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January Meeting Minutes |
MRC MEMBERS PRESENT: Marty Behr, Sayed El-Sayed, Mike Gallion,
Roger Sherman, Sharon Hart, Vice Chair Tom Roehl, Dick Toft and Don Meehan.
MRC Exec. Dir. Gary Wood. MRC Secretary Kate Poss. Visitors: Doug Carmichael
and Gabriel Shirley from Big Mind Media and Raquel Espinosa, a Clinton
resident interested in marine biology. MRC Members absent: Hi Bronson,
Jeff Tate, Phyllis Kind and Chair Tom Campbell.
Note: MRC Member Matt Klope said he did not wish to renew another term. His work and family keep him from attending our meetings regularly. The MRC will search for a new candidate to fill the North Whidbey science representative post.
Called to order: Today's meeting was called to order at 4:11 pm. There is a quorum
Agenda approval: Today's agenda was approved
Jan. 9 meeting minute approval: The Jan. 9 meeting minutes were approved with a few clarifications to Gallion's statement regarding our forage fish web site. Hart moved to accept the minutes; Gallion seconded the motion, which was carried
2002 Workplan Adoption
· Meehan passed around copies of the 2002 workplan and thanked
the MRC for all their efforts. Wood will give a copy of the plan to the
NWSC.
· Action: Meehan moved and El-Sayed seconded the motion to approve
the motion to approve the workplan. The motion was carried.
Adoption of Annual 2001 Report
· Meehan passed around copies of the Annual Report 2001 which includes
our members' progress on their assigned benchmarks, highlights of the
year, including getting $231,000 in grants to map forage fish spawn, eelgrass
beds and hardened shorelines of Island County; hiring Exec. Director Wood.
Areas to improve: increase depth of islandcountymrc.org website; increased
media coverage; more financial support for administrative functions.
· Action: Behr moved to approve the report; Sherman seconded
the motion, which was carried by all.
Northwest Straits (NWSC) meeting 1/24 and 1/25 in Coupeville
· Meehan said Toft will speak tomorrow on what it's like to be
a MRC member
· Sherman will give a report on MPAs (Marine Protected Areas):
troubled waters and smooth sailing
· Meehan will discuss administrative challenges from our county's
perspective; i.e. we are the only county with an executive director; and
burnout, noting that he and Wood processed six contracts during the past
year.
· Wood proposed a change from NWSC's usual flat administrative
grant. His 3-tiered idea: a) $10,000 grant; b) a flexible grant, pre-designed
MRC support categories such as grant proposal preparation, workshops,
website creation and maintenance, an a mount ranging from $5,000 to $30,000;
and c) funding for current action-getting funds from point b).
o NWSC will get $950,000 for 2003
· In other news, Wood pointed to a letter from Sen. Patty Murray,
supporting our MRCs proposal to the National Fish and Wildlife (NFW) fund.
Support also came from Congressman Rick Larson. NFW is funded through
corporations' payments mitigation. $450,000 for our forage fish project
is being requested.
Forage Fish website presentation by Gabriel Shirley and Doug Carmichael
of Langley-based Big Mind Media
· Volunteers on our forage fish project can enter their journals
and impressions on the site.
· Site lists sponsors: NWSC, UC Davis, Salmon Recovery Funding
Board.
· Guest information will not be shared to protect their privacy
· The Private Work Place
o Log in with a password
o System security allows varied levels of access
o Contains field reports
o Allows for asking of technical questions, discussing items with candor;
allows for privacy; protects integrity.
o Meehan asked if someone were to make a public information request would
the MRC be required to turn the info. over. He was told that the MRC owns
the content of the site.
· Toft suggested providing an organizational chart of the site
· Wood added that the Salmon Recovery Funding Board is considering
using this website format as a way to archive its shelves of files and
reports.
· Gallion added that the general public should be granted view
only access.
· The site could be used for science reports for high school and
college students
· Meehan showed the digitalized Power Point presentation on the
Canadian Forage Fish project, which shows the migration of forage fish
spawn over several years and decades. He suggested this format would be
a good one for Dan Penttila's current work mapping Island County's forage
fish.
Marine Protected Areas update
· Mary Lou Mills from the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, who Sherman
said is a real mover and shaker, will talk at our 2/20 MRC meeting. She
is a proponent of derelict gear removal.
Grants Update--Wood
· On the UC Davis fund we did not receive, we were rated #1 by
its science team. Better luck next year.
· Salmon Recovery Funding Board-our project will be discussed soon
in Edmond
Soundwaters Conference Feb. 2
· Sponsored by our MRC and the WSU Beach Watchers the event will
feature classes by Wood, our county hydrologist Doug Kelly, Sandy Wyllie-Escheverria,
who is an eelgrass scholar and who works with Jim Norris on our eelgrass
study and the keynote speaker is Si Simenstad, renowned marine biologist
from UW, Seattle.
· $15 to register. Email to Don's office as MRC member. MRC will
pay for members' registration. Maximum of 3 classes.
Suggestions for areas for mitigation work
· Toft-re-institution of pen-reared blackmouth
· Gallion said hatchery-raised winter Blackmouth eat herring-which
may be the cause of the herring population decline-should be further investigated
· Meehan said to email him with other suggestions.
The meeting was adjourned a 6:15 pm and will meet next
Feb. 6 from 4 p.m to 6 pm at the Heller Road Firehall in Oak Harbor.
