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Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership
Steering Committee Meeting
September 21, 2005
Attendees:
Jacques White, Tim Smith, Debby Hyde, Fred Goetz, Curtis
Tanner, Dick Ecker, Bernie Hargrave, Jen Steger (telephone),
Doug Osterman, Beth Coffey (telephone), Debbie Rick
August meeting notes were approved and the September agenda
was revised to add: VEC white paper status to the Science
Team report, Early Action Projects to the Local Sponsor report,
and future meeting format to the Items for the next Steering
Committee.
Report from the Federal Project Manager
Bernie reported that the GI process has been quieter now
that “Katrina” pulled funds away from any year-end
surplus. About 10% of Seattle District staff have been assigned
to the emergency with about half as many volunteering. At
this time it is unclear how Katrina and “Rita”
will affect FY06 dollars, but it appears that the Corps will
enter October under a Continuing Resolution.
Bernie discussed the possibility that he could be deployed
to the Gulf Coast to assist in post-hurricane efforts. If
Bernie is deployed to Louisiana, Jeff Dillon and Fred Goetz
will be acting for him.
Tim reported from Doug Clapp, Governor’s DC office,
and Rich Innis, our congressional lobbyist, are reporting
that Congress is looking at three options for the President’s
budget. Those options are:
- Continue to spend at the current rate with Katrina adds
- Hold all individual bills to scrape together a budget
for Katrina
- Roll up into an omnibus and supplemental for Katrina
The Senate did keep $90 million in PCSRF, however we may
not get new money in energy and water.
Curtis – We should continue to advance PSNERP and spend
money at the Senate rate for the first quarter of FY ‘06.
Jacques – Please cue NGOs when to implement communication
strategy with Congressional members and staff.
Hugh Shipman, Guy Gelfenbaum, Tom Mumford, Fred Goetz and
Bernie Hargrave will attend National Academy of Science Conference,
October 4 and 5. The conference will focus on the effects
of and alternatives to hardened shorelines.
Beth Coffey has been reassigned to Regulatory and Permits
for four months. She will still be serving as Implementation
Team Co-Lead.
Nearshore Science Team Co-Lead Report
Fred reported that Si does not have a contract beyond the
beginning of FY06.
Fred reported on the August Nearshore Science Team meeting.
The primary meeting topics were a continued discussion of
Feasibility Report intent and structure, benefit determination
as general component of Feasibility Report, and a “science
morning” focused on eelgrass autecology and restoration,
and research questions.
Tom Mumford reported on status and trends of eelgrass in
Puget Sound. Sandy Wyllie-Echeverria and Greg Williams presented
on restoration of eelgrass.
Status and Action Items
Research Questions
Kurt Fresh will clean up research questions as they exist,
add some preamble language, and send out to all NST members
to review; we will continue to make the research questions
a major focus of NST meetings, and determine how to prioritize
questions; the list of research questions must be updatable,
malleable, and somehow intersect our continuously compiling
database list of projects with need for research.
Management Measures
Next steps involve formalization of list, description/definition
of management measures and “official” summaries
that will be useful as documentation in the program that management
measures have been reviewed and examined; additionally (Simenstad
recommendation), white papers could be drafted to provide
linkage between management measures, research questions, and
nearshore ecosystem processes. Responsibility for this task
belongs primarily to the Implementation Team (Tanner).
Change Analysis
Change Analysis Working Group converging on strategy and
analytical process for change analysis; greatest hurdle has
been how to take advantage of contemporary data to hind cast
change in shoreline form (structure) and processes.
CommEnSpace has been hired to apply Nearshore Typology to
the Whidbey Basin using River History data-sets; develop rule-sets
that cover shore types that were not included in WRIA9 and
develop different methodology for typing shoreline that will
rely on better data sets (higher resolution, bathymetry, etc.)
to develop typology, e.g., a data-driven, rather than interpretation,
effort. Currently completing WRIA 9 historic conditions with
inclusions of missing data (e.g., upper Duwamish);
VEC White Papers
Of the nine VEC white papers, the NST has chosen Jim Brennan,
Washington SeaGrant, for coastal forests, Tom Mumford for
eelgrass, Linda Jones for Orca, Jim Johansen for beaches/bluffs,
and Dan Pentilla for forage fish. Megan Dethier will be acting
as lead scientific writer and editor, as well as writing the
white paper for shellfish. Still do not have authors for the
marine/shore birds or great blue heron.
Kurt Fresh’s offer to write the Pacific salmon white
paper was discussed between Steering Committee members and
the Project Management Team.
Action: Due to some issues with the way the NST report
was written, in the future, Fred will write an Executive
Summary providing background information; status of tracking
with the work plan and decisions made at the summit in May.
Fred will provide the report as a read-ahead and questions
on the “Science” will be addressed via email.
Implementation Team Co-Lead Report
Beth reported that an Implementation Team subgroup met to
discuss the GIS needs of the Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership.
Representatives from the Corps, NWIFC, and PSAT were in attendance.
Reported options (Next steps)
1. Establish a GIS system for the Nearshore Partnership
with links to database to produce map and identifies projects
info.
2. GIS, ARC Info users ability to retrieve data and generic
queries of GIS layers – Off the shelf product.
3. Customize GIS/ArcInfo/ArcView to meet specific nearshore
needs.
IT agreed to implement #1 with cost associated with it including
getting database verified with specific project location information
(x & y coordinates). Currently, Melissa Paulson (part-time
WDFW) is doing the verification process, and the Corps may
have interns available to assist.
The Access database will migrate to PRISM in late November.
Connection to the GIS system is separate.
Representation on GIS on PRISM design team for the Nearshore
data will be Tim Strickland (PSAT GIS). Melissa and Curtis
will also be involved with the PRISM integration interface
with geodata base to include coordinates.
The overall database will identify the problem set of what
is broken and where; where are gaps and what are restoration
needs.
With Elaine gone, and Melissa temporary, the database needs
long-term oversight.
Historic/current/future database – Doug Myers to bring
basic data layers and geo database development.
Operating layers – basic layer, comprehensive, sound-wide
Secondary layer – specific to needs of a task
Report from the Local Sponsor Project Manager
Status of Budget thru June 2005
Curtis went through the attached spreadsheet line-by-line
stopping to explain line items in question.
Bernie raised the question of documentation of interagency
agreements/cooperative agreements for non-Federal match
Outlook for coming year (see attached spreadsheet)
FY06 Budget Development Status
Status of budget planning process and schedule for outlining
FY06 Budget
Bernie and Curtis passed out a spreadsheet of FY06 Priorities
and opened the floor for discussion and explanation of items.
The Steering Committee recognizes that it should go full
speed on the VEC white papers, technical documents, peer review,
and change analysis.
Debby Hyde offered Pierce County funds for the peer review
line item
Doug Osterman – There is a Beaches/Bluff accelerated
project (Demonstration Project)
through King County and about $30K in funding to remove a
bulkhead. This will help
the NST identify management measures and answer research questions.
Outline work plan for Steering Committee members, Early
Action Projects, and
Demonstration Projects.
Tim – Early Action Project (Seahurst) no post monitoring
plan for fish; samples sit
waiting for analyses. Creates a monitoring gap.
On the Budget Priorities document need to put dollar figures
where there are none and
also identify if it is federal or local dollars.
Steering Committee Action: Identify general FY06 funding
priorities and budget development process.
Puget Sound Nearshore Partnership “one-pager”
Steering Committee members provided Jacques with their edits,
comments, etc. in writing. He will make changes as appropriate.
This one-pager along with the VEC white papers need to get
to the Governor and to a target audience. It describes the
role of the nearshore partnership: who we are, who we represent,
and how we relate to them.
Next Steering Committee Meeting
Future Meeting Format:
Reports from the Nearshore Science Team, Implementation Team,
Federal and Local Project Managers should be prepared ahead
of time in writing to send with the agenda of the next Steering
Committee highlighting areas of importance in the written
document.
Nearshore Science Team should end their report with questions,
cautions and/or push-backs, and recommendations to the Steering
Committee. The reports will take up the afternoon and the
business of the Partnership taken care of in the morning.
Summary of written report at the Steering Committee:
0- 15 minute briefing on:
Status
Tasks
Summary
Action Items
10 -15 minute for questions, comments, concerns
Steering Committee members need to actually read the read-aheads.
Jacques expressed frustration with the lack of commitment
of the Steering Committee members.
Re-examine the commitment of the members of the Steering
Committee.
How are the activities their organizations associated and/or
affliated with the Partnership.
Make better use of the Partnership website to post agendas,
meeting notes, calendar |
