MBNMS SAC Meeting Minutes February 4th, 2005

The following non-voting members were present as indicated:

Channel Islands NMS: Chris Mobley-ABSENT
Gulf of the Farallones NMS: Julie Barrow
Cordell Bank NMS: Dan Howard-ABSENT
Elkhorn Slough NERR: Becky Christensen-ABSENT
Monterey Bay NMS: William Douros

Alternates present in audience:

Steve Shimek-Conservation
Steve Clark-Education
Robert Frischmuth-At-large
Harriet Mitteldorf-At-large
Anjanette Adams-Business/Industry

I. CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, APPOINTMENT OF NEW SECRETARY, APPROVAL OF MINUTES

WELCOME FROM CITY OF SANTA CRUZ MAYOR MIKE ROTKIN

Mayor Mike Rotkin welcomed the Advisory Council to the City of Santa Cruz.

APPOINTMENT OF NEW SECRETARY

Gary Pezzi, Recreation alternate nominated Kaitilin Gaffney, Conservation primary, for the position of Advisory Council secretary. (Vote: unanimous 17-0)

INTRODUCTION OF NEW MBNMS STAFF

Bill Douros, MBNMS Superintendent, introduced Bridget Dobrowski, Agriculture Water Quality Coordinator and Donna Meyers, Regional Water Quality Coordinator.

APPROVAL OF 10/1/04 DRAFT MEETING NOTES

Paul Reilly, CA Dept of Fish and Game alternate, announced that he had submitted editing changes to Nicole Capps, Advisory Council Coordinator, prior to the meeting and asked the Advisory Council to please accept these changes.

MOTION: (Passed)
The SAC adopted the minutes from the October 1, 2004 Sanctuary Advisory Council meeting with Paul Reilly's editing comments.

Motion introduced by Deborah Streeter

(Vote: 17 in favor, 0 opposed)

II. PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA

Sean Van Sommeran, Pelagic Shark Research Foundation, stated that his organization works in the Elkhorn Slough NERR and at Ano Nuevo Island. This is their 15th year in operation. He announced that he would like to meet with Bill and would like to give a formal presentation to the Advisory Council and the Research Activities Panel. Their website is www.pelagic.org.

Bill drew the Advisory Council's attention to the new SIMoN mugs sitting in front of them. He instructed everyone to take one home with them. He also mentioned that the GFNMS Advisory Council has sent a resolution to staff supporting the expansion of the MBNMS to include Davidson Seamount.

III. ASSOCIATION OF MONTEREY BAY AREA GOVERNMENTS RECOMMENDATIONS ON MBNMS ADVISORY COUNCIL

Deborah welcomed Ralph Rubio, President of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) and Mayor of Seaside, to the advisory council meeting. Mayor Rubio presented AMBAG's recommendations on the recruitment of new advisory council members and explained AMBAG's reasoning for these recommendations.

Mayor Rubio thanked MBNMS staff for their work with AMBAG. He stated that AMBAG thought their recommendations would accomplish increased stakeholder input into the process of advisory council member input. He commented that many of their recommendations have already been initiated. He stated that the most contentious item was that of the economic disclosure statement.

Due to the additional outreach efforts the MBNMS has made during the current recruitment process, the Advisory Council decided they were comfortable with AMBAG's recommendations considering steps have already been made to move in the direction AMBAG has set forth in their recommendations. The Advisory Council had a lively and interactive discussion with Mayor Rubio about the value and need for a financial disclosure statement.

The Advisory Council supported by consensus discussion filling out an economic disclosure statement to be posted on the MBNMS website that identified their formal affiliations relevant to the MBNMS and their currant employer(s). Mayor Rubio thought this would be satisfactory. MBNMS staff will confer with NMSP headquarters and then develop this economic disclosure form and get them to the Advisory Council by email.

Mayor Rubio was acknowledged by Advisory Council Chair Deborah Streeter and others for his efforts in trying to bridge the gaps between the MBNMS staff, Advisory Council and AMBAG. The Advisory Council looks forward to working with AMBAG in the future.

Bill took this opportunity to clarify some confusion about whether or not the Advisory Council recommended including the Davidson Seamount or not. He explained that the staff will be seeking action from the Pacific Fishery Management Council in April to prevent fishing activity on the surface of the seamount and the water column below 3000 feet (but not the ocean surface where fishing presently occurs). He explained that this is part of a comprehensive protection program to reduce all threats. No one fishes on the surface of the Davidson Seamount now, but they could attempt to in the future which would be very destructive to corals and sponges.

IV. FY05 BUDGET AND PLANS FOR THE YEAR

Bill reviewed two spreadsheets, the first showing the breakdown of the fiscal year 2005 budget and the other showing staff work priorities relating to the Joint Management Plan Review. NMSP budget in FY05 is $51 million for operations and $7 million for construction projects. MBNMS received $3.4 million for operations and about $1 million for construction projects. In 2005, staff will be concentrating heavily on 11 of the action plans.

Russ Jeffries, CA EPA primary, asked for information on the BWET program and commented he would like coordinate that effort with the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB). Bill stated that he would have the program coordinator, who actually works for NMSP headquarters from the MBNMS office, to contact him about giving a presentation to the RWQCB or its staff.

V. OCEAN LEGISLATION

Assemblymember John Laird, gave a presentation on recent California ocean initiatives. He commented that the subcommittee that deals with resources on to the Assembly side is friendlier to ocean and environmental legislation than has been in the past. Resources have been cut back so much that the CA Dept of Fish and Game has no money in this year's budget to manage Fish and Game properties. He is looking to introduce a resources bond measure the Assembly. He also authored a successful water conservation stakeholders group. He is looking at proposing a bill on delta resources and a bill to look at non-native species within the Colorado River. He noted the implementation of one new bill and existing legislation that will effect coastal issues: the California Ocean Protection Act, which will set up a unified council for ocean based programs; and the Marine Life Protection Act, which the state has a multi-step process for implementing. Lastly, from state perspective he stands ready to do anything to help with the inclusion of the Davidson Seamount into the sanctuary.

Brian Baird, CA Resources Agency, thanked Assemblymember Laird for his commitment to oceans and coasts. He announced that Governor Schwarzenegger had signed 7 strong bills: SB1459, AB471, AB1876, AB2093, AB2529, SB512, AB2514. The governor has a firm commitment in the Marine Life Protection Act. The state is leading the nation on ocean observation systems. State is also doing a statewide Coastal Sediment Master Plan. He also complimented Assemblymember Laird for his work on the Sierra Nevada Conservancy bill.

Mike Bekker, Tourism alternate, suggested a solution to repairing this budget deficit. California is ranked very low in terms of promoting tourism. For every dollar spent on tourism, we get seven dollars back. Assemblymember Laird commented that he is looking for some kind of a win-win situation. One thing that has worked along the coast is taking an increment of room tax and earmarking it for tourism promotion and coastal protection. Coastal protection seems to bring the majority of tourists to the coast.

Brian Baird announced that March 21st is the first meeting of the California Ocean Protection Council and on July 22nd the California Biodiversity Council will hold an Ocean Economic Summit in Long Beach.

VI. MBNMS SANTA CRUZ VISITOR CENTER

Bill introduced the vision for the Santa Cruz Visitor Center and then introduced Emily Reilly, Santa Cruz City Council member and past mayor; Ceil Cirillo, City of Santa Cruz Redevelopment Agency and Ted Lillestolen, NMSP Headquarters. Dawn Hayes and Stacia Fletcher introduced Thomas Hacker, Thomas Hacker Architects, and Scott Horner, BIOS Consultants.

The consulting team's presentation included their predesign work on buildings and exhibitory, various concept designs of the Visitor Center building and exhibitory. The evening before, the consultants held a public briefing in Santa Cruz and gave a similar presentation. At that meeting, the public provided several comments, which the team will consolidate and review.

The total building area at the Fun Spot is 15,000 square feet, which will not leave room for a parking lot. There are various public parking areas within a short walking distance.

Advisory Council members had several questions including; how will the visual and hearing impaired be accommodated? Will there be exhibits that can change over time? What is the estimate of people capacity? What is the estimated walk through time? How can the Advisory Council assist in securing funding for the visitor center?

The consultants will be looking to the MBNMS Staff for what they would like to do in regards to ADA requirements. California's requirements are much more stringent than the federal requirements. Pat Clark-Gray, Education primary, offered the help of the ADA department within State Parks.

There are plans to have an interactive audio/visual kiosk that will have a lot of information. Also, there will be the touch pool, and a classroom that can be converted when not in use.

The consultants have estimated that the visitor center will accommodate approximately 320 people with an average of an hour to an hour and a half for walk through time.

In regards to funding, MBNMS staff will pursue as much as they possibly can from the national level. The City of Santa Cruz has said it will try to get congressional appropriations for the building. The MBNMS is the lead in raising funds, including private funding for the exhibitory. The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation has also expressed an interest in helping raise funds for the exhibitory.

Public comment included a concern by a member from the Historic Preservation Committee that the building not be a huge mass that will block the view from the walking trail behind it. A University of California at Santa Cruz represenative stated that the Chancellor is supportive of the Visitor Center at the Fun Spot site and would like to see collaboration between the MBNMS and the Seymour Discovery Center.

MOTION: (passed)
The Advisory Council will send a letter to Dan Basta, Director of the National Marine Sanctuary Program, stating they are encouraged by the work done by everyone on the Santa Cruz Visitor Center and look forward to meeting the challenges ahead, and they hope that funding for the Santa Cruz Visitor Center will continue.

Motion introduced by Stephanie Harlan, seconded by Chris Harrold

(Vote: 17 in favor, 0 opposed)

VII. WORKING LUNCH

FUTURE VISITOR CENTER SITE

The Advisory Council walked across the street to the Fun Spot, future site of the MBNMS Visitor Center, and discussed the Visitor Center possibilities on-site with the consultants.

VIII. NORTHERN MANAGEMENT AREA (NMA)

REFLECT ON JOINT MBNMS/GFNMS DECEMBER 3 MEETING

Advisory Council members had many good comments about the Joint MBNMS/GFNMS Advisory Council meeting in December. The meeting venue was a great location, but the meeting room was small. Some mechanism to ensure mingling amongst the advisory councils would be good. The idea of a field trip should be looked at for the next meeting. It would also be good to hear less reporting to and more discussion between the advisory councils.

Bob Wilson and Bob Breen, GFNMS Advisory Council, commented that the information given at the meeting was very valuable and that GFNMS received the reports they were looking for. The liaisons attending each meeting will be helpful in communication between the two advisory councils.

LIAISON REPORT

Steve Shimek, Conservation alternate and liaison to the GFNMS Advisory Council, updated the MBNMS Advisory Council on relevant items from the recent GFNMS Advisory Council meeting. He commented that they really wanted to support the MBNMS with their resolution regarding the inclusion of the Davidson Seamount into the MBNMS.

They received a great presentation by staff from the California Academy of Sciences. They have developed great ways to include the Channel Islands NMS and the Gulf of the Farallones NMS into their exhibits, but had no mention of the MBNMS.

The GFNMS Advisory Council discussed the ATOC cable. They noted that the cable had a good purpose, which has now passed. GFNMS has picked up the MBNMS recommendation that it be removed, and it will be.

It was asked what has been happening with jet skis in that area? Steve commented that there hasn't been much conversation about it at all. The GFNMS Advisory Council acknowledges that it is an issue, but they haven't grappled with it yet. Mike Laffen, At-large primary, commented that the Mavericks Surf competition would be a paddle in event this year instead of tow in. They are no longer waiting for the big surf days to have the competition.

Bill commented that it might be good for the MBNMS Advisory Council to receive a presentation on the proposed boundary expansion by Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey at their next meeting.

IX. WORKING GROUP FOLLOW-UP

Chris Harrold, Research primary and Research Activities Panel (RAP) chair, presented the advisory council with the new RAP mission statement and protocols. In summary, the RAP will restructure its membership along the lines of issues and marine communities, rather than by institution. It felt that this better aligned with the revised management plan.

MOTION: (passed)
The Advisory Council supports the process that the Research Activities Panel has developed.

Motion introduced by Dave Vincent, seconded by Gary Pezzi

(Vote: 17 in favor, 0 opposed)

Pat Clark-Gray, Sanctuary Education Panel (SEP) chair, explained that the SEP is not as formal as the RAP, but that seems to work for them. It was asked if they had considered having a meeting on a Saturday so teachers who cannot attend during the week can attend once. Pat stated the SEP had thought of that, but most people weren't willing to give up their weekends. It was also commented that they need to be sure to reach out to the various offices of education.

Kaitilin Gaffney, Conservation primary and Conservation Working Group (CWG) chair, commented that their policies are posted on the MBNMS website, but they do need to review them because they are somewhat out of date. They do have formal members, institutional members and at-large, and someone has to be a member in order to vote. Currently they have fifteen members and their terms are indefinite. They have not made it mandatory to attend a certain amount of meetings. They try to reach consensus when possible. The majority views get forwarded to the Advisory Council or to the Superintendent, but the minority view is left up to that person to express themselves to the advisory council.

Mike Bekker, Business and Tourism Activities Panel (BTAP), stated that the panel is currently in the process of reinventing itself. They are currently in a transitional state. They have tried moving the meeting venue from Moss Landing to Santa Cruz and Monterey. By doing that, they ended up with three separate BTAP's. Now they are meeting by email. They have been trying to excite people to attend, but it's a hard sell if it isn't something that directly benefits them.

Rachel Saunders, Community and Public Relations Coordinator, commented that having a BTAP might not be the right tool. Instead, maybe they attend the meetings with individual organizations and update them on sanctuary issues and develop programs/projects that will get the word out about the sanctuary.

Advisory Council member comments included: it may be time for the BTAP to go away and there should be a staff person dedicated to communication and partnerships with the business communities.

X. SAC CHAIRS COORDINATORS MEETING

AQUACULTURE

Deborah explained that the items below were on the agenda for the Advisory Council to provide her with guidance for the Advisory Council Chairs/Coordinators meeting the following week.

Advisory Council comments included: aquaculture is being proposed in the open ocean, which is detrimental to the fishing industry; any aquaculture within the sanctuary should be sustainable; CA Dept of Fish and Game has a plethora of regulations/policies plus a full time staff person working on aquaculture; some forms of aquaculture involve catching young and raising them, which can have adverse effects on what is being done to try to stabilize the population; aquaculturists taking tons of anchovies from where whales and salmon are feeding may be causing fewer whales coming to that area to feed; there is a strong concern that this issue really be looked at.

Bill asked Paul Reilly if CA Dept of Fish and Game has any concerns regarding aquaculture in the open ocean? Paul commented that he would find that answer out.

Art Seavey, Monterey Bay Abalone Company, wanted the Advisory Council to understand that there were differences between aquaculture related to shellfish, which is highly regulated by state of California, and open ocean aquaculture.

Barb Heigel, Elkhorn Slough NERR, stated we need to look at what percentage of wild caught fish in being used as feed.

BIOPROSPECTING

Advisory Council comments included: bioprospecting is pulling marine life out of the ocean and testing them for bioactive compounds that may be used as pharmaceuticals; the exploratory stage of bioprospecting requires a permit from the Sanctuary, but the harvesting would not (permits from other agencies may be required); kelp is currently collected for a molecule that is used in beauty products; NOAA could benefit from having a policy like that of the National Parks Service.

Public comment included: an emerging trend is small molecules, they are coming from microbial roots from host organisms.

XI. PEIDRAS BLANCAS BOAT GROUNDING

Scott Kathey, Regulatory Enforcement Coordinator, provided a presentation on recent boat groundings within the MBNMS and, in particular, highlighted a recent grounding in San Simeon. Scott commented that there are 20-30 boat groundings/sinkings each year in the MBNMS with boats ranging from 12-70 feet in size. There are multiple threats related to grounding, such as, entanglement hazards, debris from vessels, impalement hazards and spill hazards.

Scott wanted to bring this particular grounding to the Advisory Council's attention because of outstanding response by many agencies. Twelve different agencies assisted with the salvage of this particular vessel and more agencies were involved in the search and rescue of the crew.

PJ Webb, At-large primary, and colleagues came out to the site to ensure the elephant seals and those assisting in the salvage didn't get injured. It was great having them there and it helped tremendously. PJ commented that part of the great response was due to Michele Roest and her outreach in the community.

XII. ITALIAN MARINE PROTECTED AREAS

Bill Douros gave an informative presentation on his six month detail in Italy at the Genoa Aquarium. He described their system of marine protected areas and how that system works for them. He explained that he will be submitting a report to Dan Basta with recommendations on how the NMSP can improve, things that we should not do and potential partnerships with Italy.

XIII. ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Paul Reilly, CA Dept of Fish and Game, announced the MLPA meeting in Santa Cruz on February 16 from 6 p.m.-9 p.m. to receive public comment on the location of the central coast study region and on February 22-23 the Blue Ribbon Task Force will be meeting in Monterey. The agenda of the latter meeting will be on website.

Stephanie Harlan, AMBAG primary, the City of Capitola received funds from the RWQCB's Clean Water grant and they have developed a village drainage improvement plan. They are looking at a dry weather diversion storm drain. The sanitary district has been smoking storm drains. They are also looking into wetland construction by Stackton Avenue bridge to treat the water.

Nancy Black, Business/Industry primary, mentioned that the Coast Guard has a new inflatable boat that travels about 30-40 knots. They have been using it to practice and have been going very fast through a gray whale migration route. Possibly someone from the sanctuary could tell them to slow down. Bill stated that he would get more specifics on the matter.

Mike Bekker, Tourism primary, has been hosting meetings with hospitality and restaurant folks regarding the new grease trap ordinance. At the last meeting, there were about 30 attendees. The Advisory Council may want to consider putting the new storm drain ordinance on a following agenda.

Pat Clark-Gray, Education primary, passed around new Camp SeaLab brochures and a new camping reservation guide for State Parks. She also announced that there are new CA State Parks quick facts on the State Parks website. Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks and State Parks has developed a new program called Park Primer, it shows what is being offered by State Parks for educators.

PJ Webb, At-large primary, sits on the Marine Interest Group (MIG) in San Luis Obispo county and they have been diving into the MLPA process with Dr. Dean Wendt. Dan Burman and Pam Hetherington, sit on a statewide stakeholder group and provides the MIG with information. The MIG is still struggling with membership. They used the Advisory Council as a model when they first formed. She will provide an update in August for Advisory Council.

Kirk Schmidt, Agriculture primary, thanked MBNMS sanctuary staff and Katie Siegler for attending a flurry of erosion management classes. These classes used to be voluntary until January 1st when they became mandatory and are now done every 5-6 months, before it was done quarterly.

NEXT MEETING: APRIL 1, 2005

The meeting adjourned at 4:34 PM
Tape ended at 4:30 PM