WRIA 14 PLANNING UNIT MEETING

Wednesday, October 22, 2003

1:00-2:30 p.m.

Shelton Civic Center

Shelton, WA

Meeting Summary

Attendance:

Government Members Present:
Jeanne Kinney, Thurston County	Phil Wiatrak, State Dept. of Ecology
Michelle Stevie, Squaxin Tribe	Jason Manassee, Mason County

Government Members Absent:
City of Shelton	Mason County PUD # 1

Other Planning Unit Members Present:
Warren Dawes, SWPSWC	Marilyn Brennan, WSU
Constance Ibsen, LHCWIC	Anita Latch, Citizen
Diane Cooper, Taylor Shellfish

Others Present:
Teri King, UW/Washington Sea Grant	Susan Gulick, Technical Project Mgr/Facilitator

1. Presentation/Discussion on Nearshore Studies in the WRIA (45 minutes)

q Michelle Stevie of the Squaxin Tribe gave an overview of the Oakland Bay and Hammersley Inlet Nearshore Habitat Assessment.

q Four ecological functions were used in a model to characterize a shoreline’s habitat functions for juvenile salmonids:

1. Prey resource availability

2. Predator refuge

3. Physiological refuge from acclimation to the marine environment

4. Migration corridors

q As a result of the analysis, the following were identified as Priority Conservation Areas

1. Upper Oakland Bay

2. Chapman Cove in Oakland Bay

3. Southeast Oakland Bay along Sunset Road

4. Eagle Point in Hammersley Inlet

5. East Hammersley Inlet

q The following were identified as Priority Restoration Areas

1. State Route 3 corridor along north side of Oakland Bay

2. Southside Hammersley Inlet Tributaries between Eagle Point and Skookum Point

3. Mouths of Johns Creek near Bayshore in Oakland Bay

4. Mouths of Goldsborough and Shelton Creeks in Shelton

5. Log storage areas in South Oakland Bay shoreline between Shelton and Eagle Point

2. Consultant Selection

q The PU received SOQs from eight firms for the hydro-geo characterization. The selection committee has narrowed it down to four firms for interviews.

q The interviews will be held on Monday, October 27^th.

3. Grant Amendments

q The base grant amendment and the water quality and instream flow grant amendments are final except for a few budget questions for Mason County.

q The amendments should be routed for signature within the next week.

4. Water Storage Grant Application/Discussions with Regional Task Force

q A sub-group of the Planning Unit attended the Regional Task Force on sewer and water issues to discuss potential funding for an aquifer storage/recharge project.

q The Task Force members agreed to consider the options.

q The PU would like to invite participation in the PU by the Dept. of Corrections (Phil agreed to follow up on this). Susan will also follow up with Marlene Taylor regarding the Port’s participation. Diane will also talk to Sen. Tim Sheldon to see what he thinks about the potential storage grant project.

q The Planning Unit agreed to hold on the storage grant application for one month until more discussions with Task Force members occur.

5. Watershed Plan

q The first draft of the Water Quality Chapter of the plan is complete and has been e-mailed to the PU mailing list.

q Comments are due to Susan by Wed. November 12^th.

q The next PU meeting will be dedicated to reviewing the plan outline and schedule and clarifying how options and recommendations will be developed.

6. Public Involvement

q There will be a public involvement sub-committee meeting immediately prior to the next PU meeting on November 19^th.

7. Upcoming Meetings

q The next TC meeting will be on Wednesday, November 12^th from 10-12 at the Civic Center

q The next PU meeting will be on Wednesday, November 19^th from 2:30-4:30 at the Civic Center. Note that this meeting was move up a week to avoid conflict with the Thanksgiving Holiday.

q In December the PU and TC will have one combined meeting on Wednesday, December 17^th from 2:30-4:30 at the Civic Center.