WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council Meeting Summary 7/19/07

WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council Meeting Summary 7/19/07

WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council

Meeting Notes

July 19, 2007

Members Present

Larry Phillips, Vice-Chair (Councilmember, King County); Angela Amundson (Councilmember, Mountlake Terrace); Jeff Bash (WA Department of Ecology); Dick Bonewits (Greater Maple Valley Area Council); joan burlingame (Rock Creek Representative, Cedar River Council); Tim Clark, (Councilmember, Kent), Dan Clawson (Councilmember, Renton); Geoff Clayton (Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce); Bruce Dodds (Councilmember, Clyde Hill); Jean Garber (Mayor, Newcastle); Don Gerend (Councilmember, Sammamish); Mike Grady (Councilmember, Mercer Island); Rich Gustafson, (Councilmember, Shoreline); Laure Iddings (Mayor, Maple Valley); Rosemarie Ives (Mayor, Redmond); Kirk Lakey (WA Department of Fish and Wildlife); Sinang Lee (WA Department of Ecology); John Lombard (Sustainable Fisheries Foundation); Dave Orvis (Councilmember, Edmonds); Andrea Perry (Councilmember, Bothell); Laurie Sperry (Councilmember, Kenmore); Frank Urabeck (Citizen).

Others Present

Charles Baillargeon (Citizen); Rika Cecil (Shoreline);Molly Bailey (Portage Bay Coalition for Clean Waters); Jenny Gaus (Kenmore); Roy George (Water District Commissioner); Jenny Giambattiste (King County); Julie Hall (Seattle); Kit Paulsen (Bellevue); Jessica Saavedra (King Conservation District); Mike Shaw (Mountlake Terrace); Jon Spangler (Redmond); Betty Swift (Portage Bay Coalition for Clean Waters); Linda Grob (WRIA 8 Administrative Coordinator); Mary Jorgenson (WRIA 8 Actions and Funding Coordinator); Frank Leonetti (WRIA 8 Technical Coordinator); Scott Stolnack (WRIA 8 Intern); Jean White (WRIA 8 Watershed Coordinator); Jason Wilkinson (WRIA 8 Intern).

Larry Phillips opened the meeting.

Welcome New Members and Introductions

Larry Phillips introduced new Salmon Recovery Council member Jeff Bash, WA Department of Ecology (DOE). Jean White, WRIA 8 Watershed Coordinator, introduced Scott Stolnack and Jason Wilkinson, who were hired as WRIA 8 interns with a DOE grant.

Public Comment

There was no public comment.

Approval of Meeting Notes for May 17, 2007Meeting

Frank Urabeck commented on page 3 of the meeting notes under Steelhead Listing, and explained that sea lion predation on steelhead was a big issue in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Kokanee continue to decline, but sea lionsare no longer an issue. He also said there are only ten to eleven steelhead in the Cedar system.

The Salmon Recovery Council unanimously approved the March 15, 2007 meeting notes with clarifications.

Updates & Announcements

Salmon Recovery Council Meeting Schedule:

Jean White announced that the next Council meeting is October 18, and will be hosted by the City of Redmond, in honor of Mayor Rosemarie Ives’ retirement.

Proposal for Three Watershed Assemby in Late Fall:

Jean White reported on the proposal to hold a Three-Watershed Assembly in late fall, which would bring together the memberships of the Snoqualmie Forum, WRIA 9 Forum, and the WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council. Potential topics could include building more regional understanding, how we fit into the Puget Sound Partnerships and opportunities for cross watershed cooperation and cost sharing. She asked if Council members thought it was a good idea, and if it was something they would attend.

Discussion:

▪Tim Clark commented that the dominant part of Kent is in WRIA 9, and he said it would be a benefit to find out what is going on with our neighbors, and how they face similar problems.

▪Angela Amundson proposed that the entire WRIA 7 be part of the assembly, not just the KingCounty portion (Snoqualmie Forum).

▪Larry Phillips reported that late fall is really busy because the King County Council has budget meetings from October on, so it would be better to have the meeting in December.

▪Frank Urabeck asked what WRIA 8 would hope to get out of the assembly. Jean White replied that she wasn’t sure yet, because the proposal is still new and the agenda hasn’t been developed. Kirk Lakey said an assembly is important in terms of the sub-regional discussion.

▪Angela Amundson said this might be an opportunity to plan well and have the assembly mid-year 2008, because some of us won’t be here next year. Tim Clark responded that he thought the earlier you begin this discussion the better. The Puget Sound Partnership is on a fast-track to break the region down into sevensub-regions.

▪Jean Garber commented that it is worth scheduling the assembly before we get into the budget process. It is important to have an agenda that is really developed and not so full, so we have things that can really get accomplished.

▪Dick Bonewits recommended having a proposal on how to bring this together. Jean White explained that the coordinators of the three watersheds and some key jurisdictional staff would come together and discuss and develop topics for the Three-Watershed Assembly. Larry Phillips requested that happen before the October meeting.

Puget Sound Partnership/Regional Report:

Jean White reported that the Puget Sound Action Team sunsetted July 1 to become part of the Puget Sound Partnership (PSP), and Shared Strategy will sunset into SRFB on January 1, 2008, when PSP assumes their functions. PSP interviewed candidates for the executive director position on July 13, and presented seven different map proposals for the “Action Areas” sub-regional breakdown. Jean noted that Don Davidson is WRIA 8’s representative to the Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Council, and he will push to have watershed lines maintained.

Laure Iddingspointed out that the legislation says there has to be a minimum of seven sub-regions, and yesterday the WRIA 9 Forum recommended we stick with 14 sub-regions. Larry Philips agreed that sticking to watershed boundaries makes sense. We don’t want to lose focus on salmon recovery, so it is a good idea to keep our governance structure together and tie it into the larger PSP structure. Rich Gustafson also agreed that the WRIA structure should be maintained.

Jean White said PSP is looking for comments on the sub-regional breakdown by August 3, and they will be meeting later in August to finalize it. Information on the sub-regional proposals is on their website: Kirk Lakey added that PSP members expressed support for what the watersheds are doing at their last meeting.

Shared Strategy/Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Council:

Jean reported that Shared Strategy is working with the watersheds and the Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Council to develop a proposal for the types of services that are needed from PSP to accelerate salmon recovery efforts. They are working on creating a vision for 2012, and what it will take to reach that vision. They are seeking funding for increasing the capacity for implementation at the watershed level, and developing a proposal in 2008 for the state supplemental budget. She said they are hoping to ramp up in the next biennium to increase funding for salmon recovery, and to hire a lobbyist, and a public relations consultant, though the funding for those positions has not been established.

Puget Sound Partnership – 5% for CapacityBuilding:

Jean announced that last Friday the SRFB approved 5% capacity building money for our watershed.WRIA 8 will receive an additional $106,000 as part of our Lead Entity grant. The specific criteria for how this money can be used has notbeen developed yet, but it supposed to improve the implementation of capital projects. We will come back to you with a proposal once we know more.

Legislation Regarding Marine Resources Commission:

Jean announced that the State Legislation just passed a Substitute House Bill authorizing establishment of a Marine Resources Commission(MRC) in KingCounty for nearshore areas. SnohomishCounty already has a MRC.

Grant Recommendations

Mary Jorgensen, WRIA 8 Actions and Funding Coordinator, reported that there were three grant rounds for a total of $4,026,172. Fifteen proposals were submitted for the King Conservation District grant amount of $1,400,722 – nine site specific applications and six monitoring, studies and public outreach applications. KCD 2008 applications will go to the KCD Board for approval this fall. Seven proposals were submitted for Salmon Recovery Funding Board and Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration 2008 grants ($610,353 and $2,015,097 respectively, for a total of $2,625,450), with awards made in December.

The WRIA 8 Project Subcommittee visited all site-specific proposal sites, heard presentations from monitoring, studies and public outreach applicants, and met to score and rank the proposals.

King Conservation District (KCD) Project Subcommittee Grant Recommendations:

KCD site-specific project recommendations in ranked order are:

Rank / Project (requested amount in parentheses) / Recommended Award
1 / Rainbow Bend Acquisition ($400,000) / $ / 400,000
2 / CottageLake Conservation Project ($400,000) / $ / 274,550
3 / Cedar River Opportunity Fund ($200,000) / $ / 154,896
4 / Cedar River Habitat Restoration Stewardship ($20,000) / $ / 20,000
5 / Madrona Park Creek Daylighting and Restoration ($50,000) / $ / 50,000
6 / Noxious Weed Control Program ($57,850) / $ / 57,850
7 / Valley Estates Culvert Replacement and Channel Stabilization ($250,000) / $ / 0
8 / SnoqualmieTribeSammamishRiver Restoration Project ($29,230) / $ / 20,000
9 / Daybreak Star Wetlands Revitalization Assessment ($21,250) / $ / 20,000
Total Award / $ / 997,296

KCD monitoring, studies, and public outreach recommendations in ranked order are:

Rank / Project (requested amount in parentheses) / Recommended Award
1 / 2008 Chinook Spawning Ground Surveys ($187,564) / $ / 132,848
2 / Evaluation of Downstream Outmigrant Salmon Production and Timing,
Cedar River and Bear Creek ($167,900) / $ / 167,900
3 / North Cr. and Sammamish R. Confluence Habitat Improvement ($33,750) / $ / 33,750
4 / Salmon Watcher Program ($31,278) / $ / 31,278
5 / Cedar River Salmon Journey ($25,050) / $ / 25,050
6 / Beach Naturalist Program ($12,600) / $ / 12,600
Total Award / $ / 403,426

Discussion:

▪Dick Bonewits inquired how the $400,000 amount for Rainbow Bend Acquisition relates to the amount in the Flood Control District appropriation. Mary Jorgensen explained that it is an extremely expensive piece of property (over $5 million), and the flood appropriation will address restoration for this site such as setting back the levee. The City of Seattle will contribute funding to the project for vegetation and restoration.

▪Laure Iddings asked why the Flood District is adding funds for acquisition when we are covering acquisition. Jean White responded that she is on a team that is looking at both sources of funding. Dick Bonewits saidat some point in this conversation somebody has to explain how these two sets of funds will be used on one project.

▪Rosemarie Ives noted that the City of Redmondis putting $1.2 million into the Valley Estates CulvertReplacement project, and she asked if any answers were provided by Redmond staff. Mary Jorgensen reported that staff were on site, but to answer the Subcommittee’s questions would require longer term monitoring. Kirk Lakey, Project Subcommittee member, explained that the main question/concern with this project was the temperature, and the only temperature data we were given showed it was higher at this location than the SammamishRiver. This project wouldn’t cool the SammamishRiver, and we need more year-round temperature loggers to see if the temperature we saw was an anomaly. Geoff Clayton commented that Tier 3 streams are a low priority. He said he went out with JonSpangler, City of Redmond, to measure the temperature and there was great variation. All these streams are important, but our focus here has to be on Chinook.

▪Frank Urabeck commented on thetwo monitoring studies, and he said monitoring should be a higher priority than anything else. He said he would like to task the staff to come up with a proposal for a long-term funding commitment for monitoring, because these studies have to be funded. Dick Bonewitsagreed, saying we needthe measurements to know we are making progress. Rich Gustafson, Project Subcommittee member, said we certainly feel it is an important issue that needs ongoing funding. Mary Jorgensensaid that it isa priority of the Project Subcommittee to figure out how to get long term funding for monitoring so it isn’t in jeopardy of being under-fundedevery year.

▪Rich Gustafson complemented Mary Jorgensen for her organization of this grant funding round. He said it is difficult to go through and rank project proposals. The Subcommittee looked at the Tiers and WRIA 8 priorities, and tried to be dedicated to moving projects forward with the limited amount of money we have.

The Salmon Recovery Council unanimously approved the King Conservation District (KCD) Project Subcommittee grant recommendations.

Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) and Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration Fund (PSAR) Project Subcommittee Grant Recommendations:

Mary Jorgensen explained that this is the only region of the state to receive PSAR funds, and grants will be awarded through a parallel process with SRFB. She said we used our Three-Year Work Program for these grants, which is different thanthe KCD process.

SRFB/PSAR Project recommendations in ranked order are:

Rank / Project (requested amount in parentheses) / Recommended Award
1 / Rainbow Bend Acquisition ($1,000,000) / $ / 1,000,000
2 / Cottage Lake Conservation Project ($850,000 and unfunded KCD request) / $ / 975,450
3 / Issaquah Hatchery Water Intake Dam Removal Project ($800,000) – feasibility study only / $ / 400,000
4 / Issaquah Creek Waterways – Anderson ($250,000) / $ / 250,000
5 / Squak Valley Park/Issaquah Creek Restoration Project ($350,000) / $ / 0
6 / Willowmoor Restoration Project ($1,200,000) / $ / 0
7 / North Creek and SammamishRiver Confluence Habitat Improvement ($250,000) / $ / 0
Total Award / $ / 2,625,450

Discussion:

▪Rainbow Bend: Larry Phillips asked if the idea behind theacquisition is that by movingthe mobile park, the river would cross the area. Mary Jorgensen replied that the whole 40 acre reachhistorically was braided river channels. This funding is the 20 acre piece towardacquiring the entire reach.

▪Issaquah Intake Dam Removal: Dick Bonewitsasked about the timeframe for getting the feasibility study finished. Mary Jorgensen said it was less than one year in the original proposal.

▪Willowmoor Restoration: Mary reported that this project lost money when SRFB funding was reduced last Friday. The Project Subcommittee felt this project would not address high temperature. Kirk Lakey explained that the Army Corps of Engineers requires that vegetation is removed from levees in order to continue receiving flood-related funding. In Willowmoor the Corps is requiring that the willows are mowed.

▪Geoff Clayton noted that the Corps has been requiring mowing for 20 years. The Muckleshoots want to lower the temperature in the SammamishRiver, and Willowmoor is an extremely important area for lowering temperature. He also commented that restoration on North Creek at the Bothell UW Campus is one of the most outstanding projects in KingCounty. Holder Creek is one of the only streams in WRIA 8 that may have bull trout, and the only place where char been identified. He said let’s not forget that we have other issues in the upper watershed.

The Salmon Recovery Council unanimously approved the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) and Puget Sound Acquisition and Restoration Fund (PSAR) Project Subcommittee Grant Recommendations.

Memorandum of Understanding

Jean White explained that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) lays out how ILA services will be provided. The Management Committee recommended a nineyear term to the MOU instead of one year, to be in line with the nine year ILA. Don Davidson also recommended we have a termination clause in the MOU, so language on page six has been added that says the MOU may be terminated in one of three ways:by a vote of the Salmon Recovery Council in accordance with the voting provisions of the ILA; by King County, with 60 day written notice provided to the Salmon Recovery Council; or by mutual written agreement by the Salmon Recovery Council and King County.

The Salmon Recovery Council unanimously approved the Memorandum of Understanding.

WRIA 8 Committee Reports

Technical Committee:

• H-integration: Frank Leonetti reported that the Technical Committee’s first H-Integration meeting was held in June, and attendees included the co-managers, DFW, State fisheries, and the Muckleshoot Tribe. The committee is mainly working on the first two steps of H-integration: 1)identifywho should be involved, and 2) gain a common understanding of how the system works. The other steps include: 3) agree upon common goals and set of outcomes, 4) examine, evaluate and select suite of actions, 5) document rationale and implementation steps and 6) build long-term monitoring.
• Three-Year Work Program: The Technical Committee is work on a response to the Technical Recovery Team’s (TRT) response to the Three-Year Work Program. One of their concerns was the Issaquah Hatchery Intake project.
• Monitoring Subcommittee: Franks said the subcommittee is continuing to working on the habitat monitoring element that will work with population monitoring to become a combined monitoring program for WRIA8. There will be a monitoring presentation at the October Salmon Recovery Council meeting.
• EDT Model treatments scenario: The work program is almost finalized, and will be done in a few weeks. Frank said he can come back to a future Councilmeeting with a presentation.

Frank said he will also report back on some of the monitoring concerns that were expressed today.