MONTEREY BAY NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY
ADVISORY COUNCIL

FINAL
Meeting Minutes
June 4, 1999
Pt. Lobos State Reserve
Carmel

The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) Advisory Council met on 
Friday, June 4, 1999 at the Pt. Lobos State Reserve Hudson House in Carmel.  Public 
categories and government agencies were present as indicated:

Agriculture: Richard Nutter-ABSENT
Diving: David Clayton
AMBAG: Ruth Vreeland
Education: Patricia Clark-Gray
At Large: Steve Webster
Enforcement: Roy Torres
At Large: Karin Strasser Kauffman
Fishing: Dave Danbom
At Large: Chet Forrest
Ports & Harbors: Steve Scheiblauer
Business & Industry: Ted Balestreri
Recreation: Sally Smith
CA EPA: VACANT
Research: Gregor Cailliet
CA Coastal Commission: Tami Grove-ABSENT
Tourism: Ed Brown
CA Resources Agency: Brian Baird-ABSENT
U.S. Coast Guard: LCDR Phyllis Blanton-ABSENT
Conservation: Vicki Nichols

The following non-voting members were present as indicated:

Monterey Bay NMS: William Douros
Gulf of the Farallones NMS and Cordell Bank NMS: Ed Ueber
Channel Islands NMS: Ed Cassano-ABSENT
Elkhorn Slough NERR: Becky Christensen

I.	CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, APPROVAL OF
	APRIL 2, 1999 DRAFT MEETING MINUTES,
	REVIEW OF CORRESPONDENCE

A)	Call to Order and Roll Call

The meeting was called to order by the Chair, Steve Webster, at 12:50 p.m.  Ed Brown 
conducted the roll call - a quorum was present.

B)	Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes

The minutes from the April 2, 1999 Advisory Council meeting were approved as 
presented.

C)	Review of Correspondence

The Chair forwarded the sign-up folder for Advisory Council correspondence written 
since the last Council meeting.

II.	PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA

Dennis Long, new Executive Director for the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Foundation, was 
introduced by William Douros, MBNMS.  Dennis provided a brief overview of his 
background, and expressed his interest in working closely with the Advisory Council.

Curt Gandy, Fort Ord Toxics Project, informed the Council of the abolition of the 
advisory board to the U.S. Army regarding the clean-up of Fort Ord.  He is concerned 
about the legality of the action, and that lack of public oversight will prevent the Army 
from cleaning up Fort Ord and thus threaten Sanctuary waters.

Advisory Council members requested information from the Sanctuary office on this 
issue, and noted that the issue might be an appropriate future agenda item.

Char Carter, resident of the Monterey Peninsula, expressed concern about the Urban 
Warrior exercises conducted in March, and rocket launching exercises that were 
conducted last fall.

III.	UPDATE:  FY2000 BUDGET & REAUTHORIZATION

Bill Douros thanked Advisory Council members for their letters to congressionals in 
support of President Clinton's proposal to fund the National Marine Sanctuaries 
Program (NMSP) at $29 million and announced that nothing has been decided yet 
regarding the Sanctuary program's budget.

Karin Strasser Kauffman made a motion that the Council send a letter to the 
Chief of the Marine Sanctuaries Division (MSD) and others as appropriate, 
indicating the problems associated with having a high number of contractors 
staffing the MBNMS office, and urging NOAA to convert the contracted work to 
full-time government positions.  Greg Cailliet seconded and the motion passed 
unanimously.  Steve Webster will work with Sanctuary staff to draft the letter.

Regarding reauthorization of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA), as soon as 
NOAA's final draft of the bill is provided to the sites, the MBNMS will provide copies 
to Council members.

Council members questioned Bill Douros and Ed Ueber regarding recent media 
coverage highlighting the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Association (PCFFA) 
push to move the MBNMS northern boundary from the Marin headlands to the San 
Mateo-Santa Cruz County line, with the GFNMS southern boundary extending to the 
county line.  Bill explained that NOAA has said it has no intention of changing the 
sanctuaries' boundaries as part of reauthorization.  There is also no formal proposal to 
change MBNMS's southern boundary by extending if further south, as claimed by 
PCFFA.  Ed Ueber made no comment on the press story or the PCFFA proposal.

Discussion ensued among Council members regarding this issue, particularly about the 
shared management design.  Bill elaborated on the current concept, where MBNMS has 
responsibility for the entire Sanctuary, but for some projects GFNMS serves as the lead; 
for the rest MBNMS is the lead.  Both sites communicate regarding project status.  Ed 
commented that his office and staff work well with the MBNMS and there have not 
been disagreements about resource protection.

IV.	DISCUSSION:  COASTAL ZONE '99

Karin Strasser Kauffman questioned Council members regarding their attendance at the 
upcoming Coastal Zone '99 Conference in San Diego, scheduled for the last week of 
July.  Bill provided the names of staff members who will attend the conference, and 
encouraged interested Council members to register.

V.	REPORT:  MBNMS SUSTAINABLE SEAS EXPEDITION

Bill presented an overview of the MBNMS Sustainable Seas Expeditions (SSE) which 
took place May 9 - 22.  The SSE crew was faced with extremely poor weather 
conditions and technical problems.  While not much research was conducted during the 
two-week period, the SSE crew got the opportunity to become experienced DeepWorker 
pilots in preparation for upcoming years.  The educational and public relations efforts 
associated with SSE were highly successful.  Teacher-in-the-Sea Mike Guardino and 
Steve Webster enjoyed successful dives at Point Lobos State Reserve.  On May 12, the 
Sanctuary hosted an Open House aboard the NOAA Ship McArthur which generated a 
good turnout and media coverage.  Robert Lynn Nelson Studios hosted a reception for 
the SSE on May 14, and another highly successful event was the May 17 Student 
Summit.

Steve Webster expressed his support of SSE, stating that he is looking forward to next 
year, though he hopes the next expeditions will occur during the fall, when the weather 
is optimal.  He believes that the DeepWorker is a good machine for filling in the gap 
between SCUBA and MBARI's ROVs.

Greg Cailliet commented that the live link discussions with students regarding prickly 
sharks was successful as well.

Ed Ueber provided a brief overview of GFNMS/CBNMS' expeditions, which also dealt 
with similar weather and technical conditions.  However, GFNMS had four dives with 
good visibility and were able to get good pictures.  GFNMS also held a successful 
student summit.

VI.	UPDATE ON ACTION ITEMS:

	SEA OTTER TRANSLOCATION PROGRAM

Bill Douros provided an update on the southern sea otter translocation program.  The 
USFWS extended the comment period for the biological opinion and failure 
recommendation until April 30, and are in the process of incorporating the comments.  
While the Service does not have a specific deadline for completing the biological opinion 
and the failure recommendation, it is a high priority for them.  USFWS is sending out 
letters this week to potential Technical Advisory Group members requesting that they 
confirm their participation in the advisory panel.

Karin Strasser Kauffman complimented Bill on the comment letter he sent to USFWS on 
behalf of the Sanctuary office and expressed her appreciation for receiving a copy in a 
timely manner.

	CANNERY ROW MARKETPLACE

Bill also provided an update on the Cannery Row Marketplace.  The City of Monterey 
did not require a second draft EIR as the Sanctuary office and the Advisory Council 
had requested.  The final EIR for the project was released on May 17, and Sanctuary 
staff have not yet had the chance to review it.  The Planning Commission is meeting on 
June 14 (this has been rescheduled for June 29) and the meeting will last until all public 
input is gathered.

Karin Strasser Kauffman made a motion to re-submit the Advisory Council's 
letter regarding the Cannery Row Marketplace to the Planning Commission, 
requesting that it be included as part of the public comment.  Steve Scheiblauer 
seconded and the motion passed with one abstention and one opposition.  Steve 
Webster will either present the letter at the Planning Commission meeting or send it via 
mail.

VII.	DISCUSSION:  CWG LETTER RE: KELP HARVESTING

Vicki Nichols presented a draft letter addressed from the Conservation Working Group 
to the California Fish and Game Commission, requesting that they comprehensively 
review the issue of kelp harvesting as part of the kelp management plan 5-year review.  
Specifically, the letter requested that the Fish and Game Commission consider the 
following items:

… Comprehensive research on the effects of kelp harvesting on the organisms 
that inhabit the ecosystem.
… An evaluation of the effectiveness of the regulations governing kelp 
harvesting, specifically with respect to the quantity of kelp harvested, the 
time of year the kelp is harvested, how the harvesters are monitored, and 
how enforcement is (or is not) conducted.
… The effect of kelp harvesting on the billion dollar tourism industry in 
Monterey and other coastal counties.
… A review of allocation issues between open and leased beds, including 
ecosystem, recreational and mariculture needs.

Discussion ensued among Council members regarding the ecological and user group 
questions associated with kelp harvesting.  Council members also suggested numerous 
edits to the letter.  Finally, the Council discussed and clarified that the protocol is for 
the Advisory Council to send letters such as this, rather than individual working 
groups.

Ruth Vreeland made a motion that the Advisory Council send the letter with 
revisions as discussed by the Council to the Fish and Game Commission.  Greg 
Cailliet seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

Steve Webster, Vicki Nichols, Sally Smith and David Clayton will re-draft the letter.

VIII.	REPORT:  CONSTITUENT OUTREACH

Chet Forrest, At-Large Representative from Cambria, provided an update on his 
constituency.  Many residents in the southern area of the Sanctuary are conservationists 
"by nature but not by name" and want to prevent further development of the area.  
Many are just recently becoming aware that they live adjacent to the MBNMS.  The 
main concerns of Chet's constituents are:  future oil exploration and development; the 
live rockfish fishery; urban development impacting water resources and desalination 
plants; preserving the community and environment for future generations.

Over the past year, Chet and Bill Raver have conducted have generated media coverage 
on the Sanctuary, assisted in the start-up of Friends of the Elephant Seal, provided 
public presentations on the Sanctuary, raised funding for education and signage, and 
actively contacted local businesses and chambers of commerce regarding the Sanctuary 
program.  Chet, Bill and newly appointed Council member Ron Massengill plan to 
continue to increase Sanctuary presence in the south in the upcoming year.

IX.	UPDATE:  MBNMS DIVER OUTREACH PROGRAM

David Clayton provided an update on the progress of the Sanctuary's Diver Outreach 
Program.  David has been working closely with Patrick Cotter and Bill Douros on 
improving the relationship between the Sanctuary and the diving community.  The 
proposed outreach program will help cement the relationship.  Member of the diving 
community, including representatives from diving organizations and local dive shops, 
met with Sanctuary staff and discussed ideas for the Diver Outreach Program, 
including the following:

… temporary booths at high activity dive sites
… diver information on the Sanctuary's web page
… informational video guide on diving in the Sanctuary for students
… modification of resource protection sections of diving organizations manuals to 
include sanctuary information
… educational signage high activity dive sites

The next meeting on the program is scheduled for June 13.

X.	COUNCIL MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ed Ueber announced that CBNMS will be celebrating its 10th anniversary in October; 
during this time, the NMS managers will be meeting in Bodega Bay and he hopes that 
Secretary of Commerce William Daley may attend the celebration.

Steve Scheiblauer announced that tall ships will be visiting Monterey Harbor 
throughout the summer; currently the Endeavor is available for tours at the Coast 
Guard pier.

Vicki Nichols announced that the Save Our Shores Dockwalkers program is being 
implemented.

Ruth Vreeland announced that there is renewed interest in the issue of cruise ship 
stopovers.

Pat Clark-Gray announced the release of the latest State Parks newsletter and 
expressed interest in providing Sanctuary information in future issues.

Karin Strasser Kauffman announced that she has received numerous calls regarding 
Makah take of a gray whale.

Steve Webster announced that he is responding to numerous requests for presentations 
about the Sanctuary.


The meeting adjourned at 3:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,


Lisa de Marignac
Advisory Council Coordinator