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Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership
Steering Committee Meeting
29 November 2006
Attendees:
Doug Myers, Guy Gelfenbaum, Robert Koeppen, Doug Osterman,
Mike Ramsey, Bernie Hargrave, Debby Hyde, Curtis Tanner, Terry
Wright, Paul Cereghino, Toni Lick, and Debbie Rick.
Federal Project Manager Report - Bernie Hargrave
FY’07 Budget Process:
The Corps is on the second Continuing Resolution Act (an
extension of the first) until December 8. They expect a third
will be enacted. The current rules have them expending at
an annualized rate of 90% of the lesser of House or Senate
amounts. For Nearshore that means 90% of the House amount,
or $450K for the year, this is very similar to the President’s
FY07 budget of $400K. The Corps needs to obligate all the
funds.
Change Analysis:
The Corps of Engineers learned that CommEn Space, the contractor
who performed the pilot Change Analysis, will no longer be
in business. The Corps is discussing acquisition strategies
with their Contracting Division to perform a comprehensive
change analysis. A competitive contract likely will be advertised
which will setback our schedule. On November 30, CommEn Space
will deliver all WRIA 9 Change Analysis date to COE data managers.
A federal government contract may be available to the
Corps through GSA contract under environmental services
to retain Chris Davis and Jessimine Fung to complete the
Sound-wide Change Analysis.
Brooks Act – Request for Proposals are sent for
Qualifications, which are ranked 1-10. The top ten are interviewed
in a no cost discussion and ranked followed by a cost and
pricing structure meeting.
The Steering Committee agreed to wrap up the pilot project
and go competitive on the Sound-Wide Change Analysis.
Feasibility Scoping Meeting:
A technical and a major milestone of any Corps investigation
is when the Without-Project Conditions are reported. The keystone
event for this milestone is the Feasibility Scoping Meeting
(FSM) with Corps headquarters.
Bernie Hargrave and Mona Thomason have tentatively scheduled
the Nearshore’s FSM for August 2007. This will give
the Partnership time to wrap up the WRIA9 SNAR pilot, describe
it to the Executive Committee (June or July meeting), and
prepare for the FSM. The Nearshore Partnership is invited
to participate. This will be our second opportunity to brief
the Corps’ headquarters planning staff on progress.
The FSM is really the point where we describe the problems
we have inventoried and outline possible solutions that will
be formulated into alternatives for the final report.
Schedule a June/July Executive Committee for rollout of
the Feasibility Scoping Meeting and the Estuary and Salmon
Restoration Program recommendations/
Project Management Team Agenda for December
7
Sound-Wide Change Analysis
Feasibility Scoping Meeting
January Executive Committee
Local Project Manager Report -Curtis Tanner
WRIA 9 Pilot
CommEn Space is working on the final report, which is due
December 31. The Change Analysis data matrices are now available
for all of WRIA 9. A workgroup is beginning process of transition
to Strategic Needs assessment by defining “categories”
of change, e.g. Likely cause of observed change (Natural process,
Human causes, Artifact of data (i.e. not “real”)),
degree of impairment (Conservation candidate (low level of
impairment) and Restoration candidate), and rehabilitation/enhancement
candidate (severe impairment of natural processes).
Over-water structure data development (Dale
Gombert, WDFW)
Most of south, central, and northern Puget Sound complete,
EXCEPT: McNeil Island, Carr inlet, Island County, San Juan
County. Not yet completed: Strait of Juan de Fuca and Hood
Canal.
Shoreline armoring data availability assessment
(Tim Strickler, PSAT)
Status of armoring data
Counties already complete, Jefferson, 80% Mason, Thurston,
Island, King, Snohomish, Whatcom (?), Counties with Geology
that should limit the amount of armoring: San Juan and Clallam
(Armoring was surveyed on the ground from Dungeness eastward
in this County). Surveys that partially cover county shorelines:
Mason County - Greater Mason County Nearshore assessment,
Kitsap County (West side of Kitsap County – Point No
Point survey and Bainbridge Island (SMP)), Pierce County (Nisqually),
and Skagit County (unsure of extent).
The Work Plan for completing data development has been outlined
and left to do is to negotiate with Puget Sound Action Team
and NW Indian Fisheries Commission for completion of shoreline
armoring data.
Nearshore Projects Database
Theresa Mitchell, WDFW, has been successful in data base
“cleanup”: 463 projects total, 291 from Hood Canal
in progress. The Alliance for Puget Sound Shorelines project
list will be added. Theresa is investigating level of effort
required to add all Shared Strategy three year Work Plan nearshore
projects. Future PRISM advancements: Theresa and Curtis working
with IAC to identify priority Nearshore Partnership database
development tasks.
Habitat Work Schedule an uber list of recovery projects.
Developing to communicate with the Nearshore Project database.
What is the delivery time for the Habitat Work Schedule?
Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program
The report submitted to Office of Financial Management in
November. WDFW staff is developing “glossy” version
to be available at the December Steering Committee meeting.
New Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program Manager will
design and implement a series of workshops around the Puget
Sound region in January and February.
Will design ESRP criteria and add project information into
database in March and April.
A policy decision needs to be made concerning Acquisition/Protection
projects.
Lessons Learned – The Partnership did not submit
a project to ourselves (i.e., Programmatic Monitoring)
Agenda Item for the January Steering Committee –
Future ESRP
Governor’s budget announced on December 19th or 20th.
USGS CHiPS Science Workshop
The local and federal project manager participated in Ft.
Worden Workshop where USGS Researchers very interested in
PSNERP GI. PSNERP able to provide some guidance on shaping
CHiPS to align with PSNERP needs, input well received by USGS
Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound - Guy Gelfenbaum
Fact Sheet Attached
The Coastal Habitats in Puget Sound is an interdisciplinary
collaboration to coordinate, integrate, and link USGS studies
with PSNERP goals and objectives. Current studies have three
themes:
- Effects of urbanization on nearshore habitat
- Restoration of large river deltas
- Recovery of nearshore ecosystems
The primary focus within these themes is on developing information
on the physical, chemical, and biological processes, as well
as human dimensions, associated with the restoration or rehabilitation
of the nearshore environment. Puget Sound partners and citizens
will receive USGS results through databases, geospatial models
and analyses, technical reports, and formal publications.
As the Puget Sound Partnership expands the scope of Puget
Sound problem solving, USGS, through ChiPs, stands ready to
provide the necessary scientific foundation for decision makers.
Guy was sure to thank PSNERP and the Nearshore Partnership
for the Lessons Learned document and the Partnership organizations
and especially Anne Kinsinger, Frank Shipley, and Rob Koeppen.
“Coastal Habitats
in Puget Sound: A Research Plan in Support of the Puget Sound
Nearshore Partnership.” The purpose of this research
plan is to identify high-priority research goals and objectives
and delineate the critical questions and information gaps
that need to be addressed to provide natural-resource managers
and policy- and decision-makers with tools to effectively
undertake restoration planning and adaptive management of
the nearshore ecosystems of Puget Sound.
To support a science-based approach and guide scientific
research in support of nearshore ecosystem restoration in
Puget Sound, the USGS and PSNERP Nearshore Science Team developed
six high-priority goals:
Goal 1 – Understand nearshore ecosystem processes
and linkages to watershed and marine systems.
Goal 2 – Understand the effects of human activities
on nearshore ecosystem processes.
Goal 3 – Understand and predict the incremental and
cumulative effects of restoration and preservation actions
on nearshore ecosystems.
Goal 4 – Understand the effects of social, cultural,
and economic values on restoration and economic values on
restoration and protection of nearshore ecosystems.
Goal 5 – Understand the relations of nearshore processes
to important ecosystem functions including human health
and protection of at-risk species.
Goal 6 – Understand the roles of information –
its representation, conceptualization, organization, and
interpretation – in restoring nearshore ecosystem
processes.
The research plan is attached to these notes.
Status of Technical Reports - Curtis Tanner
–
Completed in time to put on disks for the Restore America’s
Estuaries Conference in New Orleans.
Nearshore Partnership Technical Reports Series
– Complete
Lessons Learned
Guidance for Restoration and Protection
Guiding Ecological Principals
CHiPS Research Plan
Geomorphology of Puget Sound Beaches
Conceptual Model for Assessing Restoration of Puget Sound
Nearshore Ecosystems
Native Shellfish in Nearshore Ecosystems of Washington State
Nearshore Birds in Puget Sound
Juvenile Pacific Salmon in the Nearshore Ecosystem of Puget
Sound
Anticipated
WRIA 9 Change Analysis
Typology
Beaches and Bluffs VEC White Paper
Riparian
Eelgrass & Kelp
Great Blue Heron
Orca
Forage Fish
Management Measures Technical Report Series
Part 1 – 6 Early Action August 2007 date for Feasibility
Study Meeting
Implementation Team Report - Miriam Gilmer /
Doug Myers
GIS Database workshop –
There is a possibility of a database to be constructed that
will allow Owner to share data sets with users on December
14. This meeting will have planners, GIS experts, and some
members of the NST in attendance. Phil Bloch is the facilitator.
Dale Gombert from WDFW will be attending.
Management Measures (MMs)
There will be a Management Measure document that will include
individual MMs and also case studies that describe how multiple
MMs can be combined to form a restoration act. Included will
be a description of the hierarchy of MMs and how restoration
actions are constructed.
Assignments on Action Items have been made and a template
for the papers laid out.
Management Measure Template
Definition of Management Measure
Background with linked process
Conceptual Model
Related Management Measures
Constraints
Benefits and Opportunities
Engineering specifics
Design
Monitoring plan
Case Study
Performance Measures
Suggested Reading
Executive Committee Agenda – All
Rollout of WRIA9 Change Analysis
July – December Progress Report
Estuary and Salmon Restoration – Part 2
Alliance of Puget Sound Shorelines Project List
Legislative Update
Next Meeting: December 20, 2006
Natural Resources Building Room 172
1111 Washington Street SE
Olympia Washington 98504
December’s meeting will run from 10:30 – 4:30
p.m.
We will adjourn for dinner together.
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