MONTEREY BAY NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING Friday, November 22, 1996 Rodeo Beach Meeting and Conference Center Headlands Institute Golden Gate National Recreation Area Sausalito, CA AGENDA 9:00 AM Coffee and Sign-in (Showing of Sanctuary video) 9:30 AM Call to Order, Roll Call, Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes 9:45 AM Public Comments on Items not on the Agenda 10:00 AM Update: MBNMS Northern Boundary 10:45 AM Discussion: Follow-up to October 28, 1996 Meeting with SRD Delegation 11:15 AM Approval: SAC Protocols 11:30 PM Presentation: International Recognition and Protection for U.S. National Marine Sanctuaries 12:15 PM Lunch 1:15 PM Discussion: Potential Removal of Weather Buoys in the MBNMS 1:30 PM Presentation: WQPP 1:45 PM Discussion of SAC Re-Appointment Process 2:00 PM Sanctuary Managers¹ Report 2:30 PM Announcements from Council Members 2:45 PM Presentation: Program Report on the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries 3:45 PM Adjourn DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT MONTEREY BAY NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY ADVISORY COUNCIL Meeting Summary Friday, November 22, 1996 Rodeo Beach Conference Center Pacific Environment Resources Center Headlands Institute Sausalito, CA The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) Advisory Council met on Friday, November 22, 1996 in the Rodeo Beach Conference Center on the campus of the Headlands Institute in Sausalito, California. Public categories and government agencies present were as indicated: Agriculture: Not Represented Diving: Ed Cooper AMBAG: Not Represented Education: Not Represented At Large: Karin Strasser Kauffman, Chair Enforcement: Not Represented At Large: Steve Webster, Vice Chair Fishing: Not Represented At Large: David Iverson, Secretary Ports & Harbors: Not Represented Business & Industry: Not Represented Recreation: Not Represented CA EPA: Not Represented Research: Gregor Cailliet CA Coastal Commission: Tami Grove Tourism: Ed Brown CA Resources Agency: Brian Baird U.S. Coast Guard: Not Represented Conservation: Rachel Saunders The following non-voting members were present as indicated: Monterey Bay NMS: Terry Jackson GFNMS and CBNMS: Ed Ueber Channel Islands NMS: Ed Cassano ESNERR: Not Represented I. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 25, 1996 MEETING MINUTES The Chair called the meeting to order at 9:41 AM. David Iverson welcomed Council members to the northern end of the Sanctuary. The Chair introduced Joanne Flanders, the new Assistant Manager of the MBNMS, and welcomed her to the meeting. Due to the lack of a quorum, approval of the October 25, 1996 meeting minutes was postponed. However, Advisory Council members made suggested edits and Brian Baird from the California Resources Agency, asked to be on record as having replied to a statement made at the October meeting concerning the DRAFT Memorandum of Understanding on an Enforcement Plan for the MBNMS. According to Brian, the DRAFT MOU has not yet been passed to the California Resources Agency. He assured Council members that when he does receive the document, he and his office, will review it and pass it on as quickly as possible. Terry Jackson promised to send the MOU to Brian Baird immediately. The Chair announced that the City Councils and the Parks and Recreation Departments of Pacific Grove and Monterey will schedule a joint meeting for sometime in February to address the proposed underwater park. II. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA 1) Jack Compton -- Moss Landing is hiring a new Port Director. They will probably have names of candidates by the end of December/ first part of January. The Chair reported that Commander Jim Hall indicated that he will apply for the Moss Landing position. The Advisory Council agreed to send a letter summarizing his work with the Council to the Moss Landing Port District. III. NORTHERN BOUNDARY DISCUSSION The Advisory Council had a very detailed discussion that reiterated the previous decision from the April 26, 1996 Advisory Council meeting in Montara, California, to establish a special task force composed of one to three persons selected by the Advisory Council, and one to two persons selected by the Sanctuary Managers. The Task Force will be charged with considering management options for the MBNMS and producing a written report with recommendations to be presented to the Advisory Council and the Sanctuaries and Reserves Division (SRD) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Advisory Council recommended that Terry Jackson and Ed Ueber serve as resources to the Task Force and that they provide the Council with a written list of management priorities by the end of 1996. A letter summarizing the Advisory Council¹s decision and supported by the minutes from the April 26, 1996 meeting and the May 31, 1996 meeting at which this subject was discussed. Members of the public who addressed the Advisory Council about the issue included: 1. Brian O¹Neill, Superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), who expressed his reasons for concern about the section of the MBNMS that borders the GGNRA and the Pt. Reyes National Seashore. According to Mr. O¹Neill, there are issues, constituents, and political factors that make management of the area difficult if done from as far away as Monterey. Mr. O¹Neill supported the current Sanctuary management structure and urged the Advisory Council to consider the situation as a permanent long- term solution, arguing that the ultimate objective was to build a strong well informed constituency willing to take ownership of the resource. Furthermore, Mr. O¹Neill supported the argument that a permanent boundary adjustment would address specific biological and political jurisdiction concerns. Mr. O¹Neill suggested that there be a written document outlining a cooperative management plan for the MBNMS. The document, or Memorandum of Understanding, would serve as the governing instrument until more formal proceedings could be initiated. 2. Zeke Grader, Executive Director for Pacific Coast Federation of Fishing Associations (PCFFA), commented that the existing management situation has worked very well for his organization. He indicated that the PCFFA would probably support a change of boundaries in the long-term sense, and added that the PCFFA worked to designate the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, as well as the MBNMS. Moreover, the PCFFA supports the widest extent of Sanctuary boundaries to protect large areas from insult to the marine environment. Mr. Grader concluded that a management structure needs to be sensible for constituent concerns in addition to biological concerns; therefore, Año Nuevo is a logical boundary for political reasons. 3. John Grissim, Executive Director for the Environmental Action Committee of West Marin, commended the Advisory Council on its focused and productive session. Mr. Grissim supported the comments made by Mr. O¹Neill and Mr. Grader and added that there needs to be a Sanctuary manager in the immediate vicinity of the area being protected in order to respond to emergencies and make decisions. By consensus, the Advisory Council decided that it was best to provide SRD with a recommended process, and a timeline for completion, rather than recommending a series of options. Council members seriously considered the comments from the attending public at- large and emphasized the importance of having strong constituent support for decisions affecting the MBNMS. Karin will convey the Advisory Council¹s concerns and recommended course of action to SRD when she visits Washington, D.C. in mid-December. IV. DISCUSSION: FOLLOW-UP TO OCTOBER 28, 1996 MEETING WITH SRD DELEGATION The Chair, along with two other members of the Council, has been invited to Washington, D.C. in mid-December to continue discussions regarding the Council¹s authority, the proposed revisions to the Council¹s Charter, the Advisory Council¹s Draft Protocols, and MBNMS northern boundary management issues. Karin will provide the Council with a full report at the January 1997 Advisory Council meeting. V. APPROVAL: SAC PROTOCOLS Due to the lack of a quorum, formal approval of the Advisory Council Protocols was postponed until the January 1997 meeting. The Chair and other select members of the Advisory Council will discuss the DRAFT document with Stephanie Thornton during their meeting in Washington, D.C. in mid- December. VI. PRESENTATION: INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION AND PROTECTION FOR U.S. NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARIES The presentation by Ed Cassano, Manager of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, was postponed until the January 1997 meeting. VII. POTENTIAL REMOVAL OF WEATHER BUOYS IN THE MBNMS Advisory Council members discussed the importance of weather buoys to mariners, divers, fishermen, and other users of the ocean. The buoys provided the primary source of weather information upon which many decisions to go out to sea are based. Due to budgeting limitations for the National Weather Service (NWS) and an effort to modernize weather forecasting technology, several buoys are without sponsorship for 1997 and will not continue to be maintained by the NWS. The NWS was unable to identify which buoys would be affected at the time of the Advisory Council meeting. The Advisory Council directed that the Chair write a letter to NOAA, the NWS, and the Department of Commerce requesting that the buoys not be dis-established for public safety reasons. In addition, the Council suggested that the economic importance of ocean related activities dependent upon buoy information be emphasized in all correspondence. VIII. PRESENTATION: WQPP A written report on the MBNMS Water Quality Protection Program was provided to Advisory Council members in their packet of meeting materials. (See Attachment A). IX. DISCUSSION OF SAC RE-APPOINTMENT PROCESS The first three-year term of office for Sanctuary Advisory Council members expires in March 1997. Pending further clarification on the Charter, all non-government positions will be advertised in January. Government agencies will be sent notices asking that they either re- appointment their current representative or select a new one with an alternate. The Research Activity Panel (RAP) and the Sanctuary Education Panel (SEP) have discussed the re-appointment process at their most recent meetings and have decided that the Working Group Chair should continue to serve as the research and education communities¹ representative on the Council. Moreover, both working groups felt that their Vice-Chair should be considered an official alternate to the Council with full voting privileges. To accept the process, the Advisory Council would have to revise the language in its Charter. Although, there wasn¹t a quorum present, there were no objections to changing the Charter to reflect the new process. In general, the Council agreed that the change was a minor one and that it would formalize the status of the Working Groups and set a precedence for the future. This subject will be scheduled for more discussion during the January 1997 meeting. X. SANCTUARY MANAGERS REPORT Terry Jackson provided a report on MBNMS activities. (Please see written report: Attachment B). Ed Ueber provided a verbal report on the activities of the northern MBNMS. Highlights included: … A report on the clean-up efforts of the recent oil spill in the San Francisco area and the Sanctuary¹s role in coordinating resources. The GFNMS office is still collecting data on the oil spill; … Dan Howard, Jan Roletto, and Ed Ueber will be out at the Farallon Islands until Thanksgiving; … There will be an Education Coordinators¹ meeting in San Francisco in January; … The proposed new Visitors Center MOU with the parks center in Pacifica is in draft form, it hasn¹t yet been sent to Pacifica -- hoping to have a similar form used for other areas; … There are a number of potential partners for the Pier I project, including the Smithsonian Institution, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the San Francisco Exploratorium, and the Coastal Conservancy. The presentation on the Gulf of the Farallones NMS will be postponed until a future Advisory Council meeting. XI. ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS 1. David Iverson -- Continuing to work on the development and implementation of outreach programs in the northern end of the MBNMS; also working with John Robinson, MBNMS Public Relations Coordinator, on a series of presentations about the Sanctuary. 2. Greg Cailliet -- Draft EIR for the new Moss Landing Marine Labs building is available. 3. Ed Brown -- The Monterey Region Business & Tourism Activity Panel met on Monday, November 18, 1996 in Pebble Beach. A summary of the meeting is attached. (See Attachment C). Two priorities were identified: the need for consistent signage about the MBNMS; and, the need for a MBNMS logo to use on promotional materials. The group will be cooperating more closely with the Sanctuary Education Panel on the development of promotional materials. 4. Karin Strasser Kauffman -- Read a letter from David Zaches addressed to Paul Harvey News, ABC Radio. The letter complimented the concept and work of the National Marine Sanctuary Program. 5. Brian Baird -- Announced the California Conference on World Oceans scheduled for March 1997. There has been considerable international interest in the conference. The meeting ended at 4:00 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Jane M. DeLay MBNMS Advisory Council Coordinator Enc. WQPP Summary (Attachment A) MBNMS Manager¹s Report (Attachment B) Business & Tourism Activity Panel Meeting Summary (Attachment C) Research Activity Panel Meeting Summary (Attachment D) Sanctuary Education Panel Meeting Summary (Attachment E) FINAL December 18, 1996