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Minutes
April 4, 2007
4:00 – 5:45 pm , Heller Road Firehall
Oak Harbor
www.islandcountymrc.org
PRESENT: Chair Dick Toft , Hi Bronson , Phyllis Kind , Ken Urstad , Communications Mgr. Dan Pedersen .
ABSENT: Tom Campbell , Joe Hillers, Ian Jefferds, Don Meehan , Rolf Seitle, Johnny Palka, Jeff Tate, Benye Weber, Executive Director Rex Porter .
ALTERNATES: Toft for Campbell, Pedersen for Hillers, Bredensteiner for Weber.
VISITORS: Kim Bredensteiner , Island County Salmon Recovery; Kristen Cooley , WSU Beach Watchers; Scott Chase, Shore Stewards ; Celia Bartram , Coupeville; Jan Smith, Island County Planning Department.
CALL TO ORDER: 4:00 pm . QUORUM: Declared with alternates. AGENDA: Adopted. MINUTES of 4-7-2007 : Adopted. Motion by Bronson, second by Kind, no objections. CORRESPONDENCE: None.
SUMMARY OF ACTION
Draft Strategic Plan. Pedersen will distribute by e-mail the first four sections of the Draft Strategic Plan and ask the members to e-mail back to him their suggestions for any changes to the purpose, problem/opportunity, vision and mission. Toft will set aside time at a future meeting to discuss the plan in greater depth.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Speakers for 2007. Toft said Porter is completing the schedule of speakers for remainder of 2007. He said he believes one of the first programs will be a talk on low-impact developments (LIDs).
Keystone ferry. Urstad and Pedersen commented that several recent newspaper articles have quoted the ferry system as saying their plans for Keystone Harbor and new ferries are essentially dead – they don't have the money to go forward. So as it presently stands, they will continue to operate the old boats until they can no longer be maintained and certified by the Coast Guard. Toft asked the members to alert the group if they hear of any further public meetings or other developments on Keystone.
NEW BUSINESS
Northwest Straits (NWSC) meeting. Kind reported the NWSC met March 23. Main points:
> Congressman Jack Metcalf. Kind reported that the NWSC had sent condolences to Norma Metcalf, widow of Congressman Jack Metcalf, who cosponsored the legislation establishing the Northwest Straits Initiative. It might be appropriate for our MRC to do likewise.
> NWSC budget. Kind said Lew Moore discussed the status of the budget. She said the money is budgeted through the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and she has not heard anything to the effect that the federal budget for 2008-9 has yet been approved. We will most likely not receive as much federal funding as we did last year. There is a good probability of receiving $1 million from the state over the next two years. She said a number of state officials are very supportive.
> Derelict gear. Kind also reported that Tom Cowan , former NWSC executive director, is taking the derelict gear program nationwide. He has obtained funding and will be working with people in Chesapeake Bay and elsewhere to retrieve their derelict gear.
> NWSC meeting April 27. The next NWSC meeting at Padilla Bay will be devoted to reports and interaction among the MRCs about their projects. Each MRC will have 40 minutes, half of which will be for presentations and the other half for discussion. She collaborated with Toft and Porter, and they agreed we should present our Shore Stewards, interpretive signage and Cornet Bay restoration projects.
MRC – Beach Watchers regional coordination. Kristen Cooley commented that at the recent Puget Sound Georgia Basin Research Conference she met MRC members from other counties and also talked with other Beach Watchers coordinators. She said her fellow coordinators are excited to be the catalyst for increased regional MRC projects, citing as an example the escape-cord project. The coordinators are enthusiastic about working with the MRCs. All the counties with MRCs also have Beach Watchers programs. In many counties, as in Island County , some MRC members are also members of Beach Watchers as well as of Shore Stewards. The groups are in constant communication – she said this seems like a perfect fit for future joint projects. Toft commented that one of our MRC's first projects was the eelgrass survey, and that the Beach Watchers had made this remarkably successful with a minimum of investment. Cooley commented that one of the current Beach Watchers is especially interested in a project to replant eelgrass using an improved technique.
Introduction to Draft Strategic Plan
Pedersen distributed copies of an MRC draft strategic plan. He prepared the draft after our March 21 planning session, using the NWSC template. He pointed out that the first question on the template is, “What is the purpose of the organization?” For guidance he reviewed the Island County Commissioners' resolution of May 1999 creating the MRC. He noted it does not specifically mention restoration but characterizes the organization's purpose as to:
- Gather scientific information
- Understand the needs of the ecosystem
- Recommend remedial actions to local authorities and
- Build awareness of the issues and support for the remedies.
Bredensteiner said she interpreted the resolution slightly differently. What jumped out to her was the second-to-last paragraph in which the BOCC established the MRC “to protect the local marine environment and contribute to the protection of the marine environment of the Northwest Straits through education, research and voluntary action.” She said it seems to her the purpose might be expressed as:
To contribute to the protection of the local and Northwest Straits marine environments through education, research and voluntary action with a focus on:
- Addressing local marine issues
- Recommending remedial actions to local authorities and
- Building community awareness of the issues and support for the remedies.
Purpose and focus. Pedersen suggested the group read the resolution carefully and determine what our purpose is. The resolution as shown on the MRC website mentions an “Attachment A” that is not included. Pedersen looked on the NWSC website for documents that might shed further light and could not find any.
He said he believes it is important to work the exercise of the NWSC template from beginning to end – to start by stepping back and reviewing what our guiding purpose is. If we work from the broad to the specific, rather than start at the specific, we may find we should change some of our projects and priorities to focus more tightly on the things we were created to do.
State of the Shoreline Report. He commented that in our previous discussions there was great interest in reporting regularly to the county commissioners. Pedersen said the idea occurred to him to make an annual, formal report to the commissioners and give it a name, such as The State of the Shoreline Report . We should prepare it thoughtfully every year, pointing out where we see the problems and opportunities, where we think some progress has been made, etc. This would not only raise the profile of the MRC with the county commissioners but also give us another opportunity to tell our story in the media.
Kind said she thinks it's a terrific idea. She pointed out that in San Juan County , the MRC and county commissioners have a close working relationship. One of the MRC members is a county commissioner. The commissioners have charged the MRC with figuring out how to make their marine stewardship areas work. That's a model for which we should strive.
Toft said he also supports the State of the Shoreline idea, especially if we use it as another opportunity to educate the public. Once a year might be enough if we do a good, professional job. Pedersen said it would take time and effort to prepare a thoughtful report.
Measurement and re-surveying . Pedersen said he thinks the hardest thing of all is to determine how to measure our impact on attitudes and behavior, and on the marine resource. Toft pointed out that the surveys we conducted in the MRC's early years were quite valuable in establishing the condition of the resource. Pedersen commented that when we sit down to plan future projects, instead of starting new ones we may need to go back and re-survey so we can see what has changed, and in what direction.
Bredensteiner agreed, saying we need to determine the right interval. Toft pointed out that one of the reasons we are doing restoration right now is because some of our members expressed a desire to see something tangible – to make something, build something, do something -- rather than just study. Toft said he doesn't think restoration is totally off the mark. Pedersen agreed, adding that restoration serves as another vehicle to do outreach – to engage volunteers, educate property owners, demonstrate success and build community support, all of which helps in our outreach effort.
Bredensteiner pointed out that to some extent restoration may also be driven by the NWSC's expectations and grant-funding requirements for what our projects should include. In the last couple of years we've experienced pushback when our projects focused heavily on education and did not include restoration. Bronson said he thinks one of the best things we've done is create the stewardship areas – a great vehicle for education. But if he were a county commissioner he'd be asking, “What have you done with this? How many people in the county know about it?” Kind said this is something we can measure when we survey people's attitudes and behaviors.
Jan Smith commented that the forthcoming Island County survey will be extremely helpful in understanding countywide differences in public awareness and understanding, and tailoring our efforts accordingly. She said she they are hoping the first community assessment could be done in June and the second in August, with the final report in February or March of 2008. She said it would be helpful to have a representative of the MRC involved in this and Toft said we are highly interested.
Next step. Bredensteiner suggested that as a next step, the MRC focus on reaching agreement about the first four parts of the template – purpose, problem and opportunity, vision, and mission. Toft suggested we come back to the strategic plan at a future meeting when we have a quorum. For now, we will ask the members to comment on the first four sections by e-mail.
PROJECT REPORTS
Shore Stewards. Scott Chase reported that his activities during March and April are dominated by workshops. He is participating with Whidbey Island Conservation District (WICD) and Puget Sound Action Team (PSAT) in three low impact development (LID) workshops, including one in Oak Harbor which Toft attended. Chase said he heard the Coupeville workshop attracted an audience of 40. On March 14 Chase said he participated in an Elger Bay Shoreline Workshop attended by 40 people. On April 14 a similar workshop will be held in Coupeville with Urstad participating. It will include a seining demonstration at Race Lagoon. On April 28 a Sound Garden Workshop will be held on Camano. After that, the Shore Stewards program will be participating with other groups in a grant-funded educational outreach project in to landowners in the Strawberry Point Watershed, a six mile stretch south of Dugualla Bay . Bredensteiner commented this is one of the most beautiful stretches of shoreline in the county. Kind urged Chase to maintain statistics on the numbers of people who attend his workshops because this will be valuable in measuring and documenting the program's impact.
Water's Edge. Pedersen said sales finally appear to have slowed a bit but we continue to fill orders.
Signage. Toft and Pedersen reported that Sarah Schmidt has been hired to manage the signage project and make sure we use our remaining grant funds to the best of our ability before June 30. She has met with Coupeville town planner Larry Kwarsick and prepared a presentation about our Coupeville Wharf signage plans to give to the Design Review Board this month. Pedersen said he believes artist Kris Wiltse will be finished with color art of the third panel for Coupeville Wharf in time for that meeting.
MRC website. Pedersen reported he and Meehan had met with a website design firm in Langley to explore hiring them to redesign our website. Pedersen said he has done some preparation and is ready to work with this firm once a contract is in place. One of the changes he is considering is to add a section of short biographies and mugshots of our members. He distributed printouts of a mockup to the members and asked them to get back to him with changes they would like to their biographical information. This section is modeled somewhat along the lines of the NWSC website.
Water quality buoy. Toft said he thinks we are at the point of cutting our losses on the water quality buoy and looking for someone to buy it. The electrical components have been ruined by salt water.
Seining. Urstad reported that seining is under way at several estuaries.
Bluff birds. Kind reported the organizational meeting is scheduled May 3, 7:30 pm , at Trinity Lutheran Church . She said they hope to enlist some additional volunteers, including someone with the strength to carry and position the pole-mounted camera. The guillemots start laying their eggs in late May or early June. The eggs hatch in 30 days and the chicks stay in the nest and are fed for about another 30 days. Kind shared copies of the poster Bredensteiner prepared about this project for the Puget Sound Georgia Basin Research Conference. She also reported that Frances Wood's brother is designing a website about the pigeon guillemot project. Part of the website's purpose will be to make the pigeon guillemot the icon bird of Island County . The website will also sell the pigeon guillemot note cards designed by Wood and photographer Craig Johnson.
Creosote. Urstad said a meeting is scheduled April 26 to discuss plans to go out and survey debris.
Derelict gear. Bredensteiner said she is eager to know if any additional areas of Island County have been surveyed for derelict gear. “We sit here in the middle of Puget Sound with all these fish migrating through our waters, and just a very little bit of our county has been surveyed.”
LEADERSHIP REPORTS
Chair – Toft
Attendance. Toft commented that tonight's attendance – about a third of the group -- “Is kind of disappointing when you're trying to work on something serious.”
ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, Toft declared the meeting adjourned at 5:45 pm .
MRC Meetings
Spring
3:30-5:30 pm, Wednesdays, twice a month, alternating between Oak Harbor and Freeland
April 18 Trinity Lutheran Church , Freeland, program Shoreform Issues & Sea Level Rise with speakers Jim Johannessen and Andrea MacLennan, Coastal Geologic Services.
May 2 Heller Road Firehall, Oak Harbor
May 16 Trinity Lutheran Church , Freeland, program Low Impact Development, Whidbey Island Conservation District
June 6 Heller Road Firehall, Oak Harbor
Summer
3:30 – 5:30 pm, first and third Wednesdays, once a month, alternating between Oak Harbor and Freeland
July 18 Trinity Lutheran Church , Freeland
Aug. 1 Heller Road Firehall, Oak Harbor
Fall
3:30 – 5:30 pm, first and third Tuesdays, twice a month, all at Commissioners' Hearing Room in Coupeville
Sep. 4
Sep. 18
Oct. 2
Oct. 16
Nov. 6
Nov. 20
Dec. 4
Dec. 18
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