Minutes
September 1, 2004
Members Present: Laura Arnold, Peter Fromm, David Hoopes, Terrie Klinger, David Loyd, Mary Masters,
Kit Rawson, Jim Slocomb
Absent: Kelley Balcomb-Bartok, Mike Bertrand, Brian Calvert, Kevin Ranker, DJ Sessner, Dennis Willows
Guests: Ray Bigler, Ralph Hahn, Jody Kennedy
Chair Jim Slocomb called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. in the Community Room at Islanders Bank Annex, Friday Harbor.
Minutes: Minutes of the 8/04/04 meeting were approved as read. (The 8/18/04 meeting was not held so that members could participate in the County Fair booth.)
Aquaculture:
Kit reported that Russel Barsh would be able to “test” the MRC draft policy document that proposes a county protocol checklist for future aquaculture projects. He added that Jody will be following up with Betsy Peabody on the abalone project and that he got good feedback from DFW. Jim said that there has been a lot of discussion in the news media recently about open ocean aquaculture in the Strait of Juan de Fuca; he made note of the three-mile limit, the fact that the south tip of Discovery Island provides very poor flush, and that sea conditions are not otherwise suitable. Terrie confirmed that currents, etc. are such that all stirred up materials come directly up San Juan Channel.
There was discussion on specific county boundaries and on the next steps for the protocol checklist. Kit said he hoped that the policy document would at least stimulate productive discussion and that, by the first of October, there could be a document to present to the BOCC. Kit will send the edited draft document to Sandy Wylie-Echeverria to invite him to also test the checklist on the eelgrass recolonization project.
MSA Project Outreach:
Jim reported on his visit to the Lions Club last week; he said there were about 60 people in attendance and there were no negative comments to the Power Point presentation. In fact, an attendee reminded everyone that MRC membership is generally volunteer which makes the effort different from a top down approach. Ray confirmed that the presentation seemed to be well received. Jim will also continue his more casual discussions with residents on the MSA issue to solicit more input.
“Managing for Resilience” Symposium:
Terrie said that, as part of the 100-year celebration at the Labs, there was a three-day symposium for biologists, fish ecologists, students and others from around the world, to discuss the topic of the resilience of an ecosystem to recover after disturbance. There is now a whole body of theoretical development in this area but moving to management application is difficult, Terrie said. Three of the sessions were purely biological; a social science session included terrestrial-based applications where environment management is more developed; the final session included presentations by the former deputy of NMFS and a former ESA director who discussed how to actually apply eco-based management. Terrie said there will be a series of five papers from the symposium published by next June. She noted that students seemed to be better at thinking broadly about inter-disciplinary approaches.
Work Plan:
Jody said the committee seems to be on top of most of the work plan items with the exception of water quality. Jim said that the issue was a hot topic with NWSC as well. Laura suggested that it would be useful to talk with Vicki Heater and Mark Tompkins, of the SJC Community Services and Health Department, about the water quality monitoring they are invested in at this time. Jody said that the state’s results on shellfish testing here are positive, except for Buck and Barlow Bays, usually representing runoff problems in Buck Bay and one or two boats in Barlow Bay that are not properly disposing of their waste. Jim said the MRC needs to know who is sampling and what it is they are sampling for. Jody said the State Department of Health does shellfish testing at least six times a year here. The State Department of Ecology (Jan Newton) does water quality monitoring of the entire Puget Sound, Terrie added, more oceanographic than kelp. She said that Jan Newton who is in involved in DOE’s Joint Ecosystem Monitoring (JEMs) will be teaching at the Labs this fall; Terrie noted that a Roche Harbor damage settlement led to its paying for a year or two of water quality monitoring, with the Labs and DOE also participating in JEMS. Three stations were established between here and Anacortes in Rosario Strait sampling, regularly now for physical properties (phytoplankton counts, movement from Fraser River, etc.). It was agreed that inviting Jan to visit the MRC with her class would be very helpful.
Jody said the SJC Conservation District may have a database on their watershed program (contact, Lori Larkin). David Hoopes said that Shared Strategies is very interested in watershed and nearshore connections. Jim said that there is still not a clear direction from the BOCC on the issue. The goal of MRC’s baseline water quality monitoring work plan item is to track and identify gaps in monitoring; in order to “implement” it, Jim pointed out, more needs to be known about what is being done and by whom. Kit suggested that in order to engage student participation, MRC needs to identify project ideas/needs before teachers lay out their class curricula. Terrie said that working with students in the Masters program would be preferable to using apprenticeships. David Loyd said that Joe Gaydos is a good contact for working with students.
Balloon Releases:
Peter did a presentation to NWSC and other MRC’s, expressing the idea that all could work together on the issue. David Loyd said that if the issue was broadened to include plastics then recreational boaters might get involved (plastics are hard on intakes for motor boats). David Hoopes visited the Anacortes shop on Commercial Street which has a strong mandate against sales for large balloon releases; also, all balloons sold must have anchors. Laura suggested that this might be a good example to share with local vendors. She said that a report could be made to the BOCC on what the MRC has learned about the issue and present a plan for outreach education. The subcommittee (Peter and David Hoopes) will draft a protocol on balloons to provide to local retailers and others.
NWSC Report:
Jim said the draft “NWSC Initiatives: Goals and Performance” has a timeline. The NWSC meeting last week on Lopez reviewed the draft, Jim said, with lengthy discussions on what constitutes best available science and on tribal rights and participation. Jim said that the upcoming training conference in October is a good occasion for members to comment on where the NWSC and the MRCs are headed.
Terrie said that “sound science” is different from “best available science,” the latter, at least within some agencies, is defined by law and is as published in the literature. She added that the best available science construct is getting attacked by the current administration in D.C. and by the courts, making it undoable so that decisions that are environmentally sound cannot be made. The term “sound science,” she suggested is therefore better because it is not taken out of the legal realm. David Hoopes said he prefers “scientific approach” to sound (vs unsound) science. Jim said that the MRC as an advisory committee needs to be aware of the constraints on the thought and processes imposed by the law on regional BOCCs so that they can be advised in a manner consistent (in terminology and approach) with what they can do. Terrie said that, for example, the forage fish data, although not published, was done with a good objective scientific approach so that the MRC would like to be able to use it.
There was discussion on the idea of “net gain” in the context of nearshore habitat; Terrie suggested that “net change” would be a more accurate term. Kit said that we need to say where we’re going with the goals and objectives of restoration. There was discussion on whether there needs to be differentiation between marine and nearshore habitats. Terrie said an oceanographer would say that anything we’re talking about would be nearshore; she suggested that the word coastal, where land meets water, may be a better term for this area. There was further discussion on specifics of the draft document.
Other comments on the draft can be given to Jody for submission to Ginny Broadhurst and Sasha Horst.
Coordinator’s Report:
Jody discussed proposed changes in the NWSC grant process; grant timelines will be synchronized with federal cycles so that both the action and admin grants will be on the same cycle. Another change is that a 2-year grant cycle (optional?) could be established (i.e. the current 2004 grant could be amended to be a 2-year grant that ends in 2006). Jody asked that members think about projects for next year’s grant; a letter of intent, stating how the current grant would be extended to another year, is due by October. Jody asked for members’ feedback on the process.
The NWSC fall conference will be held October 29th-30th at the Skagit Casino Resort in Bow. Jody asked who would be interested in attending. She also asked for a show of hands of those interested in attending the November 9th-10th managers’ meeting.
People for Puget Sound will hold a workshop on boater education in Bellingham on October 2nd. Kari Koski has volunteered to bring MSA materials to the workshop.
There was discussion about the Port of Friday Harbor’s request to print and laminate the MSA map for distribution and sale to cover costs. David Loyd suggested that the rocks hazard map could be re-worked with public input.
Jody thanked everyone for their help at the County Fair booth.
Bottomfish Zone Signs:
It was agreed that if the arrowhead on the new sign design were larger it would be more visible and that the oval shape is more aesthetically pleasing than a square one. An updated version will be emailed to the property owners for their feedback.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.
Submitted by Helen Venada
