November 2011

In this Issue:

In the News

Year End Donations to the Northwest Straits Foundation

Now is a great time to make a donation to the Northwest Straits Foundation. Our small Foundation staff is working diligently on grant proposals to support MRC projects. Your donation will go straight to build increased capacity at the Foundation. You may also target a donation directly to a Marine Resources Committee. Mailing address for Northwest Straits Foundation and on-line payment options are here. Be one of the first 20 people to donate $150 or more, and we'll send you a Northwest Straits Initiative hat!

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

The Northwest Straits Initiative was well represented at last month's gathering in Vancouver, BC, as part of an interested crowd of more than 900 scientists, managers, teachers, students, and other people working around the Salish Sea. Members of all seven Northwest Straits MRCs attended, as did Commission and Foundation staff. Commissioner Joe Gaydos did a super job as conference emcee, and many of our (collective) restoration, research, and outreach projects were presented in sessions showcasing work on both sides of the US/Canada border. Several longtime conference goers remarked on the truly transboundary nature of this year's gathering. With a backdrop of First Nations' drummers and great local food, ideas were shared, next season's projects were planned and new partnerships formed.

Dissolving Before Our Eyes: Ocean Acidification Symposium

On November 9, Northwest Straits Commissioner Terrie Klinger served on a panel of experts at the Washington Sea Grant Symposium on ocean acidification. As evidenced by the remarkable turnout of nearly 200 people, this complex issue is garnering major attention. The symposium featured a variety of discussions with scientists, resource managers, shellfish growers and others around possible impacts of ocean acidification on Puget Sound and the Washington coast. Attendees included Representative Norm Dicks; Ron Sims, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and lead staff from several state and federal agencies and tribes. Snohomish MRC and the Northwest Straits Commission were collaborators in the event.

MRC Happenings

Marine Interpretive Sign at West Beach Vista

Island County MRC's newest marine interpretive sign was installed last week at West Beach Vista, near Swantown Lake, west of Oak Harbor. The sign faces the waters of Smith and Minor Islands Aquatic Reserve, managed by the WA Department of Natural Resources. Click here to view a printable, full-page PDF of the sign.

13th Annual MRC Conference Update

Registration is now closed and we are looking forward to this awesome event. Get your autographed copy of rockfish guru Milton Love’s latest book, Certainly More Than You Want to Know About The Fishes of The Pacific Coast, at the conference. For those able to stay in Port Townsend beyond the conference end time on Saturday, December, 3, you'll be treated to the annual holiday treelighting and gallery walk that begins at 4:00pm. Click here for more information on this event.

Snohomish MRC Membership Opportunity

The Snohomish County MRC is seeking up to three new members. Interested parties need not be experts in marine management issues, but are expected to have a willingness to learn about marine conservation, participate in research founded on sound science and contribute opinions on marine issues over a three-year term that runs 2012-2014. For more information, visit www.snocomrc.org or call (425) 388-6414. The application deadline is December 2, 2011.

Northwest Straits Commission Highlights

Salmon: A Keystone Species

Barbara Rosenkotter, WRIA 2 lead Entity Coordinator in San Juan County, presented on salmon recovery and the Lead Entity program in the San Juan Islands at the Commission's meeting on November 4. Barbara explained that the goal of the work is to recover salmon to harvestable levels so that we can once again enjoy the resource. In San Juan County the MRC is the citizen’s advisory group and has an important role in the local salmon recovery plan. Click here for a copy of the presentation.

Snohomish MRC Nearshore Sediment Study

Kathleen Herrmann, Snohomish Marine Resources Steward, presented Snohomish MRC’s nearshore sediment assessment project to the Commission. Kathleen explained that the project was developed with the Snohomish Basin Salmon Recovery Plan in mind and is a good example of a linkage between salmon recovery groups and MRCs. Click here for a copy of the presentation. Click here for more information online.

Northwest Straits Foundation Update

Olympia Oyster Rebuilding

Photo Credit: Betsy PeabodyThe Northwest Straits Initiative has taken a bigger plunge into native oyster rebuilding in partnership with National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Puget Sound Restoration Fund, the Swinomish, Samish and Jamestown S’Klallam Tribes and several Marine Resources Committees. Several training workshops were organized this past summer to train MRC members and others to identify Olympia oysters in the field and engage the powers of the MRCs in identifying suitable habitat. This is not quite as easy as it sounds, as Olympia oysters are cryptic in appearance  and with regard to their habitat requirements, and not nearly as showy as their cousin the Pacific oyster.

Other items on the 2011 native oyster agenda included genetic analysis of potential broodstock locations, the development of a preliminary enhancement plan for several North Sound locations, and, broodstock collection and seed production for 2012 enhancement. Particular care is being taken with seed production to ensure genetic diversity. To this end, Puget Sound Restoration Fund is using conservation protocols co-developed with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and University of Washington.

Thank You, Puget Sound Anglers!

Ginny Broadhurst and Jeremy Winters of PSAA big thank you to the Snohomish-King Chapter of Puget Sound Anglers for their financial contributions to our derelict fishing gear removal program. Ron Garner, chapter President, presented a $3,000 check to Ginny Broadhurst and Jerry Masters at a banquet on November 10 in Edmonds. Several chapter members also made personal contributions to supplement the gift. These funds will go straight to our removal project and will help us leverage additional grant funds. This makes a total of $4,120 that we’ve received from Sno-King PSA Chapter this year!

Photo: Ginny Broadhurst, Director of Northwest Staits Foundation receives check from Jeremy Winters of Puget Sound Anglers.

Bulletin Board   

Report on Forage Fish Released by Oceana

A new report by Oceana, Forage Fish: Feeding the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem, describes the current state of West Coast forage species' management, and what should be done to sustain both a healthy food web and strong economy. Susan Murray, Oceana’s Senior Director of the Pacific, stated that “The availability of forage can literally mean life or death for many of our iconic Pacific fish, marine mammals, and seabirds; as well as our vibrant coastal economies. The full report is available online.

A Wiki for the Nearshore Crowd

Nearshore Wiki, a new user-created web site for people in the Salish Sea restoration community, is ready for your information and ideas. Hosted by Western Washington University, Nearshore Wiki is designed to connect people who are working on nearshore systems: River Deltas, Beaches, Embayments, and Rocky Shorelines. The site provides free document storage, publication, and opportunities for collaboration that complement other online resources. Check it out at http://estuary.cs.wwu.edu/index.php/Main_Page.

What's Changed Since 1850?

The Change Analysis Report, which describes a remarkably detailed analysis of what's changed along Puget Sound's shorelines over the past 150 years, is now available online. This impressive body of work is already being used to inform many restoration projects, and is a foundational element of work by the Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project (PSNERP). One major finding is the dramatic simplification of our shorelines due to human alterations, including a 41 percent decrease in total delta length, and disappearance of many embayments Sound-wide. http://www.pugetsoundnearshore.org/technical_reports.htm

Ocean Frontiers: Now Available for MRCs

Green Fire Productions, an Oregon-based organization that promotes environmental stewardship, has released a new film that features inspiring stories from the frontiers of ocean conservation. Ocean Frontiers makes ecosystem-based management and ocean planning come to life through a broad array of unlikely allies. Read more at http://ocean-frontiers.org. The Commission has two copies for loan to MRCs and project partners, please contact Caroline Gibson for a DVD to screen in your community.

Events

December 2-3, 2011 - Northwest Straits Initiative 13th Annual MRC Conference, Moving Forward in a Sea of Uncertainty. Click here for more information.

December 3, 2011 - People For Puget Sound Union Slough Planting Work Party, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM in Everett. Click here for more information.

December 5, 2011 - Seal Sitter Training, 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM at McCollum Park in Everett.  Contact Chrys Bertolotto (chrys@wsu.edu) for more information.

December 10, 2011 – Shoreline Landowners Workshop, 9:30 AM – 2:00 PM at Seafarers’ Memorial Park Building in Anacortes. Click here for more information.

January 4, 2012 - Our Puget Sound In-Depth: Salmon and Toxics in the Marine Environment presented by Nathaniel Scholz of NOAA, 7:00 PM at the Mukilteo City Council Chambers.

January 20, 2012 - Starlight Beach Walk, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM at Edmonds Olympic Beach.  Contact Chrys Bertolotto (chrys@wsu.edu) for more information. 

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