# Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary

**Sanctuary Advisory Council**

**2/15/02**

**Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) Members**

Jim Bybee National Marine Fisheries Service

Daniel Cohen Research seat (alternate)

Josh Curchman Maritime Activity seat (alternate)

Bill McMillon Education seat (alternate)

Thomas Lambert Conservation seat

Joe Smith Community-at-Large seat

Kathy Soave Conservation seat (alternate)

Special Guest:

Dan Basta, Director Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Staff:

Michael Carver Biological Technician

Roweena Forest Administrative Support

Dan Howard Assistant Manager

Jan Roletto Research Coordinator

Jennifer Stock Education Specialist

Ed Ueber Sanctuary Manager

Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary SAC Member:

Richard Charter Conservation seat

Copies to:

All attending

Carol Kieper Research seat

Doreen Moser Education seat

# Introductions of Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council Members and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Staff

**Overview of the National Marine Sanctuary System by Dan Basta**

## 

-   The Sanctuary will be investing in visitor centers and exhibits
    across the country.

-   The Sanctuary System is acquiring new vessels.

-   New Sanctuary at Thunder Bay in Michigan to protect shipwrecks.

-   The Sanctuaries job is to be on the water.

-   Currently operate two aircraft: one at the Channel Islands and the
    other in the Florida Keys.

-   The Sanctuary has 260 employees across the country.

-   The Northwest Hawaiian Islands Marine Reserve is a new major
    addition to the Sanctuary program.

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-   First SAC was created in 1991 in the Florida Keys.

-   Public participation is a key method for achieving change in the
    Sanctuary System.

-   The National Marine Sanctuary System is a collection of
    ecosystem-based management areas.

-   A National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (NMSF) was established in
    2001.

> Board Members:

### President

Pat Romanowski

First Vice President, Investments First of Michigan

### Secretary

Jim Tulip

Director, Robert Lyn Nelson Studios

### 

### Treasurer

Terry Garcia

Vice President, Mission Programs National Geographic Society

### Other Trustees

Bob Ballard

President, Institute for Exploration

Jean-Michel Cousteau

President, Ocean Futures Society

Sylvia Earle

President, Deep Ocean Engineering and Research

Kym Murphy

Corporate Vice President, Environmental Policy

The Walt Disney Company

Michael Murphy, Disney

Robert Lynn Nelson

Artist

John Wright

Software Engineer, Cisco Systems

### Ex-Officio Members

Margaret Davidson

Acting Administrator, National Ocean Service

Dan Basta

Director, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

Lori Arguelles

Executive Director

-   The first Oceans Day on Capital Hill was sponsored by the NMSF last
    year.

-   Education is a key function of the Sanctuary Program. We need to
    mobilize a greater constituency for the Sanctuary System.

-   The contact information in the Sanctuary Advisory Council Member
    Directory will be distributed to the Ocean Commission

-   SAC members may be contacted by the Ocean Commission.

# Overview of the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary

## Background

-   Cordell Expeditions, a non-profit, documented the diversity and
    abundance of life on Cordell Bank and was instrumental in the
    designation of the Sanctuary.

-   CBNMS cooperatively works with other institutions such as the Bodega
    Marine Laboratory.

-   The Berring to Baja Sanctuary cruise will begin the end of February
    and will focus on bringing attention to the larger marine ecosystem
    that the 5 West Coast Marine Sanctuaries are apart of.

-   Would like to host the CBNMS SAC members on a cruise to Cordell Bank
    in the Fall.

## Research and Monitoring

-   Work cooperatively with Bodega Marine Lab, San Francisco State
    University, Moss Marine Laboratory

-   The Sanctuary is conducting research to characterize benthic
    habitats at Cordell Bank with 2-person submersible and remotely
    operated vehicles (ROV)

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-   Also conducting research to estimate biomass of krill, a keystone
    species, at the Bank using acoustic equipment

-   Revising the 5-Year Research Plan for the Sanctuary

-   Want to integrate research with education programs

## Education and Outreach

-   Work cooperatively with the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine
    Sanctuary, Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association, and the National
    Park Service

-   Lead wildlife watching trips and outings

-   Visit schools

-   Lead interpretive programs

-   Address larger audiences at outreach fairs

## Small Boat Program

-   27 foot boat used in cooperation with Bodega Marine Lab researchers
    in the Sanctuary

-   Investigate juvenile rockfish recruitment

-   Take teachers out on the vessel to participate in research occurring
    in the Sanctuary

-   New vessel 33 foot Gasky will be used for marine mammal observations
    in the Sanctuary

## **Overview of Sanctuary Advisory Council Roles and Responsibilities**

Council Roles and Responsibilities

-   Each member represents a constituency and must keep abreast of their
    constituencies

-   Every meeting will have a public comment period

-   The contact information in the Sanctuary Advisory Council Member
    Handbook will be posted on the National Marine Sanctuary Program web
    site

## 

## Review of Handbook

-   The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is under the Department of
    Commerce and is a sister agency of the National Marine Fisheries
    Service

-   The binders include:

> Contact list and bios
>
> Sanctuary Advisory Council Oath and Charter
>
> Sanctuary enabling legislation and regulations
>
> Sanctuary permit application information
>
> Background information on CBNMS

## Goals of the Sanctuary Advisory Council

-   Help protect the resources of the marine sanctuary

-   Advise the Sanctuary Manager on issues of concern from the
    represented constituency

-   Identify upcoming issues for your constituency

-   Understand and inform your constituency of marine sanctuary issues
    and needs

[Expectations of the Sanctuary Advisory Council]{.underline}

-   Maintain open access and outreach to your constituency

-   Accurately portray opinions from all segments of your represented
    constituency

-   Publicly represent marine sanctuary goals, projects, and priorities

[How Meetings Are Conducted]{.underline}

-   Agenda items need to be received 30 days in advance of the meeting

-   All SAC meetings are public meetings

-   SAC meetings are advertised in advance

-   Meeting notes are taken and the official transcript is a tape of the
    meeting

-   The SAC will set the agenda for the meeting

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-   The SAC charter can be amended and additional members may be added

**SAC Role in the Management Plan Review Process**

Joint Management Plan Review: Cordell Bank, Gulf of the Farallones,
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuaries.

# [The Management Plan]{.underline}

-   A site specific document used to manage a sanctuary

-   Contains regulations

-   Sets priorities; present programs and projects

-   Guides the development of future activities

-   Outlines shared local state and federal authorities

-   Defines boundaries

# [Management Plan Review]{.underline}

-   Updates the guiding documents

-   Examines and potentially changes general sanctuary operations and
    specific administrations

# [Key steps]{.underline}

-   Assemble personnel to initiate internal review-completed

-   Release state of the sanctuary report-completed

-   Host public scoping meetings-completed

-   Narrow priority issues

-   Host public workshops to develop action plans

-   Release draft management plan

-   Host public comment meetings on draft plan

-   Release final management plan

-   Total time: approximately 2-3 years

# [The scoping process]{.underline}

Scoping process provided an opportunity to hear from a broad spectrum

### Major issue categories (not prioritized)

-   Wildlife disturbances

-   Habitat alterations

-   Marine bioprospecting

-   Acoustic impacts

-   Boundary modifications

-   SAC

-   Enforcement

-   Community partnerships

-   Agency partnerships

-   Spill response and planning

-   Oil & gas activities

-   Personal watercraft

-   Military activities

-   Marine debris and discharge

-   User conflicts

-   Coastal armoring

-   Vessel traffic

-   Aquaculture

-   Coastal development

-   Water quality

-   Radioactive waste

-   Exotic species

-   Community outreach

-   Ecosystem management

-   Monitoring

# [Criteria for Prioritizing Issues]{.underline}

1.  Threshold question

Does the NMSP have the institutional responsibility and/or authority to
address this issue?

2.  Site Benefits

*Does addressing this issue have positive site benefits to the natural
resources?*

3.  Urgency

*Levels of urgency:*

*A. develop strategies*

*B. develop a framework*

##  C. defer action

4.  Feasibility

Does the Sanctuary have the necessary people resources/skills funding,
infrastructure and technical capability to address this issue?

# [Joint SAC Meeting Format with Monterey Bay and Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries]{.underline}

-   Recap of management plan review process

-   Recap of scoping comment categories

-   Explanation of issue prioritization process

-   Break into three small groups (10 SAC members per group)

-   Presentation of individual SAC members two top priority issues

-   Apply priority ranking criteria to all sites

-   Rank issues by short, medium or long term priorities

# [Next Steps for Issue Prioritization]{.underline}

-   Summarize SAC issue prioritization meeting results in document for
    public distribution

-   Joint staff meeting to review and revise issue prioritization
    results

-   Assign issues to staff and or SAC members

-   Form working groups to characterize issues

-   Staff develops final issue characterizations for action plans

# 

# 

# [A biogeographic analysis of marine biological resources off North/Central California: A mid-course update to assist with management plan review]{.underline}

-   Biogeographic characterization of each sanctuary.

-   Develop a geographic information system (GIS) of major/selected
    living marine biologically-related resources for the study area.

-   An ecological linkage report that complements the GIS analyses.

-   Develop a GIS tool for CA sanctuary staff.

-   Develop a project web site.

**Nominations for Chair and Vice-chair must be received by February 28,
2002 for the March 1^st^ meeting. Nominations should be sent to Harriet
Lew at** [hlew@farallones.org](mailto:mbrown@farallones.org) **or (415)
561-6625.**

**Agenda items for next board meeting**

-   Public comment

-   Election of officers

-   Management plan review issue prioritization for CBNMS

# JOINT SANCTUARY ADVISORY COUNCIL WORKSHOP DATE: 

# APRIL 15, 2002

**HALF MOON BAY**

**NEXT CBNMS SAC MEETING:**

**May 1, 2002**

**Sebastopol**

**9:00 AM**

**All** After reviewing these minutes, if you have any comments or
corrections, please notify Harriet Lew at hlew@farallones.org.