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Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership
Steering Committee Meeting
December 21, 2005

Attendees:

Naki Stevens, Debby Hyde, Terry Wright, Jacques White, Tim Smith, Doug Osterman, Dick Ecker, Josh Baldi, Jim Fox, Bernie Hargrave, John Dohrmann, Frank Shipley, Doug Myers, Curtis Tanner, Andrea Copping, Debbie Rick

Minutes from Previous Meeting – Bernie provided some corrections, edits, etc. Accepted.

Governor’s Puget Sound Initiative –

On Monday, December 19, 2005, Governor Christine Gregoire announced a revitalized effort to conserve and restore Puget Sound. The initiative includes supplemental budget priorities and the launch of the Puget Sound Partnership ? a public-private partnership created to safeguard the health and productivity of Puget Sound and the rivers that feed into it.

The Governor believes a new, broadly-based public-private partnership is needed to better engage citizens, the private sector, tribes, and local, state, and federal government agencies in a unified effort and, in doing so, bring needed increases in public support, resources and accountability to get the job done.

The Governor is enlisting some of the region's leading citizens to help her build the Puget Sound Partnership. Serving with Governor Gregoire on the Puget Sound Partnership are: Salmon Recovery Fund Board Chair William Ruckelshaus; US Representative Norm Dicks; Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Chairman, Billy Frank, Jr.; Colin Moseley, President, Green Diamond Company and Chairman, Simpson Resource Company; King County Executive Ron Sims; University of Washington President Mark Emmert, Ph.D.; Western Washington Agricultural Association Executive Director Mike Shelby; Taylor Shellfish Farms Vice President Bill Taylor; and People for Puget Sound Executive Director Kathy Fletcher.

At the January Retreat of the Puget Sound Partnership, members will determine how to organize.

The Partnership is charged with the following tasks:

1. Develop a set of recommendations for the Governor, the Legislature and Congress to preserve the health of Puget Sound by 2020 and ensure that marine and freshwaters support healthy populations of native species as well as water quality and quantity to support both human needs and ecosystem functions.

2. Engage citizens, watershed groups, local governments, tribes, state and federal agencies, businesses and the environmental community in the development of recommendations Ensure that the recommendations support the implementation of the 14 community-based watershed efforts and the Puget Sound Conservation and Recovery Plan, provide increased accountability for meeting our goals, and help to integrate salmon recovery with the other efforts to protect and restore the Sound.

3. Lead development of a campaign to engage a broad cross section of our citizens in the work of protecting and restoring Puget Sound

4. Assess the current organizational structures for protection and restoration of the fresh and marine watersheds of Puget Sound as well as the recovery of salmon, orca and other threatened species and recommend a structure for an ongoing public/private partnership to steward the ecosystem back to health and protect it for the long-term.

5. Review current and potential funding sources for protection and restoration of the ecosystem and, where possible, make recommendations for the priority of expenditures to achieve the desired 2020 outcomes.

6. Recommend how we should organize and apply broad-based scientific knowledge and capacity to set and meet our goals and inform our policies.

Handouts from the Governor’s Press Conference were passed out. Copies of News Releases and more can be found at http://www.psat.wa.gov/News/press_info/ps_initiative_121905.htm

Proposed components of the partnership’s budget for the Nearshore Partnership is:

Nearshore ecosystem restoration $750,000 General Fund

Enhanced funding for the Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership (PSNP), a partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, state and federal agencies, Indian tribes, industries and environmental organizations. PSNP targets some of the foremost habitat restoration needs in Puget Sound, specifically to identify significant ecosystem problems, evaluate potential solutions, and restore and preserve critical nearshore habitat.

Restore estuaries and salmon habitat $2,500,000 State Building Construction Account
Targets $2.5 million in high-priority estuary and salmon restoration projects in Puget Sound.

Elliot Marks is leaving the Governor’s Policy Office. Kathleen Drew will fill Elliot’s cabinet portion of his position. Brad Ack continues to serve a Lead Coordinator. There will be a staff person hired to be a facilitator/project manager.

Much of the morning was spent on strategizing how the Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership could brief/help/communicate the new Governor’s Partnership on activities, progress, products completed. The Steering Committee needs to determine would be of value to the new Partnership and provide them by the January Steering Committee.

Some of the Nearshore Partnership’s Documents to include are:

  • Currently, Washington Sea Grant Program is working on composing a one-page document for each of the technical reports to synthesize the content.
  • The one-page document describing the Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership needs to be published (Curtis/Debbie)
  • Provide an annotated bibliography of the Nearshore Partnership’s scientific papers and technical documents. (Currently being updated with the website work Deb Rick is doing).

In addition, the Nearshore Partnership needs to develop communication tools to describe the Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership, i.e.,

  • A PowerPoint needs to describe the PSNERP Technical approach, give the Nearshore Partnership history, how the partnership was formed. Should also describe the Nearshore Science Team, the disciplines of the members and their relationship to the project, and current major activities.
  • Invite Brie Van Cleve to give her Nearshore Science Team presentation and “Lessons Learned” document (Andrea Copping).
  • Rejuvenate the restoration community presentation (aka White/Tanner road show) to define and describe the “PSNERP Approach” for nearshore habitat restoration.
  • Update Nearshore Partnership’s website and keep it fresh.
  • Develop communication strategies – focused on nearshore restoration projects – targeted to the public.

Coastal America

Bernie reminded the Steering Committee that the Coastal America’s Principal’s meeting in January 27, 2006, in Seattle. Briefly, the principal’s meeting is an opportunity for the Nearshore Partnership’s federal partners to showcase work on the Nearshore and will add credibility to the program. Alignment as a Coastal America project gives the Nearshore Partnership a collaborative funding approach from the federal budget. A goal for both Partnerships would be to seek support from corporate partners, i.e., Boeing, Microsoft, Green Diamond, etc.

FY07 Federal Requests & FY06 State Requests

Jacques, Curtis, Bernie, Jen, and Debby met once and will have a follow-up Finance Sub-Committee meeting in early January. The workgroup is identifying funding gaps in the strategic work plan, asking questions to layout the gaps, and basing funding requests on the gaps. The committee will have a product to take to Congress the third week of February. Prior to that they will have laid out for the Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership’s Executive Committee on February 9, 2006. For now, completion of Phase II seems possible and they are looking at ways to achieve PSNP goals by next September/October. They are also comparing the Nearshore Partner’s timeline with the Puget Sound Initiative’s.

Nearshore Chapter

Doug Myers gave a presentation of the nearshore aspects of salmon recovery. This information is also attached to the Shared Strategy document.

Partnership Updates

  • Select Forum Follow-up – Naki Stevens
    Naki reported on the Select Forum; the Summary document is attached.
  • Deschutes Feasibility Study – Curtis Tanner
    Curtis reported that the study has $20,000 from NOAA to augment the net benefit analysis. The committee will hold two public meetings to identify socially relevant issues to describe the cost benefit analysis of urban restoration. Director Koenings wrote a letter to Colonel Debra Lewis requesting consideration of the Study being considered under Section 22, however almost all Section 22 money is earmarked until early 2007.

Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project

Federal Project Manager’s Report –

Bernie reported on the progress of the VEC white papers. Bernie also reported on the spending plan for the Corps FY06 Budget, which he also explained that he had about $100,000 yet to be obligated. He will reserve that for a Project Management Team discussion for obligation by March.

Local Project Manager’s Report –

Curtis reported that the www.pugetsoundnearshore.org website will be moved over to the WDFW server. WDFW has hired a student intern to complete the house keeping to the Nearshore database. WDFW attended meetings with SPSSEG on the Burlington Northern Railroad nearshore assessment. A draft monitoring plan has been completed by the NST for the Skokomish dike removal early action project. Curtis has initiated a task with Washington SeaGrant Programs to develop one-page fact sheets summarizing the PSNERP technical Report series.

Nearshore Science Team Report and Research Plan –

Tom Mumford described the external peer review of research plan based on four questions: (1) Will the Plan result in increased knowledge about Puget Sound ecosystem and reduce risk in taking restoration actions? Yes (2) Does the plan meet the stated objective through its six research goals to identify the research and information gaps that need to be addressed? Yes (3) Does the plan give a clear sense of priorities to potential researchers to develop well-focused, pertinent research proposals? (not really); and (4) Does the Plan give research funders and restoration managers a clear sense of research needs and priorities in order for them to make strategic decisions about research funding? (qualified yes)

Primary criticism was that no priority or ranking was provided for the six research gorals. Tom suggested a response that 1) from the author’s perspective, all six goals are of equal importance, and 2) the six goals identified do in fact represent the result of priority setting process by the Nearshore Science Team.

The best use of the research questions will be as “living appendix” to Research Plan; Tom and Guy feel that research questions could belong in Plan, but implementation is still lacking; Research Plan has already gone through major review

USGS has adopted this research plan. The Steering Committee would like a summary presentation developed. The Nearshore Partners should become more familiar with the research plan and learn to use it in context of the Puget Sound Initiative. Would like this Research Plan tied to NOAA’s Ecosystem Based Management and the Ocean Policy Committee.

The Nearshore Partners should become more familiar with the research plan and learn to use it in context of the Puget Sound Initiative.

Implementation Team Report

is working on an initial outline for the white papers. The IT is getting a GIS team re-engaged to setup GIS for the nearshore. Bringing on Nancy Chin, USACE, to the IT for engineer support.

The project is in the early stages of the Feasibility study, the Corps is looking for a person with experience in plan formulation skills to co-lead the IT with Beth Coffey.

Early Action Projects (Report Attached) –

Doug Myers and Randy Carman took the preliminary list that Tim had provided and created a portfolio of EAPs consistent with restoration needs. The projects identified were: urgent and obvious, close information gaps, and are of high value.

If the Legislature appropriates fund for WDFW for EAPS, the Implementation team would process for selecting and approving projects to include Steering/Executive Committee and include the Steering/Executive Committees on development.

In addition to the status categories that Doug and Randy created, Jacques suggested prioritizing the projects according to what knowledge they would provide the Nearshore Partnership, and Josh suggested prioritizing by ease of obtaining construction permits. Another suggestion was identifying those projects that have SRFB funding.

Other Business

Executive Committee draft agenda

Outline #1:
1) Puget Sound Initiative – Jay Manning and Bill Ruckelshaus
2) Legislative/Congressional 07-09 Budget Requests
3) EAP process
4) State $ for GI - $500,000, i.e., Change Analysis Pilot, VEC (template role in projects, Values piece added briefing by Leschine)

Outline #2:
1) Progress Report: PSNERP GI (where we are, what we’re doing, where we are going)
2) Plan for rest of project (approve budget/priorities/sequence)
3) Future funding needs
4) PSNP and the PSI – how “we” see our place
5) What we have to contribute to the other elements of the PSI

Statement:

Nearshore is Broken
Nearshore Partnership will fix
(Our framework will help)
Support the Nearshore Partnership

Next meeting:

Finance Sub-Committee
Cost to Alternatives Budget Gap
Final Executive Committee Agenda