushing for a doubling of the 10-year funding to San Juan County, i.e. $500M. The push from both the finance task force and the Shared Strategy final report recommendations, he added, is for preservation and restoration of habitat as one of the greatest opportunities to make headway in salmon recovery. Local actions include critical areas ordinance updates as a tool to preserve habitat; SRF Board will more likely fund easement and restoration actions, he noted.
Jody presented the new Bottomfish Reserve signs which were well received.
Minutes:
Minutes of the 4/6/05 meeting were approved as revised by email. Minutes of the 4/20/05 meeting were approved as revised with these additional corrections: on page 1, 2nd ¶ under “Orientation”, 4th line, change “equivalent income” to “expenses associated with volunteering are;” and on page 2, last ¶, 2nd line, change “solicit” to “provide.”
Guest speaker:
Kari Koski encouraged everyone to look at the 177-page Orca Conservation Plan available on the NOAA Fisheries webpage. She distributed copies of a handout with the URL address, a list of Plan contents, as well as some sections of the Plan (Introduction, Legal Status, Potential Threats) that Kari thought would be of interest. She explained that the southern resident killer whales (J,K, and L pods) are designated under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) as a depleted stock so that a federal conservation plan is required. In tandem to this designation, the federal government is recommending that they be listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act, which requires a recovery plan. They are listed as “threatened” under the state ESA and, in Canada, are listed as a species at risk, which requires a recovery plan and an action plan.
NOAA has undertaken the initial conservation plan with the knowledge that a recovery plan will likely follow. Kari said that the preliminary conservation plan being put out for public comments now is the first of many drafts to develop a final recovery plan. The importance of looking at it now is to provide input to identify gaps; comments are due to NOAA by May 15th (orca.plan@noaa.gov). Kari said that National Marine Fisheries held a public meeting at the Friday Harbor Labs last February that reviewed the plan and solicited comments.
Kari said the state is interested in critical habitat and MSA zoning, such as local efforts to implement no go zones or no speed zones...actions that contribute to management and also to outreach and education. Kari noted that the orca conservation issue is not separate from salmon recovery and that the southern residents spend most of their time in the waters off the San Juans (so that most of the recovery measures would be happening here).
Mary said that Kari requested that the MRC consider writing a letter of support for the preliminary draft conservation plan; she added that Jody has drafted a letter of Kit’s comments on the Draft Plan (copies distributed) and Kari suggested edits to strengthen its support of the Preliminary Plan.
Motion: Victoria moved, and David Loyd seconded, that Jody incorporate the suggested edits to the draft letter and send it off to NOAA. The motion passed unanimously.
Jim asked if the issue was discussed at this year’s whale watch operators meeting. Kari said the industry is generally supportive of the Plan but there are uncertainties and concerns over future regulations, enforcement, and required changes in business practices. Mary suggested that an MRC subcommittee on the issue might be appropriate.
Guest speaker:
Nancy Larsen said that she has been writing and teaching about the history of the islands for several years she has also een involved in historical preservation for the Town of Friday Harbor and around the state, and has been collecting local history of the area, particularly through personal interviews. Nancy explained that she had been approached by Jody, Jim and Laura about collecting local, anecdotal knowledge on historical marine resource use here; she distributed copies of a draft topical outline and a draft project description that she proposes for guiding future interview efforts. She said she is interested in input from the MRC on what information the committee needs to know. Nancy said that in researching the history of the lime industry here, she came across a fish trap map in the Bellingham archives; there were 40 fish traps in the San Juans in the early part of the last century in places, Nancy suggested, that may correlate with critical habitat/ sensitive areas designations. Nancy can be reached at 378-4817 or nlarsen@rockisland.com
David Loyd said that along with the specifics laid out in Nancy’s outline, he’d also be interested in hearing what’s important or meaningful to the interviewees. Jim commented that part of the MSA grant calls for collecting anecdotal knowledge; he would hope that the interviewing could be expanded beyond fishing to, for instance, ecosystem changes observed not only by fishermen but by birdwatchers, shoreline residents, beach walkers, shellfish collectors, etc.. Mary and Tina also suggested gathering information on important
places, beaches, access points.
David Loyd asked about input from the tribes, especially from elders; Jody said that there are plans to visit the Lummi, Samish, and other regional tribes that traditionally visited the waters off the San Juans, along with tribal members and possibly tribal interns to add historical information to MSA maps. Jim said that a GIS intern from the Samish Nation, who is doing graduate work at Scripps, will be supplying him with specific data of cultural significance to augment the MSA mapping process.
Salmon Recovery Process:
To update the committee for next meeting’s discussion, Laura distributed her brief outline on the Puget Sound Shared Strategy Chapter work, its purposes and list of contents. She explained that in the process of transferring the roles of lead entity and of the citizens’ committee to the MRC, there is also the work of finishing San Juan County’s chapter of Shared Strategy’s salmon recovery plan (a draft has been submitted). The difficulty to be addressed was to try to introduce the concept of San Juan’s focus on the whole ecosystem, as opposed to simply fish, into the effort; Laura added that particular kinds of salmon recovery strategies were brought in but the focus is primarily on nearshore habitat actions. Laura asked that members read the new Chapter VII (“Tools, Challenges and Linkages”) for discussion at the next meeting; she said she’d like to have the MRC’s approval of the draft at that time and iscussion with the BOCC is scheduled for May 24th.
Jim asked if there is a model for credible cumulative impacts analysis out there. Laura suggested that this is another area where San Juan County is going to have to pioneer. There was further discussion on actions coming out of San Juan County’s chapter. David Loyd said it’s important to recognize in the big picture that the San Juans are islands in the Fraser River estuary.
The 5-S Process and the MSA:
Mary said the “5-S” framework is part of MSA activity for this summer; an all-day technical advisory panel workshop is being planned for June 14th in Friday Harbor. Jody said that The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has been applying the 5-S conservation strategy throughout the world and it can be a huge resource for the MRC in applying it to Phase 2 of the MSA. Phase 2 is about looking at compiled data, marine resources, trends, and what can be done to conserve resources. Jody said that 5-S is complementary to analyzing data and making maps and tries to develop a systematic way of identifying conservation targets (what species, habitat types, focus for the process); it also provides a means for bringing other people into the process, starting with the technical advisory panel. Jody invited members of the scientific community and the MRC to participate in the June 14th workshop which will be followed by a second workshop focused on marine users, uses, and what needs to be protected. Jody introduced Kirsten Evans, a UW graduate student intern who is studying the 5-S process.
Kirsten explained that the five S’s are: Systems, Stresses, Sources, Strategies, and measures of Success. She said that Washington and Oregon are using the process in some of their terrestrial wildlife planning; a group in Skagit County has used it in its farmland conservation planning and it’s been used in Guatemala and other places in protecting cultural resources. The process, she said, is very adaptable and useful in planning for different goals; an end product is exactly the information that the MRC’s project checklist asks for and the strategies can become a management plan. Kirsten distributed copies of her analysis of the process and its relevance to accomplishing MSA goals; she said 5-S could help in making the goals tractable. The technical workshop will allow scientists who are knowledgeable about this area to work with the MRC on identifying targets; the rest of the work, Kirsten added, falls on the MRC. She provided a 5-S example on the Atlantic Ocean Beaches and Bays, New York.
Kirsten said the TNC has been criticized for falling short in stakeholder involvement and in incorporating social/cultural issues, values, economy. This is the impetus for planning two workshops here...one for the biological, ecological goals and the other for the cultural human element; the aim will be to reconcile the differences of the two approaches in identifying conservation targets. Laura suggested that the San Juan Preservation trust and the Land Bank be invited to attend the workshops.
There was further discussion on stakeholder input. Jim said that Kit has a manual and method for doing the social side of the process; the information will be circulated to members. Kari suggested that the MRC webpage could be used as part of the public process. Victoria said it might be helpful to provide feedback to TNC on the “6th S,” Stakeholders. The MRC science/technical subcommittee will report to the full MRC on the results of the first workshop. TNC will provide staff support for facilitating the process and Jim suggested that the MRC think about additional funding. Jody said that Betsy of TNC will be in Friday Harbor on June 6th and 7th to speak to the technical committee.
NWSC meeting report:
Jody said that the meeting last week discussed the NMFS’ orca recovery plan. She announced that there is MRC money available to cover members’ costs for attending the NWSC fall conference. Jody said the regional projects concept was also discussed at the meeting; she said the NWSC has $86,000 available for a regional project that combines multiple counties. The MRCs are being asked for input on what should be prioritized in their respective areas. Tom emphasized that the money would be spent on one project only. A handout was distributed with project ideas that were developed during the January 2005 retreat; discussion of the list followed. Ginny said that suggested edits and additions to the list are welcome and she asked that the committee rank their top three. The MRC science/technical subcommittee will make recommendations to the full committee.
Jody also reported that the NWSC is writing a strategic plan, which includes revising its benchmarks, reviewing its goals, and developing an implementation plan. Copies of the draft summary were distributed; comments are due to Jody by email before the next NWSC meeting.
Citizens’ comments:
Joel Breemsa from Skagit Fisheries Enhancement introduced himself; he said he’s very interested in the MRC’s strategy development and also was here to offer any services he could provide. He explained that current projects the group is involved in include a culvert installation in Cascade Creek on Orcas Island and an eelgrass restoration project on Blakely Island at Thatcher Bay. He was invited to do a future presentation to the MRC.
Mary said that she met with Bob Conner, Michael Durland, Michael Douglas and Ken Brown from Deer Harbor to get an update on projects there; she said there was discussion on common stewardship goals and on what stewards can do that won’t conflict with federal, state, and landowners’ interests. Michael Durland pointed out that the REED project failed to notify many landowners at the onset of its efforts but that differences are being resolved now.
Kari said that the last Whale Museum-sponsored marine naturalist training highlighted the MSA initiative as will the next Museum newsletter.
Jody reminded everyone of the outreach meeting on Shaw Island next Tuesday. She said community members seemed to show interest in the MSA and had good suggestions at the Eastsound meeting last week.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
Submitted by Helen Venada
