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Questions for MRC at last week's meetings
posted 04/08/2008
The Marine Resources Committee's public outreach meeting regarding the proposed Aquatic Reserve did not go as planned. For two hours, MRC Chair Kit Rawson futiley tried to control the rancorous crowd. State Department of Natural Resources Aquatics Program Manager Kyle Murphy attempted to reassure questioners about the potential impacts of 90-year restrictions on DNR-owned bedlands and tidelands.
Areas accepted into the program are managed differently. Instead of encouraging direct public use and access; fostering water-dependent uses; utilizing renewable resources; and
generating revenue (when consistent with the other public benefits); DNR will only consider ensuring environmental protection. Kari Koski said, "This gives them a different lens to look through."
The meeting was supposed to start with a power point presentation and then break into informal "listening posts." There would be four areas where MRC or DNR representatives would listen to community members concerns and write them down. The public input would then be included in the proposal which is due to DNR by April 30.
Instead the public wondered why they had received so little information about the program up to this point. When asked why the 84-page draft proposal wasn't released in a timely fashion, the questioner was told to "come outside and I'll explain that to you."
The draft proposal identified why the site should be included in the aquatic reserve program. Once DNR accepts the San Juan Reserve into the program, the focus turns to drafting the regulations - which are in place for 90 years. They are reviewed every 10 years.
Many audience members balked at the idea of asking to get into a program without knowing what you were asking for regulation-wise.
Murphy said the acceptance into the program and the regulations were more or less a dual process which occurred together. The drafting of the regulations will include the public, Rawson and Marine Resource committee member Jim Slocomb said.
Slocomb also said the idea of asking to be in the program was a community-driven idea from the public. When asked, it appeared he meant the groups that appear in the list of sponsors.
When asked why the MRC had first asked the DNR to include the entire county in the reserve, Rawson said, "The size came more from our community sponsors."
An audience member said, "Sounds like coming in the back door."
Many people are under the impression the Friends of the San Juans were the driving force behind the proposal and insisted on including the entire county in the original request.
County Councilmember Howie Rosenfeld was in the audience and said afterward he expected the council will discuss and review the aquatic reserve issue. The process does not formally call for anymore participation by the county. Once the county gave the MRC the authority to start the process, the council was out of the loop.
Murphy said, "DNR has the authority to do all of this anyway." The Aquatic Reserves Program as it stands now is a state agency program and is not required under state law. The program could go away with a change in the Commissioner of Public Lands. Doug Sutherland is the current Commissioner and he is up for re-election next year.
Proposed San Juan Aquatic Reserve Site
The 163,387-acre area includes state-owned tidelands and "bedlands"— those under the deep waters,— which also would include other protected areas such as the San Juan Island National Historical Park, the San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge, several county and state parks, and the MRC’s voluntary no-take bottom fish recovery zones. The San Juan Islands contain biologically diverse populations of fish, marine mammals, invertebrates, and aquatic plant life. The region offers refuge and food for species of concern such as orcas (Southern resident), salmon, and seabirds, and supports the tourism, research, and education industries — all of which rely upon a healthy marine environment.
The purpose for establishing this Aquatic Reserve is to protect the natural environment and unique culture of the San Juan Islands, and to provide scientific and educational public benefits. Aquatic reserve establishment will help to preserve, restore, and enhance the habitats that support the species upon which the residents of and visitors to the San Juan Islands depend.
Reserve status would allow for public access, increased research, habitat restoration, protection and conservation, and environmental education, while encouraging marine-based livelihoods and cultural traditions.
Other proponents of the San Juan Aquatic Reserve include the;
- San Juan County Council,
- San Juan County Land Bank,
- San Juan County Parks Department,
- San Juan Lead Entity for Salmon Recovery,
- NOAA,
- National Park Service,
- People for Puget Sound,
- Washington State Parks,
- University of Washington Friday Harbor Labs,
- Friends of the San Juans,
- The Nature Conservancy,
- The Whale Museum,
- and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
More information on the Aquatic Reserve Program is located on DNR’s website: http://www.dnr.wa.gov/ResearchScience/AquaticMarineSciences and select Aquatic Reserves Program.
County inviting DNR to add 90-year restrictions
to state-owned aquatic lands
By Sharon Kivisto
posted 09/05/2007
San Juan County Council has asked the state Department of Natural Resources to consider including all state-aquatic lands in the county in the Aquatic Reserve Program. Under the program, sites are managed for environmental protection under 90-year management plans. David Palazzi, DNR Aquatic
90 Reserves Program (ARP) manager said, "In the case of San Juan County it's all sub-tidal lands and quite a bit of tidelands."
County Councilmember Rich Peterson was the only councilmember voting against sending a letter to DNR requesting the county be considered for the program. He noted DNR now manages the aquatic lands under multiple criteria. According to the DNR Website:
- Encouraging direct public use and access;
- Fostering water-dependent uses;
- Ensuring environmental protection;
- Utilizing renewable resources; and
- Generating revenue (when consistent with the other public benefits).
Palazzi appeared before the council at the Aug. 14, 2007 meeting after Peterson raised questions at a previous meeting about the program. Reading from the material about the Aquatic Reserve Program, Peterson noted the sole criteria is environmental protection. "Other public benefits may occur only if they meet the criteria. "We're really changing our philosophy by entering into the aquatic reserve, aren't we?"He said, "It seems like the focus is away from the public."
Palazzi said, "I like to think environmental benefits are public benefits." The Aquatic Reserve would provide an eco-system approach to management. The county's development of the Marine Stewardship Area was important. "You've done a lot of work to identify areas. The San Juan Initiative plays in real well," he said. British Columbia's Southern Straits of Georgia Marine Conservation Reserve is being established and "would fit in nicely." It goes along the north and west boundaries of San Juan County.
Peterson had read the entire 140+ page plan governing Maury Island and asked how such a plan would effect a marina in the county.
Palazzi said, "Overtime we would expect that whoever is there would improve their operation as best they can. We aren't
expecting them to remove their operation if it is a viable business." He said comparing a plan for a small island with what the plan will be for San Juan County is difficult.
"I can give you an example of what is going to happen to Quartermaster Marina. I don't know if any of you have been there. It is a small marina in Quartermaster Harbor. It has been there for quite some time," said Palazzi said. "They want to rebuild their marina so what we are doing is having them do is integrate aspects to improve their environmental impact. They are going to move their marina to deeper water so they're not impacting the intertidal zone so much. Steel pilings instead of creosote. They're going to have grading at their docks. They are doing the work at the time of the rebuild."
Two years ago, DNR indentified a list of priority sites around Puget Sound which included six in San Juan County. The Marine Resource Committee recommended the county council include the entire county to the DNR instead of a few areas.
Councilmember Kevin Ranker said, "We're talking about all of San Juan County, a pure ecosytem approach. Where we are looking at it, some of these areas most likely, and if I have anything to say will be, excluded. Creating areas that will be protected, other areas will be excluded. We're applying for the whole county to be recognized. The entire county goes through the planning process. We come out with a network of aquatic reserves in the San Juan archipelago. Other areas are clearly industrial and should be recognized as such."
The management plans are reviewed every 5 to ten years for adaptive management changes. Once the Aquatic Reserves Plan is in place, the only way to remove it is through the State Environmental Review Process SEPA process. SEPA is a state policy that requires state and local agencies to consider the likely environmental consequences of a proposal before approving or denying the proposal.
Councilmember Gene Knapp wanted to know who is the final decision maker. The answer was the Department of Natural Resources.
"We won't go anywhere with this unless the county's supportive of this," Palazzi said. "That goes without saying."
"At this stage and the final stage, "Ranker asked. For instance today the council says go ahead and then during the planning process something goes awry and the council says we don't like final plan."
Palazzi said," That will have a lot of weight with what happens in the commissioner's (Commissioner of Public Lands) eye I am sure."
The August 14 meeting included comments in support of the proposal from Peter Dederich of the National Park Service, Ken Sebens of UW FH Labs, Jacques White from The Nature Conservancy. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, People for Puget Sound and the Friends of the San Juans also support the proposal.
If the letter of intent is accepted, a proposal will be submitted by the end of the year. At some point during the process public hearings will be held. They have not yet been scheduled.
Council Approves First Step Toward Countywide
Aquatic Reserve
COUNTY PRESS RELEASE:
On August 14, the San Juan County Council authorized taking the first step that could
result in having the state owned aquatic lands in the county declared an aquatic reserve, but in doing
so some Council members expressed misgivings. If the process moves forward to completion, San
Juan County would become the largest single aquatic reserve in the state.
Advocates on the council, including Council Member Kevin Ranker, argued that winning an
aquatic reserve designation would give the county a voice in determining the preservation and
future development of the aquatic lands in San Juan County. Council Member Rich Peterson
withheld his support, expressing concern that the designation could result in restrictions on the
ability of San Juan Countians to use and enjoy state-owned
waters.
San Juan County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) Coordinator Mary Knackstedt told
the Council that the letter of intent she will file by August 31, as a result of the Council’s vote, is
only the beginning of the process, and promised that the Council will have several opportunities to
review and intervene before commitments are made.
David Palazzi, a environmental planner for the state Department of Natural Resources
(DNR), described the state’s Aquatic Reserve program as an "ecosystem approach" that can do
planning and coordinate activities based on how upland, shoreline, tidal systems and bedlands
interact and react to different uses and influences. Currently, he said, most of the programs deal with
different parts of the total system on a piecemeal basis.
Peterson questions county asking DNR for Aquatic Reserve status
posted 07/31/2007
At the request of Councilmember Rich Peterson, the county council has tabled until August 14 approval of a letter applying to the state Dept. of Natural Resources for inclusion of all of the state-owned aquatic land in the county in the Aquatic Reserves Program. Councilmember Bob Myhr asked Peterson, "Is your concern we don't know what we are getting into?"
Peterson answered affirmatively and also wanted to know how the program fit in with all of the other layers of marine environmental protection the county already has in place.
According to DNR's Web site: The Aquatic Reserves Program is part of Department of Natural Resources (DNR) efforts to promote preservation, restoration, and enhancement of state-owned aquatic lands—sites that benefit the health of native aquatic habitat and species in the state. DNR is to establish state Aquatic Reserves to protect important native ecosystems on state-owned aquatic lands throughout the state. These are to be aquatic lands of special educational or scientific interest, or lands of special environmental importance.
County Marine Resources Committee Coordinator Mary Knackstedt said, "One of the things is, we are pushing the envelope, We intend to submit the entire county (instead of specific sites). I asked DNR what they thought of idea. They hadn't received a nomination that large before." She told the council DNR seemed open to the idea.
Councilmember Kevin Ranker cautioned Peterson against "diving too deeply into the details". He said, "Our Marine Resource Committee has done its work. We should move on this."
"Even if it has more restrictions than we have now," Myhr said. "We need to keep it (county's marine environment) pristine. This is a step in that direction."
The Aquatic Reserves Program has three types of Reserves: environmental, educational and scientific. The MRC is recommending the county apply for all three types. If accepted into the program. The state-owned aquatic land would be evaluated on a site by site basis and a management plan would be developed for each site. More information is available on DNR's WEB SITE.
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