MBNMS Sanctuary Advisory Council 2000 Annual Report

MONTEREY BAY NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY
ADVISORY COUNCIL
Annual Report -- FINAL
October 1, 1999 - September 30, 2000

INTRODUCTION
During the past fiscal year, the Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) held six regular meetings, two retreats and a special meeting, selecting meeting locations adjacent to the Sanctuary’s 300-mile coastline boundary.

The SAC’s membership changed during the year. Steve Scheiblauer completed the Monterey Harbor rotation as the harbor representative. Jim Stilwell, Moss Landing Harbormaster, replaced Steve as the primary harbor representative. Craig Wilson was appointed to the CA EPA seat. Two new alternate representatives were appointed to the following seats: Peter Grenell, harbors (Pillar Point) and Kirk Schmidt, agriculture.

The SAC’s Executive Committee also changed. Stephanie Harlan replaced Steve Webster as the SAC Chair and Ed Brown was re-elected to serve as the Councils Secretary. Steve Abbott continued to serve his term as Vice-Chair.

Lisa DeMarignac, the MBNMS SAC Coordinator, left the Sanctuary in August to travel around the world. Brady Phillips, on a one-year detail from the Sanctuary’s headquarters office, replaced Lisa as the SAC Coordinator starting at the June meeting in Monterey.

Advisory Council members participated in numerous Sanctuary events throughout the year, including but not limited to the following: Agriculture and Rural Lands Action Plan Kick-Off at Steinbeck Center in Salinas (Jan. 14), Sanctuary Currents Symposium in Santa Cruz (March 18), Bilge water pump-out ceremonies at Monterey (April 5) and Moss Landing (Sept. 18) harbors, Sustainable Seas Expeditions (SSE) Student Summit (April 7), Snapshot Day Stream Sampling (April 17), Environmental Hero Award celebration for Mark Silberstein (April 19), Watsonville Stream Clean-up (April 19), Vessel Traffic Ceremony in San Francisco (May 31) , White House Millennium Lecture Series on Exploration at MBARI (June 12), Cambria Boundary Marker celebration (June 23), SSE kick-off event at Hearst Castle (June 23), SSE Live Webcast (June 28), SSE Expeditions onboard the RV Macarthur (June 30 – July 12), Great American Fish Count (July 1-14), Public Meetings on Kelp Management Report (July 11-24), Monterey Harbor Clean-up (July 22), a SAC reception/dinner in Cambria after the Staff-SAC retreat (Aug. 3), Sanctuary Birthday and Shark Festival in Santa Cruz (Sept. 16), and the following fundraisers to benefit the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Foundation: Robert Lyn Nelson Studios (Oct. 23, April 15 and July 12), Ansel Adams Gallery (May 8).

WORKING GROUPS
The Council’s three working groups - the Conservation Working Group (CWG), the Research Activity Panel (RAP), and the Sanctuary Education Panel (SEP) - each respectively dealing with matters of conservation, research, and education, met regularly throughout the year and provided information and advice to the SAC and Sanctuary Superintendent. The Council’s Business and Tourism Activity Panel (BTAP) also met regularly throughout the year.

The CWG, co-chaired by Vicki Nichols and Ron Massengill, met ten times during the year. The CWG has been recruiting several new and interested participants and the group will continue to outreach for additional input. Individual members of the CWG were the primary force in the development of additional monitoring funds and plans for the Duke Power Plan Expansion at Moss Landing. The CWG invested a tremendous amount of time reviewing alternatives to the intake and discharge, the Regional Water Quality Control Board permits for the plant, the potential impacts to the benthic and planktonic organisms of the Slough and various tropic levels, the mitigation package and costs, performance standards, and monitoring of both the thermal discharge and entrainment.

The CWG provided input to the SAC and Sanctuary staff regarding kelp harvesting policies in the Sanctuary’s Kelp Management Report. Save Our Shores hosted three public kelp workshops in the Sanctuary region incorporating Sanctuary staff and CWG members to discuss various elements and perspectives of the Report. The CWG continued to work with Sanctuary staff regarding the storm drain and erosion problems at Fort Ord, as well as various California-based fishery issues such as Gill Nets.

The CWG took a leadership role in addressing underwater sound impacts as well as fiber optic cables being proposed for placement within the Sanctuary. Members also contributed to the Sanctuary’s annual report and assisted in coordination of the Sanctuary Currents Symposium. CWG members also collaborated with other SAC working groups on issues relating to Sanctuary protection.

The RAP, chaired by Gregor Cailliet (vice-chair Richard Starr), met at eight different research institutions throughout the year. At each meeting, the host institution presented overviews of their activities, and many sanctuary issues, as well as broader science topics and project

proposals were discussed. The RAP provided input to the Sanctuary Advisory Council and Sanctuary staff on seafloor mapping, Sustainable Seas Expeditions evaluation, undersea cable laying and related resource impacts, and fisheries management. RAP members wrote sections of the Sanctuary’s Ecosystem Observations Report, participated extensively in developing a plan for a Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network, reviewed the MBNMS kelp report, commented on a report which analyzed sediment transport related to Santa Cruz Harbor dredging, and served on the planning committee for the Sanctuary Currents Symposium. This year, the Point Reyes Bird Observatory was added as a Research Institution Member to the RAP, and the RAP section on the MBNMS web site was also updated. The RAP continues to play a pivotal role in enhancing communication among the many marine scientists in the broader Sanctuary region.

The SEP, chaired by Patricia Clark-Gray (vice-chair Rachel Saunders), met seven times at various locations (Monterey Peninsula College, Cambria, Moss Landing Marine Lab, Maritime Museum, Long Marine Lab and the Gulf of Farallones NMS office). The group has participated in two field trips. The first was to Piedras Blancas where they viewed the new interpretive signs for the elephant seal problem. On the second field trip, Carol Prince, Golden Gate National Park Association Director of External Affairs, gave the group a tour of the Crissy Field habitat restoration. They also visited the GGNRA Native Plant Nursery. The SEP gave educational input to several projects (Ecosystem Monitoring, CCC Marine Educator's Directory, and the SAC’s interpretive sign fund-raising project).

SUBCOMMITTEES
The BTAP, chaired by Michael Hemp, met four times during the year. The BTAP continued to focus on issues related to kelp harvesting along Cannery Row and the MBNMS Kelp Management Report. On July 31, 2000, the BTAP wrote a letter to the SAC commenting on two of the proposed recommendations in the Kelp Management Report. The BTAP recommended only one no harvest zone off Cannery Row and suggested that the Sanctuary re-consider using the Kelp Cooperative as a tool to manage harvest in Cannery Row. Other issues discussed included the Duke Power Plant expansion in Moss Landing, fiber optic cable projects, and water quality issues. The group also discussed the need to expand and diversify membership in the BTAP.

RETREATS
At its April 4 meeting, the SAC agreed with recommendations from the Sanctuary staff to dedicate one-day to address internal SAC communication and conduct issue resolution. The SAC established a subcommittee to help identify specific agenda items and discuss the need for a facilitator. With the concurrence of the subcommittee, the Sanctuary hired Brock Bernstein to facilitate the retreat, which was held on May 10 at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The retreat provided a neutral forum to help SAC members discuss and resolve their individual concerns in a non-confrontational and constructive manner. Topics included: what has gone right with the SAC, what members want the SAC to be like in the future, meeting management, communication issues, and the relationship between the SAC and the Sanctuary. Individual SAC members also discussed one thing they could do to help move the SAC and Sanctuary toward a positive future. Ultimately, it is hoped that the retreat helped to strengthen the foundation of trust, respect, responsibility and open communication that have long served as the guiding principles of this SAC.

The Advisory Council held its annual retreat on the afternoon of August 3rd in Cambria to set priorities for the upcoming year. In preparation for the meeting, Sanctuary staff provided the SAC with a short summary of 14 priorities for the upcoming year. Based on the workshop with the staff, the Advisory Council set four priority issues to focus on during their subsequent six meetings:

• Management plan review process for the Sanctuary.
• Implementation of the MBNMS Ecosystem Monitoring Program.
• Policies related to desalination plants.
• Policies related to fiber optic cables.

MAJOR ISSUES, ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

NEW ISSUES:

Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network (SIMoN)
Mario Tamburri and Andrew DeVogelaere provided the SAC with two presentations on the MBNMS Ecosystem Monitoring program, later renamed the Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network (SIMoN). The objective of SIMoN is to develop and implement an ecosystem monitoring program to detect natural and human induced changes to Sanctuary resources and advise resource managers on necessary steps to protect those resources. SIMoN took over a year to develop and was a helped tremendously by the Research Activity Panel (RAP). The SAC made a motion in support for the Sanctuary’s efforts to implement this ecosystem monitoring program and sent a letters to Stephanie Thornton and Dan Basta calling for the program to place a priority on funding this program.

Duke Energy Moss Landing Power Plant Expansion
SAC members received several updates related to a proposed expansion of Duke Energy’s Moss Landing Power Plant. The plant would increase power production to 1,060 megawatts and result in a total discharge of up to 1.2 billion gallons of warm water per day at maximum capacity into the Sanctuary off Moss Landing. Sanctuary staff participated in interagency meetings throughout the year, and sent two letters noting the Sanctuary’s environmental concerns, particularly as they related to the effects of fish and crab larval entrainment during intake, the effects of the thermal discharge, and the details of the mitigation package.

The mitigation package will include specific measures to help minimize the impacts of fish mortality due to larval entrainment in the intake system. Duke Energy will provide around $7 million to the Elkhorn Slough Foundation to oversee the mitigation. Approximately $425,000 will be transferred to the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Foundation to go toward monitoring the effects of the thermal plume in the MBNMS. A number of individual SAC members in their various capacities participated in the issue. The SAC took no action on this item.

Later in the fall, several CWG members met with Duke Power and successfully acquired an additional $1 million for monitoring, to be administered through the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Foundation as part of the SIMoN monitoring efforts. The funds will provide about $200K annually (over 5 years) for biological and physical monitoring of Elkhorn Slough.

President Clinton’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) Executive Order
On May 26, 2000, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13158 on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to strengthen the protection of U.S. ocean and coastal resources. This significant milestone in ocean conservation directs the Departments of Commerce and the Interior, and other federal agencies, to strengthen and expand a national system of MPAs by working closely with state, territorial, local, tribal, and other stakeholders. Among other purposes, the MPA Executive Order called for the creation of a new Federal Advisory Committee, and the establishment of a new MPA Center to develop and disseminate the information, tools and strategies needed to design and effectively manage the national system of MPAs. Though the SAC voiced concerns about the Executive Order relating to funding and language calling for increased protection at existing MPAs, they wrote a letter to Dr. Baker urging NOAA to locate the proposed Marine Protected Area Center in the Monterey Bay area. Early in 2001, NOAA announced that the new MPA Science Center would be located at the NMFS Fisheries Laboratory in Santa Cruz.

National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) Report Recommendations
In the Spring of 2000, the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) released a report authored by DeWitt John entitled "Protecting Our National Marine Sanctuaries." Mr. John visited the MBNMS in 1999, and talked with many SAC members about what is and is not working with the Sanctuary program and the MBNMS. The report profiles many of the program’s accomplishments and successes, highlights areas for improvements, and makes recommendations for improvements.

Many SAC members thought the report correctly identified many areas the program needs to work on, particularly those aspects related to Sanctuary Advisory Councils. The SAC voted to form a NAPA Subcommittee to look more closely at the NAPA recommendations and identify those areas where the MBNMS and the National Program could start to improve. The NAPA subcommittee remains actively involved in this process.

Legislative Working Group
On September 22, 1999, the SAC sent a letter pertaining to the reauthorization of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act to the Chief of the National Marine Sanctuaries Program and copied members of the U.S. Congress. The National Ocean Service (NOS) responded back to the SAC on January 6, 2001, expressing concern that the SAC had exceeded its authority in contacting members of Congress as allowed in the SAC Charter and by the National Marine Sanctuaries Act.

At the February SAC meeting, Donna Blitzer, representing Congressman Sam Farr, submitted a letter to SAC members addressing their concerns with the NOS letter, and assuring members that Farr’s office would make significant efforts to communicate with the SAC by regular attendance at Council meetings on his or Donna’s part, and that his office would routinely request copies of Council correspondence. After much discussion, the SAC voted to form a working group (later named the Legislative Working Group) to explore the legality of the SAC writing letters to U.S. legislators and to work on re-writing the MBNMS SAC’s Charter and Protocols. The working group met several times and provided regular updates to the SAC. In June, Donna Blitzer, representing Congressman Farr, distributed a report from the Congressional Research Service "Restrictions on Lobbying Congress with Federal Funds" to help clarify and facilitate communication between the SAC and the Congressman Farr. Members of the Legislative Working Group interpreted this report as affirmation that they could contact members of Congress, since they are not engaged in grassroots lobbying. NOAA did not share this view.

In late September, chairperson Jim Stilwell, on behalf of the Legislative Working Group, distributed a memo to the SAC that set forth a set of proposed changes to the MBNMS SAC Charter and Protocols, and a recommended course of action. To date, the SAC has voted only on the proposed recommended changes to the Charter. The vote indicated that the majority of SAC members do not favor making substantive changes to the Charter. The SAC has not voted on the Protocols. The Legislative Working Group continues to meet, at times in conjunction with the NAPA Subcommittee.

Tidepool Management
In response to public pressure from residents of the City of Pacific Grove to protect Point Pinos tidepool resources, the City of Pacific Grove formed the Point Pinos Taskforce to address the issues, and asked for the Sanctuary’s assistance. The SAC formed a tidepool subcommittee to make general recommendations to the Advisory Council and the Sanctuary on tide pool issues, and to initiate a list of resource management questions related to the Sanctuary rocky shore habitat.
The tidepool subcommittee came up with eight management recommendations and ten questions related to the management of the Sanctuary’s rocky shores. At its December 1999 meeting, the SAC endorsed the subcommittee’s tidepool management recommendations and advised Sanctuary management to consider the recommendations as a proactive approach to managing tidepool habitats throughout its boundary. The SAC also passed a motion that allowed the CWG to publicize these recommendations, and sent a letter to Jim Willoughby conveying the recommendations.

Increasing MBNMS Funding Using The Sanctuary Foundation - Pilot Funding Taskforce
Identifying new funding opportunities for Sanctuary programs was also a SAC priority during FY 1999. Over the course of the year, the SAC heard presentations about the Sanctuary’s program priorities, the sites annual budget, and the purpose and vision of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Foundation. The SAC created a funding task force, led by Steve Webster, to help fulfill the Council’s priority to increase funding for the Sanctuary program. The funding task force has met several times since it was formed at the August 1999 SAC meeting.

The task force recommended that the SAC undertake a fundraising pilot project, led by the task force. In January, task force members and Sanctuary staff agreed on a two-part pilot project -- an interpretive signage/exhibit series and community-based water quality monitoring to support and expand on the Sanctuary’s existing Water Quality Monitoring Program. Implementing both these projects would have both fiscal and public relations benefits.

Liz Love, MBNMS educator, presented an overview of the interpretive signage/exhibit series and provided written and pictorial descriptions of proposed sites and their associated signage. Holly Price, MBNMS Water Quality Protection Coordinator, provided an overview of the existing citizen monitoring network and the benefits of regional citizen monitoring of water quality within the Sanctuary and its watersheds. Holly outlined elements of the program that businesses could sponsor.

Five "team leaders" volunteered to lead fundraising efforts for a particular signage location and water quality monitoring component. SAC members were asked to join up with a particular leader to form a team. Dennis Long, Monterey Bay Sanctuary Foundation, offered to help Sanctuary staff put together an informational package on fundraising and forward it to the team leaders. After discussion, the team leaders agreed to start with fundraising for the signage. At subsequent SAC meetings, team leads provided updates on sponsored signage on behalf of their region. Several potential sponsors were identified.

CONTINUING ISSUES:

CalTrans/Highway 1 Repairs Along The Big Sur Coast
Sanctuary staff provided regular updates to the SAC on the issue of landslide activity and Highway One road repair along the Big Sur coast. CalTrans activities along this stretch of Highway One are relevant to the Sanctuary because Sanctuary regulations prohibit the discharge of material directly into the Sanctuary, as well as indirect discharges that subsequently harm Sanctuary resources.

Several landslides during the winter of 1999 resulted in closures of HWY One and led to conflicts between CalTrans wanting to dispose materials into the ocean and the Sanctuary staff expressing concerns about the potential impacts of disposal of large amounts of materials at certain sites. In order to develop long-term solutions for these reoccurring slide material disposal issues, CalTrans is moving forward on the development of a management plan for Highway One along the Big Sur coastline, from the Carmel River in the north, to the San Luis Obispo County line in the south. CalTrans is also working with the Sanctuary, and other agencies, to develop and fund a sediment budget study for the area. Sanctuary staff and some SAC members have regularly been attending Big Sur community meetings led by CalTrans. The SAC unanimously passed a motion to support the Sanctuary’s efforts to balance environmental concerns and business interests in relation to these HWY One issues, and to support a study funded by CalTrans, the US Geological Survey, and the Sanctuary to determine the sediment budget and erosion rates along the Big Sur coast.

Kelp Management
The SAC identified kelp harvest and management issues as one of its priorities for FY 1999. The SAC heard a number of presentations throughout the year and took several actions. In December 1999, the Council passed a motion recommending that the Sanctuary continue to fund a kelp harvesting study off Cannery Row in an effort to get clearer answers at to the effect of kelp harvesting. Local kelp harvesters presented to the Sanctuary and SAC a signed kelp harvester’s cooperative agreement.

The Advisory Council also motioned to send a letter to the California Fish and Game Commission regarding the Commission’s five-year review of its giant and bull kelp commercial and sport fishing regulations. The Council identified a list of topics that it requested the Commission to consider and integrate into its plan.

In February, Aaron King briefed the SAC on the history of the kelp conflict off Cannery Row, and explained that though the Sanctuary is authorized to regulate kelp, at this time, it is opting to submit recommendations to the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) who regulates the harvest of kelp within State waters. Aaron went over the process and timeline for soliciting public comment, including that from the SAC.

Based on SAC and public comment, the Sanctuary released a second version of the Draft MBNMS Kelp Management Report in June. The SAC made a motion to submit individual comments on the draft kelp report to the Sanctuary directly, and take a formal action at the next meeting. At the August meeting, the SAC engaged in a vigorous discussion over the Sanctuary’s 9 proposed kelp management recommendations to CDFG. The RAP, CWG, and BTAP all submitted comments for the SAC to consider. Many kelp harvesters also attended the meeting to provide the SAC input. In the end, the SAC passed 11 motions relating to the Sanctuary’s recommendations, including adopting 4 (as is, or with modifications), rejecting 3, taking no position on 2, and adding 2 entirely new recommendations.

In its final recommendations to CDFG, the Sanctuary included 9 of the SAC’s 11 recommendations.

Fiber Optic Cables
That SAC identified fiber optic cables as one of their priority issues in FY1999. Sanctuary staff provided SAC members with regular updates on activities related to two proposed fiber optic cable projects in the Sanctuary. The Global Photon project proposed to lay a fiber optic cable through the MBNMS in a north-south direction with landfalls off San Francisco, Pajaro, and at Point Lobos. The Pacific Genesis Applications/World-Com project (formerly the MCI-Global Crossing project) proposed to establish a consolidated multi-cable landing site for up to five cables from Asia/Oceania through the Sanctuary, landing at the Monterey Bay Academy, in La Selva Beach, south of Santa Cruz.

In December, the SAC sent a letter to the State Lands Commission commenting on the Draft Environmental Impact Review for the Global Photon fiber optic cable project. The SAC pointed out inadequacies of the draft plan, and endorsed the comments that the Sanctuary made to the State Lands Commission.

In April, the SAC made a motion to send a letter to the State Lands Commission, urging that the agency ensure that the Sanctuary and Advisory Council’s concerns are addressed in the FEIR for the Global Photon project. The Sanctuary also made a motion to send a letter to the California Coastal Commission expressing concerns regarding the environmental impacts of submarine fiber optic cable projects in general, including cumulative impacts, and urging the Commission to address concerns regarding potential environmental impacts.

At the August meeting, the SAC was given notice that the National Marine Sanctuary Program would publish in the Federal Register an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) for Installing and Maintaining Commercial Submarine Cables in the National Marine Sanctuaries On August 23, 2000. The SAC discussed the topic at both the August and October meetings before writing their final letter to NOAA on October 23, 2000, outlining their specific concerns.

Vessel Traffic Safety
The Advisory Council continued to actively support the work of the Vessel Traffic Management Work Group in its process to finalize recommended vessel traffic routing measures to ensure safe, efficient and environmentally sound transportation within the Sanctuary. On September 28, 1999, the Navigation Subcommittee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a body of the United Nations, gave initial approval to a proposal to move certain types of large commercial ships further offshore to protect the resources of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and improve the safety of navigation. At the end of May 2000, the IMO gave final approval to the proposal to move large ships further offshore and modify certain approaches to and from San Francisco and Los Angeles area ports. Several SAC members joined the Sanctuary and the U.S. Coast Guard at a press conference on May 31 celebrating this achievement at the U.S. Coast Guard Station on Yerba Buena Island in San Francisco Bay. The SAC made motions to thank Holly Price, and all those involved, in making these recommended vessel tracks a reality.

Water Quality Protection Program’s Agriculture and Rural Lands Action Plan
The Advisory Council continued to support the efforts of the Water Quality Protection Program committee and the central coast agricultural communities to develop an action plan to address nonpoint source pollution related to agriculture. During the previous year, Council members participated in public workshops to present the draft Agriculture and Rural Lands Action Plan. After public input, the plan was finalized in late in 1999, and represents an unparallel effort to protect Sanctuary waters while sustaining the economic viability of the region's agricultural industry. On January 14, 2000, numerous SAC members helped celebrate as the Sanctuary and the agriculture industry unveiled the partnership at a press conference and celebration held at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas. The SAC’s agriculture representatives remain committed to help implement the plan.

Diver Partnership Program
Last year, the Sanctuary worked with the dive industry to develop a diver outreach program. The Diver Partnership Program was established to partner with the diving community to increase awareness and stewardship of the Sanctuary’s resources. Proposed projects included the development of an educational brochure for divers; a Diver Partnership Program web page; assistance in diver clean up programs; and the development of the NOAA Observational Diver Program to recognize divers who contribute to Sanctuary resource protection.

After consulting with their constituents, in an April 27, 2000 letter to the Acting Director of the Sanctuary Program Office, the SAC diver representative and the SAC Alternate diver representative gave notice that the diving community was withdrawing from the Sanctuary’s Diver Partnership Program. A compromise, through the work of an independent facilitator and the SAC Executive Committee, was ultimately reached and the diving community and the Sanctuary are working together to get the Diver Partnership Program moving again. As a result of the meeting, the Sanctuary created a new Diver Partnership Program website, reaffirmed its position that the diver disturbance study supports the Sanctuary’s conclusion that scuba divers have no significant impact in kelp forests, and is moving forward in creating a new brochure for divers.

Fort Ord Stormwater Pipes
The SAC, particularly the CWG, has tracked Fort Order stormwater pipe issues for the past several years. On January 31, 1995, the SAC send a letter to the U.S. Army regarding clean-up activities in the marine environment, and the Army responded by addressing the Council at its February 24, 1995 meeting. Discussions focused on the Sanctuary’s concerns about potential environmental impact in the Danger and Restricted Zones off Fort Ord. The Advisory Council was instrumental in helping the Sanctuary achieve its goal of urging the Army to assess potential environmental impacts in the zones off Fort Ord and helped produce the Army’s "Enhanced Preliminary Assessment of Monterey Bay" published in January 1999. The document included input from the RAP and many local scientists.

More recently, the SAC has continued to follow the Sanctuary’s discussions with the U.S. Army regarding the idea of removing stormwater pipes located in the Fort Ord dunes. On September 10, 1999, the Sanctuary sent a letter to the Army detailing the Sanctuary’s continuing concerns about the dissolution of the Restoration Advisory Board; the degrading stormwater pipes; ordnance and explosives; and the trichloroethylene plume under Fort Ord sites 2 and 12 that may be flowing into Monterey Bay. The SAC decided to wait until they received a copy of the Army’s response to the Sanctuary letter before taking any action. The Army sent a letter back to the Sanctuary in December 1999, which was distributed to the SAC. The SAC continues to monitor the clean-up activities.

Sea Otter Recovery
At its April meeting, the CWG Chair presented a draft letter to the SAC to send to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service urging the agency to complete and implement the Southern Sea Otter Recovery Plan. The SAC motioned to approve the memo and sent it to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Fiscal Year 2001 NMSP Budget and Support
The fiscal year 2001 budget as proposed by the Clinton Administration for the NMSP was $35 million; an increase from the $26 million received this year, and the $14 million the year before. This increase was due in part to broad support from constituents across the country and strong bipartisan congressional interest. Of particular note, Congressman Sam Farr and other members of the California delegation helped support increased funding for the sanctuaries program and for the California sanctuaries. SAC members, acting as individuals, were very active in promoting support for an increased budget for the program. Many of the programs that the Council highlighted as priorities for new money were allocated funding.

On December 8, 1999 the SAC sent a letter to Stephanie Thornton, Chief MSD, making recommendations for priority projects to receive new funding, including education and outreach programs; implementation of program plans supported by the Council - vessel traffic strategies and the Agricultural Plan for water quality; and research on site characterization and ecosystem monitoring. The SAC also sent a letter to Dan Basta, Chief, MSD, on October 19, 2000 urging him to financially support the management plan revision and implementation of the Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network (SIMoN).

Reauthorization of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA)
On October 1, 1999 the SAC sent a letter (to supercede a letter written on Sept. 22, 1999) to Stephanie Thornton expressing overall support for the re-authorization of the National Marine Sanctuary Act. The letter also offered specific comments relating to the need for a more supportive budget, retaining the multiple use mandate, more clearly defining "injury" in context of injury to a sanctuary resource, clarifying "innovative management techniques", and urged the program not to consider changing the terms of designation. The letter also expressed continued support for fisheries management with the CDFG, NMFS, and the Pacific Fisheries Management Council. In addition, SAC members, acting as individuals, also sent letters regarding the reauthorization of the NMSA and increasing the authorized budget levels.

After much delay in congress, President Clinton signed the National Marine Sanctuaries Act of 2000 on November 14, 2000.

Submitted by
Brady Phillips, MBNMS