MONTEREY BAY NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY
ADVISORY COUNCIL

Conservation Working Group
Meeting Minutes
November 18, 1997

Conservation Working Group (CWG) members in attendance were:  Rachel 
Saunders, Chair (Center for Marine Conservation); Jack Wickham (Sierra Club-
Ventana Chapter); David Iverson (Save Our Shores); Vicki Nichols (Save Our 
Shores); Daphne White (Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History); and 
Joanne Flanders and Lisa de Marignac (Monterey Bay National Marine 
Sanctuary).

Guests in attendance were:  David McIntyre (United Nations Association, 
Monterey Chapter); and Patrick Cotter (MBNMS).

I.	CWG Administration

A.	General Announcements

· The next CWG meeting is scheduled for January 20, 1998 from 9:30 a.m. - 
12:00 p.m. at the Moss Landing Harbor District Office.
· Meeting schedule for 1998 - third Tuesday of the month, 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 
p.m.  See Attachment A.
· Other important dates:
SAC meeting - 12/5/97
SEP meeting - 11/20/97
Vessel Traffic Work Group meeting - 12/10/97
Citizen Water Quality Monitoring Network meetings - 11/20/97 and 
12/18/97
BAY NET Graduations - 11/22/97 and 11/23/97
Bill Ballantine at the Patagonia - 12/9/97
· David Iverson announced his resignation from the CWG and the SAC.  He 
will be focusing his volunteer efforts on local Half Moon Bay organizations.  
Rachel, on behalf of the CWG, thanked him for his contributions to the 
group.

II.	ÒYear of the OceanÓ Planning

David McIntyre, President of the Monterey Chapter of the United Nations 
Association, presented an overview of the planning for the ÒYear of the 
Ocean.Ó  The results of two small meetings indicate support for the 
development of a slogan celebrating 1998 as the year of the ocean.  The United 
Nations Association will coordinate existing programs within local agencies 
and organizations.  Goals for the ÒYear of the OceanÓ include:
· Development of a master calendar available on the web, which should be 
available within a few weeks and will be linked to other organizations;
· Coordination with the media for getting the word out on ocean-related 
activities occurring throughout 1998;
· Development of materials for local schools on the ÒYear of the OceanÓ;
· Availability of a UNESCO video press kit;
· World-wide press conferences during December 1997;
· Development of posters for participating organizations and agencies;
· Stamp series;
· International conferences and symposia;
· Oceans Charter signed by individuals.

David has been working on this project with Liz Love and Karin Strasser 
Kauffman, and he would like to have a kick-off reception in Monterey the 
night before the Sanctuary Symposium.  David is hoping to raise $25,000-
$30,000 in foundation donations.

David requested that local agencies and organizations provide him with their 
calendar events.  His phone number is 624-3517.

III.	Vessel Traffic Update

Vicki Nichols provided an update on a BC/US Oil Spill Task Force meeting 
with local citizen groups.  A concern addressed at the meeting was the 
perception that the Coast Guard appears to be aligned with industry.  The next 
meeting of this group is scheduled for January 1997 in San Francisco.  The 
group is closely watching the Vessel Traffic Work Group and plans to model it 
for the whole west coast.

Vicki announced that she is looking for any information on whale migrations 
patterns.

Vicki provided an update on the Vessel Traffic Work Group.  She observed 
that it seems that strategy decisions will be made on distances from shore at the 
next meeting.  The group is hoping to hold public meetings sometime this 
spring

Joanne Flanders reported that Ed Cassano has been in touch with HAZMAT to 
obtain vessel modeling information, and she suggested holding off on the 
discussion of distances from shore if the information is not gathered in time 
for the December meeting.  She also noted that she and Holly Price will be 
meeting with the U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA staff in Washington, D.C. to 
discuss vessel traffic.

IV.	MBNMS Office Report

Joanne Flanders gave the MBNMS office report.  See Attachment B.  The 
following items were not included in the written report:

· The new Sanctuary SuperintendentÕs name  will be announced next week;
· Jack Wickham commented on the ATOC cable issue; if the existing cable 
was used at Pt. Sur, the current problem would not exist;
· Jack expressed concern that there is no sound expert on the SAC; Rachel 
suggested that this expertise would be best utilized on the RAP.

V.	Lessons from Recent Oil/Hazardous Materials Spills

Patrick Cotter, MBNMS, gave a report on the Mystery Oil Spill which occurred 
on Friday, October 24, 1997 at Sunset Beach.  The beach was quarantined four 
local fire departments responded.  Initial results indicated that the spill was 
sardine oil.   Birds continued to wash ashore, with numbers reaching 400 
during a weekÕs time.  350 volunteers cycled through the Oiled Wildlife 
Veterinary Care and Research Center in Santa Cruz.  Two labs are disagreeing 
on whether the spill was sardine oil or vegetable oil.  At this point, there is no 
responsible party.  The Center took in a total of 500 birds.  Approximately one 
third died and one third were euthanized.  As of November 15, 1997, 214 birds 
have been released. The top three species brought in were western grebes, 
common loons, and surf scoters.  Lessons learned from the spill include the 
need for improvement in the following areas:
· beach assessment process
· tracking time and expenses
· volunteer health and safety procedures
· preparation in the event of larger spills
· representation of volunteer response groups on the CWG
· volunteer numbers

Aaron King and Eric Nigg participated in assessment of the Platform Irene 
Spill.

VI.	Issue/Program Updates

Jack Wickham suggested that all the working groups meet to listen to 
presentations on ATOC and LFA.  Participants noted that LFA was on the CA 
Coastal Commission agenda for their December 12, 1997 meeting in Marin.

VII.	Next Agenda Items

· WQPP - Holly Price
· SAC Membership
· Nominations for Conservation Award for Symposium
· Pinniped/Fisheries Update


The meeting adjourned at 12:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,



Lisa de Marignac

ENC
1998 CWG Meeting Schedule
MBNMS Office Report

CWG Meeting Minutes - November 18, 1997	FINAL




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