2001 Annual Report for the Clallam County Marine Resources Committee

January 1, 2001 – December 31, 2001

ACTIVITIES

1) Administration
2) Participation in NWSC Meetings and Programs
3) Training and Education
4) Public Outreach

BENCHMARKS FOR PERFORMANCE

1) Local Participation
2) Marine Protected Areas
3) Habitat
4) Shellfish
5) Bottomfish
6) Marine Indicator Species
7) Scientific Data
8) Outreach and Education


SUMMARY

This report summarizes the activities and progress of the Clallam County Marine Resources Committee according to Task 2 of CZM 310 Grant Agreement No. G0200029. It also includes a discussion of the MRC's progress in achieving the Benchmarks for Performance according to the Northwest Straits Marine Initiative.

 

A. ACTIVITIES

The Clallam County MRC activities for 2001 focused on administration, participation in MRC and NWSC meetings, training and outreach and education.

The committee accomplished the following in 2001

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Narrative

1) Administration

County staff and a newly hired contractor organized monthly meeting, prepared agendas, meeting materials, minutes and public notices for monthly MRC meetings. Contact lists were updated and maintained.

Three vacant positions (sports, commercial, and conservation) were filled upon recommendations of the MRC committee members.
The MRC and ex-officio member J. Anne Shaffer prepared and submitted a grant application for a Nearshore Habitat Mapping grant. This grant was awarded and field work was completed. The final report is due Feb 28, 2002.

The MRC in partnership with the Clean Water Work Group submitted a grant application for an NWSC Early Action Grant to use microbial source tracking to trace the sources of fecal coliforms in Dungeness Bay. The technical committee of the MRC consulted with county staff in the development of the grant and it was discussed in detail at several MRC meetings. The grant was reviewed and returned to the MRC unfunded.

Susanne Hindle was hired to design a web page for the MRC. Ms. Hindle submitted a number of questions to MRC members who responded with suggestions for the design. The web page will be accessible through the NWSC web page as well as through the Clallam County webpage. Suggestions were made to make the page interactive as well as simply a source of information about the MRC. This project is expected to be completed in early 2002.

The committee also presented a pre-proposal to UC Davis Marine Ecosystem Health Program (MEHP) entitled "Assessment for Restoration and Preservation of Nearshore Ecosystems of the Strait of Juan de Fuca." The application was reviewed but not funded.

The MRC submitted to the NWSC a resolution to acknowledge the value of MESA (Marine Ecosystem Program Analysis) as the most definitive and comprehensive pre-oilspill study of the area defined by the NWS Conservation Initiative. This resolution was adopted by the NWSC.

During 2001 three positions on the MRC became vacant. The committee considered applications for representatives from the commercial fishing, sportsmen and conservation communities. The committee recommended Cameron Field for the sportsmen position, Chuck Lockhart for the commercial fishing position and Jack Word for the conservation position. These recommendations were accepted by the county commissioners.

County staff assisted MRC members in the preparation of both the 2001 and 2002 workplans.

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2) Participation in NWSC Meetings and Programs

At least one MRC member attended 11 of the regularly scheduled meetings of the NWSC. Chairman Joe Schmitt and members Ed Bowlby and Rob Erdmann attended the October MRC training session in Whatcom County. Commissioner Mike Doherty also attended this session. The Clallam County MRC hosted the NWSC regular meeting in May, 2001. The meeting was held at the Red Lion Inn.

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3) Training and Education

This continues to be a priority for the MRC. During the year the committee invited several speakers to regularly scheduled monthly meetings. Tom Cowan, of the Northwest Straits Commission, attended the monthly meeting to discuss the role of the MRC in the County and in relation to the duties of the WSC. He spoke about administration and organization, education of the MRC, priority habitat projects, and public outreach.

In March, MRC members took part in Invasive Species training for green crab identification and trapping sponsored by WDFW.

In June, Liam Antrim presented information regarding the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.

At the October meeting Stephanie Lund, from Anchor Environmental, presented information to the committee regarding its work on the Northwest Straits Nearshore Habitat Inventory Project, which was started when the NWSC heard from local MRCs about the need for data as a result of the "Show Me the Data" workshops. During this meeting members noted that some data was missing or incorrect for the Clallam county area of the Straits.

Mike Sato, North Sound Director of People for Puget Sound, presented the video "A Puget Sound Fish Story" to the committee at its November meeting.

County staff continued to update the committee on the shellfish protection district in Dungeness Bay. They consulted with the technical committee in developing a proposal for a NWSC Early Action Grant which focused on microbial source tracing.

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4) Public Outreach

During 2001 much of the energy of the committee was focused on public outreach through the implementation of a series of interactive public workshops designed to educate the local community on the concerns of the NWSC and the MRC, as well as to help the committee understand the concerns of the community. Members consider the workshop series to have been a success and consider local sources on habitat information to be especially important to the work they are doing. As a result of the workshops, the committee has decided to continue its outreach efforts by sponsoring talks and workshops throughout the county during 2002.

Workshops began in January of 2001 and continued monthly through June, 2001. They were facilitated by Michael Hildt and Associates who were previously hired in 2000. Each workshop presented at least two speakers and was followed up by a public question and answer period between presenters and audience members. Audience members were also encouraged to fill out Participant Survey Forms, drafted by MRC members and the facilitator. On January 29, 2001, after the first workshop, ex-officio committee member Andy Brastad was interviewed at the local radio station KONP and discussed, generally, the function of the county MRC and workshops as well as watershed planning groups and LEG.

Subjects, locations, dates and speakers are listed in the table below.

WORKSHOP LOCATION DATE SPEAKERS
#1 Coastal Erosion Processes North Olympic Library
Port Angeles		 Jan 8, 2001

1) Jim Johannessen, President, Coastal Geologic Services

2) David S. Parks, Forest Hydrogeologist/Geologist – DNR
#2 Shellfish & Water Quality John Wayne Marina
Sequim		 Feb. 5, 2001

1) Lyn Muench, Program Specialist, Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe

2) Rich Childers, Shellfish Manager, WDFW

3) Sandra Hanson, Fisheries Biologist, WSDFW
#3 Oceanography of the Strait of Juan de Fuca Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe Community Center
Blyn		 March 5, 2001


1) Jan Newton, Senior Oceanographer, WSDOE

2) Eric Creceluis, Technical Group Manager, Batelle, Pacific NW National Lab
#4 Forage Fish Crescent Grange
Joyce		 April 2, 2001

1) Dan Pentilla, Fisheries Biologist 3, WDFW

2) Dick Goin, local salmon and baitfish expert
#5 Nearshore Marine Habitats North Olympic Library
Port Angeles		 May 7, 2001

1) J. Anne Schaffer, Area Marine Habitat Biologist/Water Quality Program Specialist, WDFW

2) Tom Mumford, Business Systems Support Division, Scientific Section, WDNR
#6 Rockfish Clallam Bay School
Clallam Bay		 June 4, 2001

1) Wayne Palsson, Senior Fish and Wildlife Biologist, WSDFW

2) Panel of local bottom fishers:
Joe Schmitt, MRC,
Herb Balch, MRC,
Chris Mohr, advisor to Pacific Fisheries Management Council

 

A draft report on the interactive workshop series was circulated to the Clallam County Commissioners and presented to the MRC on September 17, 2001. The final report entitled “Marine Resources of the Strait of Juan de Fuca – How We Interact” was presented in September. GIS maps of habitat areas were prepared by County staff for the final report.
Copies of the final report, in both hard copy and CD, were made available to all presenters, MRC members, county commissioners, and the NWSC. Hardcopies of the report are available at all branch libraries in the North Olympic Library System. A press release in the Peninsula Daily News announced the availability of the report.

Public outreach continues to be a high priority for the Clallam County MRC. The committee has agreed that local knowledge of resources is still a relatively untapped source of information.

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B. BENCHMARKS FOR PERFORMANCE

During 2001 the Clallam County MRC has continued work towards achieving peformance benchmarks set by the NWSC. Members agree that public outreach, educating committee members, and filling data gaps are essential for further progress in meeting benchmarks.

The following indicates how the Clallam County MRC worked toward meeting benchmarks in 2001.

1) Local Participation

Goal: Obtain broad county participation in marine resources committees.

The Clallam County MRC sponsored a series of six public workshops designed to educated the public and to gather information from local resident on local resources and issues. Two new MRC members were recruited from the community and the committee continues to represent a wide range of interests from local sports fishermen to ex-officio members from county and state government. Monthly meetings are open to the public and are announced in the local newspaper. The county has hired a web page designer and it is anticipated that agendas and minutes will be routinely posted on this site.

During forage fish mapping for the forage fish grant, local landowners allowed access to and egress from previously closed locations.

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2) Marine Protected Areas

Goal: Achieve a science-based, regional system of marine protected areas.

The Clallam County MRC continues to study the use of marine protected areas as a possible option to protect and conserve local marine species. During 2001, the County received grant funding for nearshore mapping of the central and western Strait of Juan de Fuca. This information will help to fill some of the data gaps that exist and which must be filled before the committee more fully considers its options in the creation of MPAs. In addition, during the mapping process it was discovered that the County’s Critical Areas Ordinance may be in force in some areas.

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3) Habitat

Goal: Demonstrate a net gain in highly ecologically productive nearshore, intertidal and estuarine habitat in the Northwest Straits, with no significant loss of existing, high-value habitat. Improve state, tribal and local tools to map, assess and protect nearshore habitat. Prevent harm from upland activities.

In 2001 Clallam County applied for and began work on a grant for Nearshore Habitat Mapping of Central and Western Strait of Juan de Fuca. Two interns were hired to help with mapping and health surveys. During mapping, six new forage fish spawning areas were identified. The report for this grant is due in February 2002.

On January 8, 2001 the MRC sponsored a public interactive workshop on Coastal Erosion processes. Speakers at that workshop were Jim Johannessen, President of Coastal Geologic Services and David S. Parks, Forest Hydrogeologist/Geologist for the Department of Natural Resources.

On May 7, 2001 the committee sponsored an interactive public workshop on Marine Nearshore Habitats. Speakers at that workshop were J. Anne Shaffer, Area Marine Habitat Biologist and Water Quality Program Specialist, WSDFW and Tom Mumford, Business System Support Division, Scientific Section, WSDNR.

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4) Shellfish

Goal: Show a net reduction in shellfish harvest areas closed due to contamination.

In 2001 Clallam County created a shellfish protection district in Dungeness Bay as required by RCW 70.92. This was the result of a series of monitoring efforts which continued to show a rise in the fecal coliforms present in the bay at specific monitoring stations. The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe have a commercial shellfishery in the bay and it has historically been used by residents in recreational shellfish harvesting. The MRC technical committee has consulted with Clallam County, the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, WSDFW and other agencies in order to determine how its efforts might best be directed toward reopening Dungeness Bay. The MRC coordinated with the Protection District’s newly formed Clean Water Work Group to generate ideas on identifying bacterial sources in Dungeness Bay.

In November of 2001, the MRC submitted a proposal for an NWSC Early Action Grant for funding for microbial source tracking for Dungeness Bay. This grant was reviewed and returned to the committee unfunded. The committee continues to support any efforts to identify and reduce the sources of fecal contamination in Dungeness Bay.
Historically, the area west of Dungeness Spit has not been monitored for PSP and one of the action items on the committee's 2001 workplan was to develop a sampling program for this area. This continues to be an action item on the committee's 2002 workplan.

In addition, on February 5, 2001, as part of the interactive workshop series, the County presented a workshop on shellfish. Presenters were Lyn Muench, Rich Childers and Sandra Hanson. This meeting addressed public concerns regarding public shellfish harvest and the shellfish fishery.

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5) Bottomfish

Goal: Exhibit measurable increases in factors supporting recovery of bottom fish (such as rockfish) – including numbers of fish of broodstock size and age, average fish size and abundance of prey species – as well as sufficient amounts and quality of protected habitat.

As part of the workshop series, on June 4, 2001, Wayne Palsson, a senior biologist with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, presented recent information and population trends on rockfish in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

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6) Marine Indicator Species

Goal: Demonstrate increases in other key marine indicator species (including those identified in the 1997 West report on Puget Sound marine resources: Unclassified Marine Invertebrates, Pacific herring, Pacific cod, Pacific hake, walleye pollock, demersal rockfish, lingcod, marbled murrelet, common murre, tufted puffin, harbor porpoise).

On March 5, 2001 the MRC sponsored an interactive workshop on the Oceanography of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Speakers were Jan Newton, Senior Oceanographer for WSDOE and Eric Creceluis, Technical Group Manager at Batelle Pacific Northwest National Lab.

On June 4, 2001 the MRC committee sponsored a workshop on Rockfish. Wayne Palsson, Senior Fish and Wildlife Biologist for WSDFW was the speaker and a panel of local bottom fishers included a presentation.

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7) Scientific Data

Goal: Initiate coordination of scientific data (for example, through the Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program), including a scientific baseline, common protocols, unified GIS, and sharing of ecosystem assessments and research.

Clallam MRC was instrumental in having the NWSC recognize the importance of the MESA study in helping define much baseline information for water quality of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

For the report on the public interactive workshop series and for the forage fish grant, GIS geographical, topological and bathymetric maps were produced. Specific maps for the forage fish grant include bottom fish harvest areas, identified rocky reef habitat and feed bluffs.

During the October meeting with Stephanie Lund, the MRC pointed out that the ShoreZone maps for the kelp beds in Clallam county were not correct. Following that meeting Anchor Environmental reevaluated the data on kelp beds in Clallam County.

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8) Outreach and Education

Goal: Coordinate with the Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team and other entities on an effective outreach and education effort with measurements of the numbers of people contacted as well as changes in behavior.

During 2001 much of the energy of the committee was focused on public outreach through the implementation of a series of interactive public workshops designed to educate the local community on the concerns of the NWSC and the MRC, as well as to help the committee understand the concerns of the community. Workshops began in January of 2001 and continued monthly through June, 2001. They were facilitated by Michael Hildt and Associates who were previously hired in 2000. Each workshop presented at least two speakers and was followed up by a public question and answer period between presenters and audience members. Audience members were also encouraged to fill out Participant Survey Forms, drafted by MRC members and the facilitator.

Final reports, compiled by Michael Hildt and Associates, were provided to presenters, MRC members, county commissioners, and the NWSC. Copies of the report are available at all branch locations of the North Olympic Public Library System.

The MRC initiated a dialogue with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and the City of Port Angeles regarding derelict gear removal. The City of Port Angeles has agreed to waive disposal fees for derelict gear.

The MRC also sent letters to the County commissioners indicating the simultaneous removal of both Elwha River dams would be the preferred course of action in the dam removal. In addition, the MRC maintained an open line of communication with the Clallam County Economic Development Council.C. Summary and conclusions.

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The Clallam County MRC continues to make progress in meeting benchmarks set by the NWSC. In 2001 a significant gain was made in public outreach and education with the series of interactive public workshops and the report produced by those workshops. Habitat areas for forage fish have been mapped and sampled and six new forage fish beaches have been identified. A report is due in early 2002. The Clallam County MRC was instrumental in focussing the attention of the NWSC on the need to address the problem of derelict gear removal on a regional level. The MRC as initiated and maintained a number of partnerships with local entities, including the Clean Water Work Group, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and the Clallam County Economic Development Council.

The MRC workplan for 2002 focuses on meeting specific benchmarks by continuing public outreach, educating the MRC by inviting speakers to meetings, identifying datagaps, developing and coordinating a monitoring program for PSP in the west end of the county, investigating sources of funding for microbial source tracing in Dungeness Bay, and implementing the derelict gear removal grant.

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