News Items

MRC Report on NOAA Vessel Rule to Protect Orca Whales

In response to community concerns about a federal proposal to restrict marine vessel traffic in the San Juan Islands, an action intended to protect the Southern resident orca population, the San Juan County MRC submitted recommendations to the County Council on how to proceed. We appreciate the time and effort given to this issue by the MRC, and commend them for helping the island community weigh in during a this process. To  download the MRC report click here. The NOAA deadline for public comment on the vessel rule is October 27, 2009. Information is at http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/Marine-Mammals/Whales-Dolphins-Porpoise/Killer-Whales/ESA-Status/Orca-Vessel-Regs.cfm

NBC Nightly News

On September 29, our derelict fishing net removal project was featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. NBC reporter Lee Cowan and crew went out on the boat with us in August and Lee went underwater to witness the action. It’s a great piece. Many thanks to the BetSea crew for their patience and to NBC for taking the time to cover the story. Click here to watch the story.

Northwest Straits Initiative’s Reauthorization

The Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative’s reauthorization bill HR 1672 will have a hearing with House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife on October 20. The House bill is sponsored by Representative Rick Larsen. Ginny Broadhurst will be there to testify on behalf of the Commission. 

Puget Sound Starts Here

The Puget Sound Partnership has rolled out a new campaign to increase awareness of the magnitude of Puget Sound’s pollution problem, and to motivate residents to adopt new behaviors that will decrease the amount of pollution entering the Sound through stormwater runoff and other sources of pollution. Click the logo at left to check out the new web site.

Ghosts of the Salish Sea: Threats to Marine Birds in Puget Sound and the Northwest Straits from Derelict Fishing Gear

The Northwest Straits derelict fishing gear removal team contributed data and information to this publication in the current issue of Marine Ornithology. Congratulations to Tom Good on an excellent paper. Click here to read it.

MRC Happenings

Member Spotlight: Lyn Muench, Clallam MRC

Lyn Muench of the Clallam MRC came to the Olympic Peninsula by way of Bangladesh and nearly twenty years of living overseas in Africa and Asia. An article in the New York Times about the “blue hole” of clear skies over Sequim and a job starting an aquaculture business for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe brought her here with her husband and daughters.
 
Fifteen years later, when the MRC was formed in Clallam County, Lyn was eager to occupy the seat held for the Tribe. As the only person in the three-member Natural Resources department who lived in Clallam County, she won out and has been on the MRC ever since. She appreciates the focus on saltwater that the MRC has, and is proud of the work the MRC has done. With good support from the County Commissioners, the work of the MRC has made progress in monitoring beaches for Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning, providing internships for Peninsula College students, and understanding and promoting nearshore restoration associated with the Elwha Dam removal by convening an Elwha Nearshore Consortium. Clallam MRC was also the first to push for derelict fishing gear removal, which has led to the Sound-wide program the Northwest Straits Foundation is now engaged in. 

Lyn herself has been most involved in public outreach for the MRC, and uses her knowledge of water quality issues to spread the word about the importance of keeping septic systems operating properly, picking up after pets, and managing stormwater runoff. Even though she has recently retired from her position with Jamestown S’Klallam, Lyn still makes great use of her expertise as a volunteer with the MRC and at the Dungeness River Audubon Center. At the recent Dungeness Festival held in Sequim, Lyn spent two days introducing water quality concepts into conversations over the live tanks filled with clams and geoducks.

Lyn has remained busy in her retirement, and is a frequent traveler to destinations near and far. When she’s close to home, she enjoys the luxury of walking on Dungeness Spit, some of the best beach walking in the world.

Welcome Kathleen Herrmann

Snohomish MRC and the Northwest Straits community welcomes Kathleen Herrmann as the MRC’s new Lead Staff. Kathleen has just completed a fellowship in the Mariana Islands and started as the Marine Steward on October 15. Kathleen earned a Masters of Marine Affairs Degree from the UW School of Marine Affairs and a Bachelor of Science from Michigan State University. Her work as a Graduate Research Assistant with the University of Washington provided her with experience and familiarity in working with Sea Grant, Northwest Straits, and MRCs. Kathleen also has more than ten years of professional work experience in facilitating watershed planning efforts, conducting education and outreach activities, and in working with local agencies and native people in implementing marine conservation projects. Contact her at 425-388-6414; kathleen.herrmann@snoco.org.

MRC Reports to the Commission

Click here to see MRC reports to the Commission for September.

Northwest Straits Foundation News

Derelict Gear Removal Project in Full Swing, Restoring Habitat and Creating Jobs

The Derelict Fishing Gear Removal Project is in full swing. As of October 11, a total of 139.25 days of removal operations have been accomplished and 415 derelict gillnets have been removed. Found in the gear were more than 17,000 animals. Nets were covering more than 50 acres of marine habitat.

The project has created 21 new, full-time, living wage jobs. Ten of those workers are divers removing gear underwater and seven are boat pilots and deck hands manning the removal vessels. Four vessels are now working full time as weather permits: the F/V BetSea, the F/V Surveyor II, the F/V Twila Dawn, and the F/V Tenacious. Nisqually Aquatic Technologies operate the Twila Dawn and employees are tribal members. The Surveyor II dive team includes an Iraq combat veteran who was disabled during the war and unable to continue his military diving career. Dive teams on the BetSea and Tenacious are former harvest divers who used to harvest urchins and sea cucumbers for the high-end Asian food market. Because of the economic downturn, the market for these products has plummeted and these divers would be employed at about 10% time without this project. Now they are working full-time and earning a living wage. The project is also employing three newly-hired on-board biologists, one of which is a former commercial fisherman who was out of work before this project.

Two of the four vessels have been working consistently in the San Juan Islands. The project has rented a fully furnished house in Friday Harbor to cut down on per diem expenses. The two other boats have been operating out of Cornet Bay and Anacortes.

Bulletin Board

MRC Conference

Click here to get the latest conference information and agenda. For registration information please contact Connie at price@nwstraits.org or 360-428-1064.

A Sea Change

On November 5 at 7 pm, A Sea Change, a film about ocean acidification will be showing at the Pickford Cinema in downtown Bellingham. A brief question and answer time will be held afterwards with Dr. Jennifer Hoffman from EcoAdapt. Sponsored by the Northwest Straits Commission, RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, and the Whatcom Marine Resources Committee. See www.aseachange.net for more information about the film.

Derelict Gear Apparel

Here’s your opportunity to purchase apparel with our unique Ray Troll artwork, recently commissioned for the derelict fishing gear removal program. T-shirts and sweatshirts are available for pre-order, and will be available at the MRC conference on November 6 (or items can be shipped for an additional postage fee). Click here for more information and to download an order form. Pre-orders are due by October 20.

Public Comment Opportunity – Puget Sound Restoration

Your comment is encouraged on the scope of issues to be included in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will evaluate the Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project (http://www.pugetsoundnearshore.org/). The EIS will be a joint federal National Environmental Protection Act and Washington State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) document. Four meetings are upcoming around the Sound:

-    October 26th, 2009 at Highline Community College, Des Moines
-    October 28th, 2009 at the Chapel at Fort Worden State Park, Pt. Townsend
-    November 3rd, 2009 at the Lacey Community Center, Lacey
-    November 10th, 2009 at the Skagit Station, Mt. Vernon

Each will include an open house from 4-6 p.m. and a formal presentation from 6-7 p.m. 

Commission Meeting Highlights

Derelict Gear Field Trip

The Commission held an afternoon tour of the derelict fishing net removal project in Friday Harbor on September 25. We witnessed a net being removed near Yellow Island by the crew on F/V BetSea. The net was estimated to be 40 years old.

Coastal Society and Restore America’s Estuaries Conferences

Ginny Broadhurst has proposed putting together a panel of speakers on the Northwest Straits Initiative at a national conference in 2010. Please contact Ginny if you have ideas and want to participate as a speaker. Here are some possibilities:
•    Coastal society conference: June 13-16 in Wilmington, NC www.thecoastalsociety.org (abstracts are due Oct 23, 2009).
•    Restore America’s Estuaries conference: Nov 13-17, 2010 in Galveston, TX  www.estuaries.org

EPA Request for Proposals

This Request for Proposals is for local government and tribes. We expect to see other RFPs out soon. http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/water.nsf/Office+of+Water/WEI09RFP.

WDFW Sportsfishing Marine Rule Changes

The new proposed regulations are available on the WDFW homepage at www.wdfw.wa.gov.

Natural Resource Reform

The Governor’s web page has information about recent efforts to consider major consolidation of natural resource agencies and programs. The comment period will end on October 28. The full report is available on this web site: http://www.governor.wa.gov/priorities/reform/naturalresources.asp  

Events and News Articles

November 9, 2009 – Nearshore tools workshop, 9:30am-4:00pm, Edmonds – click here for more information.

Indian Country Today - Crews save ocean life by cleaning up lost gear

Islands’ Weekly - Marine Resources Committee to discuss NOAA whale protection proposal

Journal of the San Juans - Derelict fishing nets' toll: 30,000 marine birds, 110,000 fish, and 2 million invertebrates a year